Chicken salad and Greek salad are two of my favorites. I knew I had a winner when I saw this recipe on my Cooking Light calendar. I was not sure if everyone in my house would love it, but to my surprise everyone did. So here you are a quick, easy, flavorful, and healthy salad that your family will enjoy. Don’t be leery of the barley if you have never used it before. It is so similar to pasta or rice in texture. Barley is also an excellent source of soluble fiber that is good for digestion and a great source of potassium which helps to lower blood pressure. Hope that all of you are enjoying your week. I’m off this week for a winter break. While some of my friends are enjoying Disney World, I’m just enjoying Villa Rica!
Greek Chicken and Barley Salad from Cooking Light
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients:
Salad:
- 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 4 cups chicken broth, divided
- 1 cup uncooked pearl barley
- 2 cups cubed seeded cucumber
- 1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup cubed yellow bell pepper
- 1/3 cup feta cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped pitted kalamata olives
Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh basil
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
Directions:
Just a side note here: I followed these directions for cooking the chicken breasts, but feel that you could cook them any way you wanted grilled, poached, or just use about 2 cups of rotisserie chicken. I saw no difference in the cooking method.
- Sprinkle chicken with 1/8 teaspoon salt.
- Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the chicken and cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned.
- Add 1 cup of broth; cover, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes or until done. Cool.
- Shred chicken. Discard broth.
- Bring 3 cups broth to boil in a large saucepan; add barley.
- Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 35 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
- Fluff with a fork. Cool.
- Combine chicken, barley cucumber, tomatoes, bell pepper, feta cheese, and olives.
- For dressing, combine 3 tablespoons oil and remaining ingredients. Stir well.
- Add to the chicken and barley mixture. Toss well.
- Cover and chill.
- One Year Ago Double Chocolate Brownies with Caramel Frosting
- Two Years Ago Pancakes from Scratch vs. Bisquick
- Three Years Ago Decadent Chocolate Cookies
The Teacher Cooks 
I love greek food! I think it tastes so refreshing!
The dressing sounds like it would go very well with this salad
It is really healthy and looks fun to make as well.
I learned that is a good healthy dish and it’s a good source of fiber.
I learned that you can add any type of the cooked chicken to the salad, like grilled, poached, or rotisserie chicken.
This looks very healthy and very easy and quick to make!
I did not know that there was a leafy green vegetable called Barley.
i learned a new and good easy meal to make
I learned this is a quick, easy, and healthy salad the whole family should enjoy! This salad has a lot of fiber which is good for the digestive system and potassium which helps to lower blood pressure.
I learned barley is very similar to pasta and is not much of a difference! what a great salad!
i learned that you must boil barley for 35 minutes
I learned that barley aids in disgestion and has potassium that can lower blood pressure.
i didnt know that you had to cook some salads
no matter how you decide to cook the chicken the result is the same.
allow the chicken to cook until brown on both sides
Has alot of veggies which make this a healthy choice
i didnt know this would also be healthy
it looks really good mrs.lupo i might i try it
i learned barley was fiber
Barley is an excellenet source of soluble fiber
I learned that barley is an excellent source of soluble fiber.
I learned that barley aids in disgestion and has potassium that can lower blood pressure.
Allow the chicken to brown on both sides while cooking. There are a lot of vegetables present. This is a very healthy choice.
I didn’t know you can cook salad.
I learned that barley aids in digestion
I learned that both sides of the chicken have to be brown to show that they are well done.
I learned that barley is similar to pasta.
I learned any type of chicken can be added to this
Chicken salad is a great food to kill hunger, without all the fat and added things it just depends on how much mayo and other condiments you add to it.
I learned that you can grill, bake, or buy the chicken.
I learned that pasta and barley are quite similar.
you have to make it
I learned that this is a very quick, easy, and healthy recipe to make. Also that both sides of the chicken need to be brown that it is finished cooking.
I learned that you have to discard the broth
you can grill or poach the chicken instead of boiling it
Chicken will brown in about 2 minutes.
I learned that this meal is quick and very easy to make as well and its healthy!!!
I learned a new way to make a salad.
I never know that there were so many things that you could put in a salad but that because I dont like salad unless its a fruit salad
the salad seem high in protein and is very healthy for you
I learned that you need to add 3 tablespoons of oil to your dressing.
Its a really simple meal to make and not that time consuming.
I learned that you have to Combine chicken, barley cucumber, tomatoes, bell pepper, feta cheese, and olives.
I learned that both sides of the chicken should be brown to be fully cooked.
Olives can give it a boost of taste
I learned that Barley makes a good pasta substitute or rice substitute.