Dense Bean Lemon Dill Chicken (Printable version)

A hearty salad featuring chickpeas, navy beans, shredded chicken, and a bright lemon-dill dressing.

# What you need:

→ Beans & Legumes

01 - 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
02 - 1 can (15 oz) navy beans, drained and rinsed

→ Chicken

03 - 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (12 oz total)
04 - 1 tablespoon olive oil
05 - Salt, to taste
06 - Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

→ Vegetables

07 - 1 small red onion, finely diced
08 - 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
09 - 1 small cucumber, diced
10 - 1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped

→ Lemon-Dill Dressing

11 - 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
12 - 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
13 - 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
14 - 1 garlic clove, minced
15 - 1 teaspoon honey
16 - 1 tablespoon fresh dill, finely chopped
17 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
18 - 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

# How to Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 400°F. Rub chicken breasts with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes until cooked through. Let cool, then shred with two forks.
02 - In a large bowl, combine chickpeas, navy beans, red onion, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and fresh dill.
03 - Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, honey, fresh dill, salt, and pepper until emulsified.
04 - Add shredded chicken to the bean mixture. Pour dressing over salad and toss gently to combine.
05 - Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt, pepper, or lemon juice as desired. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It's genuinely filling enough for dinner, not one of those sad desk salads that leaves you hungry two hours later.
  • The lemon-dill dressing tastes like something you'd order at a nice restaurant, but it takes five minutes to make.
  • It actually gets better the next day as the flavors settle, which means meal prep that doesn't feel like a chore.
02 -
  • Drain and rinse your canned beans properly—it removes excess sodium and any gummy starch that makes the salad feel heavy rather than bright.
  • Don't skip the cooling time for the chicken; warm chicken will start cooking the tomatoes and make everything lose its crisp texture.
  • The dressing is forgiving, but fresh lemon juice is not negotiable—bottled versions taste flat and defeat the whole point of this salad's liveliness.
03 -
  • Shred the chicken while it's still slightly warm—it comes apart more easily and absorbs the dressing better than completely cold chicken.
  • If your tomatoes are particularly watery, halve them and let them drain in a colander for a few minutes before adding them to the salad so you don't end up with a soupy result.
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