Inspired by Souvla restaurant in San Francisco, this San Fran Chicken Salad with Yoghurt Ranch Dressing is one of the best chicken salads I’ve ever had! Loaded with a tons of great veggies and textures: kale, lettuce, fennel, quick pickled onion, chicken, grapefruit or orange, then finished with parmesan and a beautiful dressing that does double duty as the chicken marinade.
Souvla restaurant in San Francisco has a cult following. Regularly hailed as one of the “best places to eat in San Francisco”, my friend Kelly from A Side of Sweet took me there when I was in San Fran just over a week ago.
Kelly is a San Fran based blogger who also happens to be an ER doctor. “How the heck do you manage to blog and work 20 hours shifts several times a week??!!!” I asked more than once.
And she shrugs, brushing it off as no big deal. “Hard work is all I’ve ever known”, she says. “Besides, I love blogging. And food. It’s what I do when I have time off. Eat. Cook. Blog. Sleep. Then go to the hospital and work all night.” (And save lives.)
I admire her greatly. 🙂 And you’ll be hearing more about her later because this San Fran Chicken Salad ain’t the only recipe I’ll be sharing from my time in San Francisco!
I kid you not when I say this is one of the best chicken salads I have ever had.
It started off as a copy cat of the very popular Chicken Salad at Souvla. I did my usual research before starting a new recipe, discovered it was made using spit roasted chicken (no spit in my yard), with a “Granch” dressing (Greek ranch dressing) that called for powdered buttermilk – which I can’t find here in Australia.
So basically, I threw out the rule book. Scrolled back through my iPhone photos. Recalled how it tasted. And made up my own version. Which means – much of it is made with pantry staples (fresh produce aside).
Yes, there are more components to this salad than my usual meal-salads. And I promise it is worth it. It starts off with a “double duty” ranch flavoured yoghurt mixture that is used as both the dressing and marinating the chicken. If you’ve tried my Greek Chicken Gyros or Butter Chicken, you know yoghurt is a fabulous marinade for both tenderising and infusing flavours.
This Yoghurt Ranch Dressing is terrific. I tried it with both fresh and dried herbs, and preferred dried because it provides a slightly earthier, smoother flavour which is my recollection of the salad at Souvla. You can use a mix of fresh and dried if you prefer.
One of the fabulous things about the Souvla salad were the fresh pops of orange. Here, I opted for grapefruit which I found works just as well, so go with your personal preference.
Yes, segmenting takes longer than just chopping it into slices. But if you’re going to make this salad, it’s worth making the effort and if you have a sharp knife, it’s no big deal. (Watch the video below the recipe).
Oh – also, I thin the yoghurt to make it a dressing consistency by using the juices left in the membrane – and there’s plenty!
The salad also has kale in it. Now, regular readers know that kale doesn’t make a regular appearance around here. Not because I dislike it, it is just that I refuse to pay premium prices for it just because it’s become so trendy. So I only buy it when it’s good value – which, thankfully, it was when I was making this salad.
NEAT TRICK FOR PREPPING KALE: Kale leaves are thick and tough, so unless you slice it finely, it isn’t very nice raw / plain. But for this salad, I wanted to keep the kale relatively fresh with it’s trademark soft “crunch”, so I decided to prep it by using what I call a quick marinade. Just drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt, then massage it into the leaves. Leave it for 30 minutes – 1 hour, and it will soften enough to eat raw, plus it’s now flavoured. YUM.
Plus shaved fennel + lettuce + simple pickled onion…..
……+ parmesan + snow pea sprouts (I warned you, there are a lot of components in this!) = San Fran Chicken Salad a.k.a one of the best salads I have ever made. It has a great mix of textures, the kale adds meatiness, the chicken is so juicy and fragrant from the yoghurt marinade (spit fire roasted chicken?? Who needs that!), the little pops of juicy grapefruit, the bits of sour from the onion, and that Yoghurt Ranch Dressing that I’m so addicted to now, I’ve been using it to dip veggies into all week…
This is one ripper of a Chicken Salad.
