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Sometimes known as the San Francisco salad, this copycat recipe for Souvla’s Chicken Ranch Salad with “granch dressing” is flavor packed, fresh, and addictively good.
The Souvla Chicken Salad has a special place in my heart. I actually had this salad on my VERY first day I officially moved to San Francisco (after I had a total mishap of locking myself out of my apartment). Ever since then, I’ve been obsessed with their salads AND their greek yogurt. This at-home-version of their Chicken Salad with granch dressing is for those of you who are craving these flavors, but may not be able to get them where you live.
The restaurant, Souvla, was opened by Charles Bililies back in 2014. He studied under Thomas Keller and the Michael Mina group for years before venturing on his own to start this fast casual restaurant known for its delicious salads and wraps. I’ve always considered Souvla the approachable, casual fine dining restaurant in SF – you don’t need to make a reservation weeks in advance, the food is pretty affordable, and the quality is top notch.
What makes it fine dining-esc? Simply put, in addition to sourcing high quality and local ingredients, most everything they serve is probably made from scratch (think – no premade sauces, frozen meats, canned vegetables, etc). There are also unique ingredients like pea shoots, fennel, and Mizithra cheese that make up their core menu. There’s so much more to fine dining than what I’m listing out here, but some of these practices make Souvla a favorite spot for locals – myself included!
If you’re ever in San Francisco, I highly recommend grabbing one of their salads as well as their greek frozen yogurt with baklava – take this to a nearby park (most of their locations are close to a park!), and enjoy 🙂
FAQ – Souvla Chicken Ranch Salad (at home version)
I don’t buy rotisserie chicken very frequently, but of the places I’ve tried, I have found Sprouts and Safeway to have pretty reliable rotisserie chicken. To keep the chicken juicy, I like to buy the chicken fresh the same day you’re using it, shred the chicken, pour any juices into the meat, then if needed, toss with touch of olive oil, kosher salt, and black pepper.
Whole Foods rotisserie chicken it too dry imo, and Costco rotisserie chicken tastes and feels a bit too fake / processed.
Absolutely! The most important element to storing this for several days is to keep the ingredients separate. Keep the dressing separate, as well as the vegetables, pickles, and chicken. The reason for this is to maintain the freshness of the crunchy vegetables – combining the fresh vegetables with other prepared ingredients (like either the chicken or the dressing) will draw out the moisture and cause the vegetables to become soggy. Properly stored, the ingredients should stay fresh in airtight containers for up to 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
Ricotta salata is ricotta cheese that is slightly aged and salted. It has a nice crumbly texture, similar to feta, but is less tangy and more creamy. If you can’t find ricotta salata, I recommend substituting mizithra cheese, or a goat’s milk feta or any aged, greek style goat and cow’s milk cheese.
Step by Step Instructions:
1. Shred the rotisserie chicken. Taste a piece, adjust with a touch of olive oil, salt, and pepper if it’s a bit dry, and set aside.
2. Make the quick pickled red onions if you do not already have some. Thinly slice ½ a red onion and add this to a bowl with ¼ cup of white wine vinegar.
3. Prep the remaining vegetables – segment the navel oranges, chop the kale and romaine, and mandolin the fennel.
4. Make the granch dressing – combine the yogurt, chopped herbs, seasonings, lemon juice, milk, mayo, and garlic and mix together. Taste, adjust seasoning, and set aside.
5. Assemble everything together. Toss with the dressing, and serve.
VIDEO TUTORIAL: Souvla Chicken Ranch Salad
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Souvla Chicken Ranch Salad (at home version)
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Sometimes known as the San Francisco salad, this copycat recipe for Souvla’s Chicken Ranch Salad with “granch dressing” is flavor packed, fresh, and addictively good.
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 rotisserie chicken, or 4 chicken legs
- 1 head of romaine lettuce
- 4 cups of shredded lacinato kale
- 2 oranges, segmented
- 1/2 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
- 1 cup of pea shoots (optional)
- Kosher salt (to taste)
- 1/2 cup Ricotta salata (can substitute feta or mizirtha cheese if you can’t find this)
- 1/2 red onion
- 1/4 cup of white wine vinegar
For the Granch dressing:
- 1 cup of whole fat greek yogurt, preferably full fat
- 2 tablespoons chives
- 2 tablespoons dill
- 2 tablespoons of parsley
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons mayo
- Black pepper
- 2 tablespoons milk or buttermilk
Instructions
- Shred the rotisserie chicken. Taste a piece, adjust with a touch of olive oil, salt, and pepper if it’s a bit dry, and set aside.
- Make the quick pickled red onions if you do not already have some. Thinly slice ½ a red onion and add this to a bowl with ¼ cup of white wine vinegar.
- Prep the remaining vegetables – segment the navel oranges, chop the kale and romaine, and mandolin the fennel.
- Make the granch dressing – combine the yogurt, chopped herbs, seasonings, lemon juice, mayo, milk, and garlic and mix together. Taste, adjust seasoning, and set aside.
- Assemble everything together. Toss with the dressing, and serve.
Equipment
Notes
If you prefer not to use a rotisserie chicken – you can use chicken legs (thigh + drumstick). A bone-in whole chicken also works, but this may require more prep time and planning. To prepare the bone-in chicken, salt heavily and roast at 375F for 35-50 minutes.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: No Cook
- Cuisine: American
Ingredient Cost Breakdown:
~$25 for all enough ingredients to make 4-6 servings of this salad – you will have plenty of leftover herbs, so it would be a great week to also make a big batch of green goddess dressing (you can sub the basil and cilantro with the chives, parsley, and dill!) 😀
For the Salad
- 1 rotisserie chicken – $8.99
- 1 head of romaine lettuce – $1.99
- 1 bunch lacinato kale – $1.99
- 2 oranges, segmented – $1.50
- ½ fennel bulb, thinly sliced – $.98
- ½ cup Ricotta salata (can substitute feta if you can’t find this) – $3.50
- ½ red onion – $.30
- 1 cup of pea shoots (optional) – n/a
For the Granch dressing:
- 1 cup of whole fat greek yogurt – $1.25
- 2 tablespoons chives – $1.99
- 2 tablespoons dill – $1.99
- 2 tablespoons of parsley – $.50
Kosher salt, pepper, milk, garlic, white wine vinegar – $.50
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