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Tahini Chicken Salad with Cucumber, Tomato, and Mint

Averie Sunshine

4.88 from 8 votes

Updated: May 09, 2026

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🍗🥗 This Tahini Chicken Salad Recipe is light, refreshing, nutritious, and ready in 20 minutes! Juicy chicken is coated in a flavorful tahini sauce and served over a bed of cucumber, tomato, and mint for an easy meal that’s SO tasty!

Light + Refreshing Tahini Chicken Salad

I first made a tahini dressing for my chickpea and kale glow bowl. However, it was so tasty that I found myself saving it to drizzle over everything, like this recipe!

Here are just a few reasons it has a nearly five-star review:

• An easy recipe, it’s ready in less than 20 minutes.
• With simple ingredients, this salad is naturally gluten-free and full of good-for-you ingredients.
• The sauce helps the chicken stay juicy and tender, meaning it’s never dry or tough.
• This is a great lunch option, or make it for a light yet satisfying dinner.

This is hands down one of the best dishes I have made in a while. I felt proud to serve it.

Nicci

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Tahini dressing: Combine tahini, lemon juice, honey (or maple syrup), apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, and water. I get my tahini at Trader Joe’s because it’s cost-effective and handy for me, but it can be found in the nut butter or international aisle of most grocery stores
• Fresh produce: Tomatoes (I prefer Roma, but any kind will work), cucumber, and mint form the bulk of the salad. I recommend using English cucumbers or Persian cucumbers, both of which have fewer seeds and thinner skins than other varieties
• Olive oil: This coats the salad, adding a rich, peppery taste
• Lemon juice: Freshly squeezed is best, adding a pop of bright, citrusy flavor that balances the nutty tahini dressing nicely
• Chicken: I prefer to use boneless, skinless chicken breast for this recipe, given that tahini and olive oil are high in fats. However, you can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs if preferred. Or, skip cooking the chicken, and use leftover poached chicken or grilled lemon chicken, warming it up before combining it with the dressing
• Brown rice: Feel free to substitute white rice, quinoa, or couscous. Or, use cauliflower rice for a low-carb option

Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.

How to Make This Tahini Chicken Salad Recipe

1. Prepare the dressing: Whisk all the tahini sauce ingredients in a medium mixing bowl, adding 1 tablespoon of water at a time to achieve your desired consistency. I always give the sauce a quick taste test, too, and adjust the ingredients as needed!
2. Assemble the salad: Add the cucumber, tomato, mint, oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to a large bowl, and toss to combine and coat.
3. Cook the chicken: Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and cook it in oil in a skillet, flipping occasionally. You’ll know your chicken is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165F.
4. Add the sauce: Reduce the heat to low, add part of the tahini sauce, and stir to coat the chicken before removing it from the skillet. Avoid letting the sauce sit in the pan, or it will become overly thick!
5. Serve: Add your cooked rice to bowls or plates, followed by the chicken and salad. Enjoy! If you have extra dressing, save it to use as a dip with veggies.

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4.88 from 8 votes

Tahini Chicken Salad with Cucumber, Tomato, and Mint

By Averie Sunshine

🍗🥗 Tahini Chicken Salad with Cucumber, Tomato, and Mint combines juicy chicken coated in a flavorful TAHINI sauce with a zesty MINT salad! EASY, ready in 20 minutes, HEALTHY, and so tasty!

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 7 minutes minutes

Total Time: 22 minutes minutes

Servings: 3 Servings

Equipment

• 2 Medium Bowls
• 1 large skillet

Ingredients 

Sauce

• ▢ ½ cup tahini
• ▢ 4 to 6 tablespoons lemon juice
• ▢ 3 to 4 tablespoons honey
• ▢ 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
• ▢ ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• ▢ about 3 to 6 tablespoons water, or as needed to thin to desired consistency

Salad 

• ▢ about 2 to 3 medium tomatoes, diced small
• ▢ about half of an English cucumber, diced small
• ▢ about 3 tablespoons fresh mint, torn or minced
• ▢ 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• ▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
• ▢ ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste

Chicken

• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ about 1.25 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
• ▢ salt and pepper, to taste
• ▢ about 2 cups cooked brown rice, or your favorite rice or grain; I use one 8.8-ounce bag precooked rice to save time

Instructions 

• Sauce – To a medium bowl, add all ingredients (add the water 1 tablespoon at a time), and whisk to combine. Taste sauce to check for seasoning balance; add more salt, pepper, lemon juice, honey, etc. if desired; set aside.
• Salad – To a medium bowl, add all ingredients, and toss to combine; set aside.
• Chicken – To a large skillet, add the olive oil, chicken, season with salt and pepper, and cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through; flip intermittently to ensure even cooking.
• Turn the heat to low, add about 1/3 cup sauce to the chicken, stir to coat, and remove the chicken from the skillet. Note – the sauce will have a tendency to turn overly thick so don’t continue cooking it, get the chicken out of the pan.
• To bowls or plates, evenly add the rice, top with the chicken, add the salad on the side, and serve immediately. You will have extra sauce which can be used for in these Chickpea and Kale Glow Bowls, over salads, or as a veggie dip.
• Adapted from Dreamy Tahini Dressing and Cooking Light

Notes

Storage: Once assembled, this tahini chicken salad is best served right away. However, the tahini dressing and chicken will keep fresh in separate airtight containers in the fridge for 4-5 days. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 733cal, Carbohydrates: 53g, Protein: 53g, Fat: 36g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 28g, Cholesterol: 120mg, Sodium: 999mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 21g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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