Smoked Chicken Breast Salad with Tomatoes, Cheese and Cucumbers
A bright, festive appetizer for any table! Salad with smoked chicken breast, tomatoes, cheese and cucumbers will instantly become a favorite at home. It has everything: crunchy fresh vegetables, tender mozzarella and hearty smoked chicken, all under a gorgeous Italian-style dressing.
Updated : 26 November, 2025
Easy
About 30 min.
Ingredients
300 grams
Smoked chicken
250 grams
Tomato
200 grams
Lettuce leaves
100 grams
Mozzarella
80 grams
Olive
1
Bell pepper
1
Onion
1
Cucumber
10 grams
Basil
2 tablespoon
White wine vinegar
Sauce
1 teaspoon
Sugar
50 milliliters
Olive oil
1
Garlic
3 grams
Basil
1 tablespoon
Lemon juice
0.5 teaspoon
Mustard
0.5 teaspoon
Dried oregano
to taste
Pepper
to taste
Sea salt
Table
Table of volume measurements:
- teaspoon - 5 ml
- dessert spoon - 10 ml
- tablespoon - 20 ml
- glass - 200 ml
Preparation
Step 1
You can use regular tomatoes or cherry tomatoes. I used small tomatoes. You can add to or change the vegetable part to your taste.
Step 2
Peel the red onion and slice it into thin rings or half-rings. Marinate the onion in a mixture of vinegar and sugar for 20 minutes, then drain the marinade. You can use any vinegar - I used white wine vinegar, but apple cider, red wine or regular 9% table vinegar will also work.
Step 3
Remove the skin and bones from the smoked chicken breast and slice it thinly. You can replace the breast with meat from smoked chicken legs.
Step 4
Cut the tomatoes into wedges. If you are using cherry tomatoes, cut them in halves. The tomatoes should be juicy but firm. Soft tomatoes don’t hold their shape well and will turn into a shapeless mass and spoil the look of the dish.
Step 5
Slice the cucumbers into half-moons or, if they are small in diameter, into rounds.
Step 6
Remove the core and seeds from the bell pepper and cut it into thin strips.
Step 7
Take the olives and mozzarella out of the brine and pat them dry. You can use any cheese you like for the salad: hard cheese such as a simple fermented cheese or Gouda, or soft cheeses such as cream cheese, processed cheese or feta. Since my salad has an Italian-style dressing, I decided to make the whole salad in an Italian spirit, so I chose brined mozzarella balls.
Step 8
Dry the lettuce leaves. Tear the lettuce into smaller pieces with your hands. I used regular leaf lettuce. You can replace it with a ready mix of salad leaves.
Step 9
Wash the basil and remove the leaves from the stems.
Step 10
Now prepare the Italian dressing. It is usually made with olive oil, but any vegetable oil will work. Use Dijon or whole-grain mustard, whichever you prefer. Usually the dressing includes 1 tablespoon of white or red wine vinegar, but we already have onion marinated in vinegar, so I did not add vinegar to the dressing.
Step 11
Finely chop the basil. If you don’t have fresh basil, use dried, and take fresh parsley as the green herb. If you find fresh oregano, that’s great - then you won’t need dried. With fresh herbs the salad is always tastier than with dried.
Step 12
In a small bowl combine the olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, pressed garlic, basil, oregano, salt and pepper. Whisk everything thoroughly with a fork until smooth.
Step 13
Put the lettuce leaves on a plate. Arrange the smoked chicken, tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, cheese, red onion and olives on top. Sprinkle with fresh basil leaves.
Step 14
Drizzle the salad with the Italian dressing and serve immediately. Enjoy!
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