It doesn’t quality for my Dinner Tonight collection. 😉
But when you have the time, boy is this worth making. – Nagi xx
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San Fran Chicken Salad with Yoghurt Ranch Dressing
Ingredients
Yoghurt Ranch Dressing:
- 1 cup Greek yoghurt, preferably full fat
- 1/2 - 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 1/4 tsp EACH dried dill, parsley, chives, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, black pepper (Note 1)
- 1/2 tsp white sugar
- Squeeze of lemon juice, to taste
Chicken & Marinade:
- 200 - 250 g / 7 - 8 oz chicken breast, halved horizontally
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 - 1 tbsp oil, for cooking
Pickled Onion:
- 1/2 red onion, halved then finely sliced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 1/2 cup white wine vinegar, or cider vinegar
Marinated Kale:
- 3 cups kale, torn into bite size pieces (Note 2)
- 1 - 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- Pinch of salt
Salad:
- 1 grapefruit or orange
- 4 cups cos lettuce, romaine or other crispy lettuce, torn or cut into bite size pieces
- 1/2 fennel, shaved (0.5 mm / 1/5" thickness) or finely sliced
- Handful snow pea sprouts, optional
- 1/4 cup shredded parmesan
Instructions
- Mix the Yoghurt Ranch Dressing ingredients in a bowl. Adjust olive oil + lemon juice to taste.
- Chicken Marinade: Transfer 1/4 cup into a bowl with the chicken. Add lemon juice and garlic. Toss to coat, marinate for 1 hr - 24 hours.
- Place Pickled Onion ingredients in a bowl, toss to coat. Set aside for 1 hour+ or until onion is softened (if in a rush, make sure the onion is finely sliced = faster pickle).
- Place kale in a large bowl, drizzle with oil then sprinkle with salt. Use your fingers to massage the oil onto the leaves - you want to ensure every part of the kale is coated in oil. Set aside for 30 minutes or until kale is softened.
- Segment the grapefruit or orange - watch the video. Do this over a bowl to catch juices. Squeeze all remaining juice out of the membrane after segmenting.
- Pour juices into the Dressing. Mix - it should now be more of a Dressing consistency.
- Cook Chicken: Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Add chicken and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until nicely charred. Transfer onto plate, cover loosely with foil and rest for 3 minutes. Slice thinly.
- Assemble Salad: Add lettuce, fennel and chicken into the kale bowl. Spoon over most of the dressing to coat everything lightly, then toss well. Transfer into a serving bowl.
- Scatter over grapefruit, onion (not the liquid), top with a handful of snow pea sprouts, sprinkle over parmesan. Drizzle over remaining dressing to taste. Serve!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
San Fran Chicken Salad recipe video!
LIFE OF DOZER
That dirty thing in front of the armchair is “his” mat.
Lived in SF for 10 years and after moving out of state, I missed this Souvla salad SO much! This recipe was quite close to the original (without a rotisserie machine) and now I know how to make sectioned orange (that took me a while with a knife)…
This was amazing—one of those salads where every ingredient has a key role to play. And the dressing is healthy enough that you don’t feel bad being generous! Definitely going into the “make again” folder.
Nagi, one of my favourite salads of all time uses tinned mandarines. To save time, do you think these would be a good substitute?
Hi Caroline, they would work perfectly – a little more sweet but as long as they are in natural juice and not in syrup they should be fine! N x
I moved out of the states and missed souvla so much. Thanks for this recipe saved me!
Really yummy salad! I did have to cook my chicken quite a bit longer, but everything was really delicious together!
First, I love, love, love your recipes, and so does my husband’s belly! I always know a recipe from you is going to be delicious. Second, we love Souvla! One opened around the corner from us and it’s wonderful because their salads are delicious and healthy, and their wraps are a tasty treat. Thank you for this recipe!
You’re so welcome Rosie!
I love this recipe! well i love every recipe on this site. You’ve helped me fall in love with cooking! THANK YOU!
That’s so lovely to hear Sara ❤️
I order my buttermilk powder from http://www.iherb.com. actually, I order a LOT of food stuff from iHerb that I used to get in the US! If you’re strategic, you can even get free shipping to Australia (orders over $50 and less than 10 lbs … and any item with “shipping saver” lowers shipping cost). and no duties if less than $700
https://au.iherb.com/pr/now-foods-real-food-buttermilk-powder-14-oz-397-g/10522
Hi, I have bought powdered buttermilk from organic health food type shops in Townsville so it must be everywhere
Holy moly I think you just changed my life 😘
there are many coupons/promo codes you can use for few dollars/percentages off here and there as well. just google for them. first time ordering on their website or app gets you 10% off, etc …
customer service is really great. have to email, but once, ordered pea protein and it spilled all over the box during shipment … they refunded me a week later!
Thanks for the tip Amber!! 🙂 N xx
Hi Nagi,
YUM! This looks and appearance great! I can’t wait to try it! Love the concept of dressing of chicken salad. Thanks a lot for sharing again such a healthy recipe.
