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A salad worthy of being served as a meal that leaves little behind in the bowl is what you’ll get with this epic Southwest Santa Fe Salad recipe.
Easy Santa Fe Salad
This Santa Fe chicken salad couldn't be easier, and let me tell you, it is packed with flavor you'll forget you're eating a healthy salad. And the 5-minute homemade dressing? It’s the bomb.com!
I also sometimes build this chicken salad out of extra oven-roasted chicken or grilled chicken from Taco Tuesday. Cooking extra chicken ensures that I have the base I need to create more healthy chicken dinners.
In the Summer months, I often make this salad as part of my weekly meal plan and it helps get my kids used to eating more veggies; other times, I make a big batch and pre-pack it as work lunches for the week. I love this salad so much that I take it to the office all the time!
Ingredients
While I like salads, I am head over heels for the stuff that builds a masterpiece over that bed of (boring) lettuce. For this Santa Fe chicken salad, you'll need a few basic things you may already have on hand:
- Chicken breasts: this recipe cooks the chicken from scratch, but you can also use cooked chicken leftovers.
- Taco seasoning: make the chicken super delicious!
- Olive oil: for cooking.
- Romaine lettuce: my favorite for this salad. Other lettuce or greens also work!
- Cherry tomatoes: fresh and juicy!
- Avocado: adds creaminess and extra nutrition.
- Canned corn: have frozen corn? Thaw it first and use it!
- Canned black beans: or other beans you like!
- Cotija cheese: tangy and crumbly! You can omit it or swap it for feta or goat cheese.
- Cumin vinaigrette: a delicious dressing for this salad! You’ll find the recipe below, or you can go and use another dressing you love.
How to Make a Santa Fe Salad with Chicken
I've been telling you how easy this Santa Fe chicken salad is to make, and now I'll prove it to you! Just four quick steps, and you're done!
- Make the dressing
Combine all the ingredients in a jar, shake, and refrigerate. - Cook the chicken
If you're cooking chicken like in the recipe instructions below, now is the time. Otherwise, you can chop or shred the leftover chicken you plan to use to top your salad. - Assemble the salad
In a large bowl, make a lettuce base, and layer the other ingredients. - Drizzle
The best part! Drizzle the vinaigrette all over the salad, and enjoy!
Cumin Vinaigrette
I'm a firm believer that the best salads come with homemade dressings, but don't worry! This cumin vinaigrette comes together in no time by placing all the ingredients in a jar and shaking.
The warm taste of cumin pairs great with garlic, fresh lime juice, a pinch of spice from the chili, and a little honey to balance the flavor. You’ll want to drizzle it over all your salads!
Add-Ons for Santa fe Salad
Whether you want to make your Southwest Santa Fe salad more crunchy, creamy, fresh, or spicy, you’ll find something epic in this add-ons ideas list:
- Tortilla strips
- Sliced jalapeño
- Black olives
- Cubed red bell pepper
- Pico de gallo
- Sour cream
- Avocado lime ranch dressing
What to Serve with Santa fe Chicken Salad
It’s 7 pm, and I have this epic salad for dinner. Do you know what completes this perfect picture? A skinny margarita! It’s refreshing, tasty, and low-carb! If you are from the spicy team, then add a little heat to the evening with a pineapple jalapeño margarita. Amazing!
If you also want to add something on the side, this salad goes great with roasted parsnips, baked garlic parmesan fries, or fluffy homemade popovers. Yummy!
Southwest Santa Fe Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs chicken breasts, about 2
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 heads romaine or 1 large, washed and chopped
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 avocado, diced
- 14 ounce can corn, drained and rinsed
- 14 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup cotija cheese, optional
- ½ cup cumin vinaigrette
For the vinaigrette:
- 1 large garlic clove grated, or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons honey
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup lime juice, about 4 large limes
Instructions
Prep:
- Make the vinaigrette by adding all the vinaigrette ingredients inside a mason jar or a dressing bottle. Shake well to combine and refrigerate for up to 7 days and ready to use.
Grill the chicken:
- Pat the chicken breasts dry with a paper towel and season them on both sides with the taco seasoning.
- Heat a cast iron skillet or large pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, pour the oil and distribute it around the hot surface. Place the chicken breasts on the pan and cook the first side for 7 minutes. Flip the chicken breasts over and cook for another 7 minutes on the other side, until the internal temperature reaches 165F. Cooking time on the second side will vary by the thickness of the chicken breast. Remove from the skillet or pan onto a board.
Build this dream salad:
- Assemble the salad in a large bowl by layering the chopped Romaine, topping it with cherry tomatoes, diced avocados, black beans, corn, and sliced chicken breasts. Sprinkle the cotija cheese over the top.
- Drizzle ½ cup salad dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Serve with lime wedges for an additional zest in life.
Janna says
Incredible santa fe salad!
Ellen says
This Santa Fe salad looks sooo yummy!! And I definitely NEED to try the jalapeño dressing