This Grilled Chicken & Pear Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette will be a favorite for grilling all year long – grilled chicken and pears are tossed with fresh veggies and peppery arugula in a delicious and easy lemon basil vinaigrette that’s made from scratch!
Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by Pompeian. My love for the brand and opinions are all my own.
When Pompeian reached out to see what recipe magic I could whip up with their Extra Virgin Olive Oil, I wanted a recipe that would carry the buttery flavor throughout while not being too heavy for summer. It’s National Olive Oil month and Pompeian is encouraging everyone to lose the butter. No problem – I love using olive oil, in fresh and cooked preparations and especially with my summer salads. There’s nothing that beats a homemade vinaigrette, in my opinion. The main component of a great vinaigrette – a fabulous olive oil.
Do you ever have a dish that has you thinking “I so need to recreate that at home“? That was my dilemma a few weeks ago. We have this local restaurant near the 9to9 that has some killer salads and, recently, I had one of their salads which had pears, chicken and a lemon basil vinaigrette. It was soooo good but I was thinking “I know I can make that with a bit of a spin” and it hit me – I’d use freshly grilled pears along some peppery arugula. I’d also carry the lemon flavors throughout with a lemony marinade for the chicken and that would also be grilled. I’d drizzle the salad with a fresh lemon basil vinaigrette and top it with my favorite cheese – a salty, crumbly ricotta salata. Southern Living had a fabulous vinaigrette recipe that I jazzed up and it’s full of fresh summer flavors.
This Grilled Chicken and Pear Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette is the ultimate summer salad my friends!
On to the recipe:
Gather your ingredients

Let the chicken tenders marinate in that citrus olive oil goodness

Look at these lovely pears

Let’s grill those pears to caramelize and soften them a bit

Make the Lemon Basil Vinaigrette

The main flavor factors woven throughout the dish – Pompeian Olive Oil, Lemon and Basil

Seriously – my favorite summer salad

[mpprecipe-recipe:227]

Pompeian, a leader in the olive oil industry, is encouraging everyone to take the #PledgeforEVOO, and swap butter for olive oil in your favorite recipes. It’s easy to do and, to help you out, tPompeian has an easy conversion chart to help you out. Visit Pompeian’s #PledgeforEVOO, take the pledge and you might win a surprise from Pompeian which will have you and your family enjoying a fabulous movie night at home. Every week during National Olive Oil Month, 5 additional fans who have pledged will win a fun prize pack on Pompeian’s timeline.
So – are you ready to take the Pompeian Pledge?
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post written on behalf of Pompeian.


