Does your salad bowl need a little inspiration? If so, you are going to love this Santa Fe Chicken Salad. Nevermind the salad part… the dressing is out of this world!
If you made a resolution to eat healthier this year and want to make simple changes to your meals, adding a little variety to that plain iceberg salad wedge is a great start. Check out how easy this salad is to make in this quick video.
While I like salads, I am head over heels for the stuff that builds a masterpiece over that bed of (boring) lettuce. To top it off, a good homemade salad dressing will rock my world in more dishes than one.
Sometimes, I make this salad as part of our monthly salad bar to get my kids used to eating more veggies, other times, I make a big batch and pre-pack it for the week. I love this salad so much, I take it to the office all the time!
I sometimes build this chicken salad out of extra oven roasted chicken or grilled chicken from Taco Tuesday or when I make burrito bowls. Grilling extra chicken ensures that I have the base I need to create another healthy meal option.
Since my kids love taco night, I first got them used to the delicious dressing for this salad drizzled over their tacos. Sometimes, they build their salads without the lettuce, and you know what, that’s ok too!
On to this yummy salad. This Santa Fe Chicken Salad is not just taking your chicken taco night ingredients and calling it “salad.” In my humble opinion, the dressing is what makes the salad feel like you are eating out at a restaurant.
The best part about this dressing, it is healthy, fresh and adds the right amount of spice for you to forget you are eating a salad.
I’ll be sharing more delicious salad options in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I hope your family enjoys this Santa Fe Chicken Salad as much as mine.
Do you have a favorite salad or salad dressing?
Santa Fe Chicken Salad
- Yield: 6–8 1x
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil, for cooking
- 2 teaspoons taco seasoning
- 1 pound chicken breasts
- Two heads green lettuce, chopped
- 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup corn, thawed if using frozen
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 avocado, diced
- Jalapeño Ranch Dressing (see below)
Instructions
- Heat oil inside a large pan over medium-high heat. Season chicken breasts with taco seasoning and cook the first side for 6 minutes and flip, cooking the other side for another 5 minutes, until the internal temperature has reached 165F. Remove from pan and set aside.
- In a large bowl or serving platter, place chopped lettuce. Top with black beans and corn.
- Chop chicken breasts and distribute over salad. Top with cherry tomatoes, shredded cheese, and avocado.
- Drizzle with Jalapeño Ranch Dressing and serve.
Jalapeño Ranch Dressing
- Yield: approx. 2 cups
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/2 jalapeño, stemmed and seeded
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- In a blender or food processor, combine all ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate leftovers up to 1 week.