• Need dinner in less than 15 minutes? This salad is perfect for busy summer nights! If you use chicken from prep day, it comes together even faster.

This post is a collaboration with Produce for Kids and Meijer. All opinions are my own.

I am so not afraid to take help from the store. The past few months have been super busy, so using helpers like pre-washed lettuce and light dressings are key. When I have extra time, I like to quickly prep grab and go items too: sliced cucumbers, mason jars of carrot sticks, grilled chicken, etc.

Not only is this salad amazing for lunch or dinner, you can easily make a bunch of mason jar salads. The key to keeping the salads fresh, not soggy, is all in the layering. Put the dressing on the bottom, add veggies or fruits that can marinade in it, then layer your protein to create a barrier from the lettuce. I always put any cheese or nuts on the very top.

The mason jars will last in the fridge up to 4 days–no joking! I actually liked the Day 3 and 4 ones better…they had so much flavor!

As the salad sits, the onions, apples and strawberries marinade and get super delicious. I can actually eat this for a week straight!

Print

Summer Strawberry + Apple Salad w/ Grilled Chicken

This Strawberry + Apple Salad with Chopped Chicken is light and fresh--perfect for summer! You can easily put this in a mason jar for weekday lunches or prepare quickly for dinner. YUM!

Course Salad

Keyword Apples, Dole Salad, Feta Cheese, Strawberries

Servings 4 small salads

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound Grilled Chicken Breast
• 6 whole Well-Pict Berries® Strawberries sliced
• 1 whole honeycrisp apple sliced into bite sized pieces
• 1/2 whole RealSweet® Vidalia® onion thinly sliced
• 2 Tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 whole English cucumber halved, then thinly sliced
• 1 bag Dole® salad mix favorite variety
• Marzetti® Strawberry Poppyseed dressing

Instructions

1. For full salad: Put salad mix in a bowl. Toss with about 4 Tablespoons Strawberry Poppyseed dressing. Top with sliced veggies and fruit. Add grilled chicken slices. Sprinkle with feta cheese and serve extra dressing on the side. Serve immediately.
   

2. For mason jar salads (makes 4-5 pints): In the bottom of each mason jar, add 2 Tablespoons of Strawberry Poppyseed dressing. Add 2 sliced strawberries, 1/4 chopped apple and 1/4 chopped onion. Stir with a fork to cover in dressing. Layer cucumber slices on top. Next 1/4 of the chopped chicken. Top with lettuce, leaving enough room on top for a sprinkle of feta. Repeat for other 4 jars (I do them all at once). Refrigerate for up to 5 days.
   

I absolutely adore Produce for Kids and everything they do–from delicious, easy recipes (that are healthy, too!) to giving back to the community.

Produce for Kids will once again join forces with Meijer and Jump with Jill this summer to raise funds to bring the nutrition education program to local schools in the Meijer area.

Jump with Jill is armed with catchy songs and upbeat dance moves to engage kids
on the subject of health and leave them empowered to eat better. My kids always look for the fun recipe cards while we’re in the produce section at Meijer, especially Gabby!

Check your mPerks for weekly coupons for the participating brands for extra savings!

Have you tried Shipt yet?  Meijer shoppers can access a free 2-week trial and a $15 credit towards your first order by visiting shipt.com. No promo code is required.

Produce for Kids also has a new Healthy Family Project podcast! They’ll be chatting with blog contributors (like ME, hopefully!), parents, friends and more covering all of the hot topics in the world of health, food, and family.

Be sure to check out the latest episode where we talk meal planning for beginners with Brenda Thompson of MealPlanningMagic.com.

Subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, Google Play or your favorite podcasting site.

What is your go-to easy summer salad? Have you tried this drool-worthy Strawberry Poppyseed dressing yet?