Blackberry Balsamic Grilled Chicken Salad with Crispy Fried Goat Cheese

I have really been enjoying salads for dinner lately and I am currently absolutely crushing on this blackberry balsamic grilled chicken salad with crispy fried goat cheese! This salads base is fresh blackberries starting out with a blackberry balsamic vinaigrette that is used both to marinate the chicken and as the dressing for the salad! The salad is filled out with lettuce, avocado, nuts, onions and goat cheese along with the grilled chicken and of course plenty of fresh blackberries. Instead of simply sprinkling some crumbled goat cheese onto the salad, which would be OK, it is formed into patties, coated in breadcrumbs and fried until nice and golden brown and crispy on the outside and warm and melty on the inside! This blackberry balsamic grilled chicken salad with crispy fried goat cheese is one tasty and fresh summer meal!

As it turns out, the star of this show is the crispy fried goat cheese! You really, really should try this amazing salad, but if you don’t you absolutely need to try the crispy fried goat cheese! I practically inhale, usually long before it gets to the salad!

This salad would also be great with other berries so feel free to replace the blackberries with one or more of raspberries, blue berries, strawberries, etc!

Feel free to add some prosciutto or crispy fried bacon!

Blackberry Balsamic Grilled Chicken Salad with Crispy Fried Goat Cheese

Prep Time:10 minutes Marinate Time:30 minutes Cook Time:10 minutes Total Time:20 minutes Servings: 4

Blackberry balsamic marinated and grilled chicken black berry salad with crispy fried goat cheese and avocado!

ingredients

For the blackberry balsamic vinaigrette dressing:

1/2 cup blackberries
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon tamari or soy sauce
1 large clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

For the fried goat cheese:

8 ounces goat cheese, either sliced into 1/4 inch thick discs or formed into small balls
1/4 cup flour
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 cup panko breadcrumbs (or breadcrumbs)

For the salad:

1/2 pound chicken breasts
6 cups lettuce
1 cup blackberries
1 avocado, sliced
1/4 cup red onion, sliced
1/4 cup walnuts (or pistachios or almonds)

directions

For the blackberry balsamic vinaigrette dressing:

Puree everything in a food processor or with a blender.

For the fried goat cheese:

Dredge the goat cheese slices/balls in the flour and coat in egg followed by breadcrumbs and fry in oil over medium heat until lightly golden brown before setting aside on paper towels to drain.

For the salad:

Marinate the chicken in half of the vinaigrette for 30 minutes to over night before grilling over medium-high heat until cooked and slightly charred, about 2-5 minutes per side, and setting aside to cool and slice.
Assemble the salad and enjoy!

Option: Add sriracha to taste to the dressing.
Option: Add prosciutto or crispy bacon!
Note: Best enjoyed while the fried goat cheese is still warm from frying!

Nutrition Facts: Calories 631, Fat 35g (Saturated 12g, Trans 0), Cholesterol 108mg, Sodium 633mg, Carbs 48g (Fiber 8g, Sugars 15g), Protein 31g

Nutrition by:

Comments

Laura @ Laura's Culinary Adventures says
July 15, 2016 at 1:52 pm
You make some delicious looking salads! Yummy!
Maria says
July 15, 2016 at 2:24 pm
So many yummy and vibrant flavors!
A SPICY PERSPECTIVE says
July 15, 2016 at 7:18 pm
I'm heard over heads in love with this gorgeous dish!
Vicki Bensinger says
July 15, 2016 at 9:42 pm
This salad is stunning and I love what you did with the goat cheese!
Jeannine Davaz says
July 15, 2016 at 11:43 pm
Beautiful! What other cheese would you recommend?
- Lisa says
  July 18, 2018 at 12:59 pm
  I made mine with mozzarella, kind of like fried cheese sticks. Much better option for those who despise goat cheese, like me!
Flank Stew says
September 12, 2016 at 7:32 pm
I swapped feta
Dawn Alva says
May 31, 2017 at 2:21 pm
Wondering what I could swap out the flour with?
kevin says
May 31, 2017 at 8:32 pm
Dawn Alva: Rice flour would work.
Deb Kelner says
September 3, 2017 at 2:41 am
WOW! This was dinner tonight and it was a winner. I've got blackberries growing in the yard at the peak of ripeness and put them to good use. Thank you it was absolutely scrumptious.
Unknown says
October 14, 2017 at 7:43 am
Hi Kevin ! 😀
I have an idea it will be a great value added to ur web site , to add quick videos to long not more than 1:30 to 2 minutes like using snapchat maybe or u prefer .
preparing to make ur salad ; excited to serve it to my family ! 🙂
Katy says
May 15, 2018 at 9:48 pm
This was AMAZING!! The goat cheese was pretty hard to fry though, the log I bought was wet and smooshed when I tried to cut it. I managed to fry them though, and man, were they tasty! The dressing is delicious. Will definitely make again 🙂
Jamie Mileto says
May 17, 2018 at 8:05 pm
Love this salad so much! I never realized how easy it is to fry goat cheese! Thank you so much!
Lisa says
July 18, 2018 at 1:02 pm
So I ended up using an emulsifier for the dressing. The recipe did not specify how to get the dressing that is shown in the pictures. Rather than just keep the blackberries whole, I chose to emulsify mine with the other ingredients to get a smooth vinaigrette. Then added the extra whole blackberries to the salad. This worked out much better for me, so it’s just a suggestion. Otherwise this was a great recipe! 🙂
Melanie says
September 5, 2018 at 7:35 pm
This is the best salad I have ever had in my life. Hands dow.