Easy thinly sliced chicken breast is perfect for salads. They take 15 minutes to make, are the right portion size, and are perfectly seasoned.
I love cooking chicken in a skillet, but you can also cook thinly sliced chicken in an air fryer or oven.
This chicken has no breading- if you want air-fried chicken with breading, check out my recipe for Air Fryer Chicken Cutlets.
🥰 Why Thinly Sliced Chicken Breasts is the Best Chicken for Salads
- ⏲ Time: Thinly sliced chicken cooks fast. These only take about 7 minutes to cook in a skillet!
- 🍗 Perfect Size: Each piece of chicken is about 3-4 oz, which is the AHA recommended serving size.
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🧀 Ingredients & Substitutions
Thin Chicken Breast: You can find precut thinly sliced chicken breast next to the regular chicken breast at the grocery store. You can also butterfly a regular chicken breast. Watch this video to see how it’s done.
Seasoning: My go-to chicken seasoning blend is smoked paprika, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
Oil: You will need to coat the chicken in oil to help help the spices stick to the chicken and keep it from sticking to the pan.
Full ingredient list with quantities in the recipe card below
🔪 How to Cook Chicken for a Salad
1. Mix Oil & Seasoning: Mix one tablespoon of olive oil and the spices together in a small bowl.
2. Season Chicken: Pat chicken dry and coat in seasoned olive oil.
3. Heat Olive Oil: Add two tablespoons of olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat.
4. Cook Chicken: Once the olive oil is warm, add chicken and cook for 4 min. Flip and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165F.
🤏 How to Season Chicken for a Salad
Depending on your salad, you might want to change the seasoning. Below are 3 seasonings that will pair perfectly with any salad.
Lemon Pepper Seasoning: good for Caesar salads, garden salads, or salads with berries
- 2 teaspoons lemon pepper seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Cajun Seasoning: good for salads with a creamy dressing
- 4 teaspoons of pre-made Cajun seasoning
Smoky BBQ Seasoning: good for southwest salads, salads with ranch dressing, and house salads
- 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoons garlic powder
🥗 Salads to add your chicken too!
- Pear and Pecan Salad
- Premade Caesar salad kit from the grocery store
- Simple Italian Salad
- Garden Salad
- BLT Salad with Honey Mustard Dressing
❓ Recipe Questions
There are so many ways to season the chicken. My favorite is a blend of smoked paprika, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Those flavors go great with most types of salads. Check out the How to Season Chicken for a Salad section above for more suggestions.
Cooked chicken will last 3-4 days in the fridge. That means you can make this chicken ahead of time and eat it cold with your salad or warm it up before adding it to your salad.
Easy Chicken Breast for Salads
Ingredients
- 1 pound Thinly Sliced Chicken Breast* See notes if you only have regular chicken breast.
- 3 tablespoons Olive Oil divided
- 1 ½ teaspoons Smoked Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- ½ teaspoon Table Salt
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Black Pepper or added to taste
Instructions
- Mix one tablespoon of olive oil and the spices together in a small bowl.
- Pat chicken dry and coat in seasoned olive oil.
- Add two tablespoons of olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat.
- Once the olive oil is warm, add chicken and cook for 4 min. Flip and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165F.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!