Save Your Lunch Money With This Copycat Cava Greek Salad Recipe

Lately, I’ve been craving one of my favorite salads from Cava. Although all of the salad chain’s recipes are delicious, this one is my go-to. It’s fresh and savory, with different Mediterranean flavors and textures, and packed with healthy, easy-to-find ingredients. Unfortunately, I am not currently near a Cava restaurant, so I created a recipe for my favorite Greek salad from Cava.

One of the wonderful things about this salad is that it is true to a classic Greek salad but adds other delicious flavors from the Mediterranean, such as tzatziki. An added bonus is that it also contains healthy, protein-packed additions such as grilled chicken. 

Cava’s Greek salad contains a fair amount of ingredients, but most you probably already have in your pantry or refrigerator. If you have leftover ingredients after making this recipe, many can easily be used to create other healthy dishes at home. For example, if you have extra yogurt, try using it as a marinade for chicken or as a base for salad dressings. Any remaining fresh herbs can be blended together with lemon, salt, pepper, and olive oil to make a delicious herb sauce, which can be used on vegetables, fish, or chicken. This recipe also has multiple steps that require marinating the vegetables and the chicken in advance, so you will need to plan ahead. Trust me, these steps are easy and worth the effort in the end.

Cava’s Greek salad is more than just a meal. It's a versatile canvas for creating highly nutritious dishes that can last you throughout the week. You can whip up various salad creations by shopping once and combining the ingredients in different ways. Or, if you’re like me, you’ll double the recipe and savor this delicious salad for days, saving you time and effort in the kitchen.

Copycat Cava Greek Salad

• Prep Time:1 hr
• Cook Time:30 mins
• Total Time:1 hr 30 mins
• Servings:1
• Easy

Ingredients

• 1 boneless chicken breast
• Olive oil - divided into 3 tbsp and 1/2 cup
• 2 lemons - juiced and divided
• Zest 1 lemon - optional
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• Chopped fresh basil - divided into 2 tbsp and 1 tsp
• 1 tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup cucumber
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 cup Greek yogurt - one 140-gram container
• 1 tbsp fresh chopped dill
• 1/4 tbsp water
• 15-ounce can lentils - drained
• 2 cups lettuce from a bag mixed greens preferably containing arugula
• 1 scoop store-bought Greek tzatziki and/or hummus-optional
• 1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta
• Salt and pepper to taste

• Step 1

  Preheat the oven to 375 F. Place the chicken in an oven-safe dish and cover it with the garlic, 2 tbsp basil, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Refrigerate it for 30 minutes.

  

• Step 2

  Cut the cucumbers into bite-sized pieces and cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Place them into a bowl with the red wine vinegar, 3 tbsp olive oil, tomato, and 1 tsp basil. Let them sit for 30 minutes.

  

• Step 3

  Mix the yogurt, zest, juice from 1 lemon, dill, salt, pepper, and water for the yogurt dill dressing if using. Mix the red wine vinegar, juice from 1 lemon, salt, pepper, and 1/2 cup olive oil for the vinaigrette and pour half of it over the lentils. Reserve the remaining half of the vinaigrette for the salad.

  

• Step 4

  Place the chicken in the oven and roast for 20 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165 F. Let it rest for five minutes, and then slice it into 4 to 5 pieces.

  

• Step 5

  Place the lentils in a bowl. Top the lentils with the greens, marinated tomatoes, and cucumbers. Drizzle the remaining vinaigrette over the greens. Add the feta and kalamata olives. Place the chicken slices on top. Dress with the vinaigrette and/or yogurt dressing.