Thanks Aria!! 🙂 N xx
This sounds and looks terrific Nagi! I’ve used powdered buttermilk in many recipes and really like it. Perhaps you could find it on Amazon if you find a need for it again. Love this dressing you created. Pinning!
I’m so curious, what do you use it for? Do you keep it as a standby in place of buttermilk, or is it for recipes that call specifically for buttermilk powder??
I’ve used it in baked goods and even cream cheese icing. It adds that lovely zing without the liquid. People use it in pancakes, waffles and anywhere else you would use buttermilk – like dressings! Happy weekend!
Nagi, have used kale once. Can’t remember what it was like. To tenderize it a little could you blanch it and put it into an ice bath or cold water (saves on ice). Don’t know how crunchy it would be. Maybe one or several of your followers could enlighten us if you aren’t too sure. I love salads with heaps in it but those around me (grown up kids) not interested. They just like lettuce, toms and cuc’s. It’s healthy but no sense of adventure. Ya doin’ good babes, keep it up. Regards frank
Hi Frankie! Yep you could do that as well 🙂 This oil rubbing method tenderises it as well, but keeps the texture. N xx
THEY’RE NOT YOUR BABY HANDS!
NO THEY ARE NOT! 😂 I have a helper who comes in sometimes, it has transformed my life. It is really hard trying to video myself!
Am making this for sure! And I mean summer or winter [Agreed! Which winter do we have ?] But you have made me feel OLD !! In ‘my day’ [dates unspecified naturally!] we called it ‘Frisco’ or ‘SF’ and ‘San Fran’ is far, far too ‘hip’ for me!! Dozer: I sense a compromise – he gets on the sofa but has to lie on fresh sheets . . . seems to be happy enough 🙂 !!
BA HA HA! You are way to funny Eha!! PS You got it. No sheets, NO COUCH! 😂
Thank you Nagy . I have invented chicken salad 20 y ago, true, ‘caus White/ breast meat was always left over and in summer we live on salads. So started with few things and slowly it has progress into some serious stuff. The way you do kale I’ve do the same with Finley shredded cabbage. Love that you use youghurt am doing the same. In summer am having my own yoghurt. Also try sometime put grated Granny Smith Apple , fantastic crunch and tange of Apple . Am having home grown grapefruit but not pink one, that’ll do for now. Oh yes just remembered when it’s REALY, REALY HOT WOULD THROW HANDFULL OF BABY PICKLE CUCUMBER, LOVE IT! Also love the photo of Dozer, so calm and peaceful….says who,, ha, haa.Ciao!
Oooh YES to apple in salads! I LOVE apple in salads 🙂 What’s your favourite? Never thought to do that with cabbage, thanks for the tip! I will give it a go! N xx
Well, I wouldn’t want to sleep on a dirty mat, either. He enjoys napping on fresh sheets!! Your salad looks and sounds amazing. Now, I’m one who doesn’t care how long it takes to prepare if it tastes good. I am pinning and making sure I have all the ingredients!! xoxo
Ha! He’s a spoilt brat! 😂
Hi Nagi. During the summer we quite often eat salads for dinner, in fact we had a Caesar salad for dinner last night! I really like all the textural things you’ve got going on here. I just won’t tell G it’s got yogurt in it and hope that he doesn’t realize it does (he hates yogurt).
He hates YOGHURT??? *She shouts!* Even yoghurt CAKE????!!!
I do use it in some baked goods, but I don’t let him see the yogurt container! Sometimes you just have to be sneaky.
No native San Franciscan calls it San Fran, or even worse, Frisco…
Hence – a name from a tourist! 😂
Delicious….Can’t wait to try it…:)
Still memorizing your NYC food map! (Kidding) I do know how to read a map and you did such a marvelous job…thanks
I hope you do try it Lyn! I know it requires more effort than most – but boy is it worth it. 🙂 So pleased you are enjoying the map! N x
Impressive salad, Nagi! It’s a work of art! Can’t wait to try it. Dozer looks very content and happy to be home. You are amazing, continuing to post on your regular schedule even while thousands of miles away on vacation. Hope your trip was as wonderful as it sounds.
I’m back! I’m home I’m home! N xx
Yippeeee! I’ve eaten Souvla’s chicken salad many times. Thank you for taking this one on Nagi! I’m excited to try it. BTW for GF people Souvla’s salad and fries are GF.
WHOOT! Hope you try this (EASIER!) version!! 🙂 N xx