Welcome to the first recipe for the #AKSaladChallenge featuring this incredibly easy and healthy Southwest Chicken Salad. We’re SO freaking excited to celebrate all the veggies with you!
We wanted to start the salad challenge, to encourage you to enjoy more seasonal produce, get more veggies in, have fun meal prepping and nourish your body.
This southwest chicken salad is an absolute favorite recipe of mine. Every time I go to a Mexican restaurant, I’m always ordering some version of this salad with a side of chips and a marg and it never ceases to bore me. This one is packed with grilled chicken breast that’s rubbed with taco-inspired spices, plus you’ll enjoy fiber-packed black beans, sweet corn, jalapenos, cilantro, tomatoes and cucumber.
I think these beautiful photos kind of speak for themselves, don’t you?
THINGS TO NOTE:
+If you’re vegetarian, no worries! Simply swap chicken for 1 can of chickpeas or add tofu.
+I’ve also included instructions on how to bake your chicken instead of grill it in the notes section below.
I hope you love this simple, easy southwest chicken salad recipe. Layer the salad up in large mason jars or throw it in meal prep containers for an on the go lunch or dinner. ENJOY! xo.
**Please note, we’re aware of a current recall of romaine lettuce in the U.S. Please feel free to use spinach in place of romaine in this recipe, and read more about the recall here.
Want more salads like this one? Try these!
Balsamic Chicken Berry Quinoa Salad
Thai Chicken Quinoa Salad with Peanut Dressing
Southwest Chicken Salad with Chipotle Greek Yogurt Dressing
Ingredients
- For the chicken marinade:
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts*
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lime, juiced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- For the chipotle ranch dressing:
- 1/2 cup nonfat plain greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (or can sub apple cider vinegar)
- 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 3/4 teaspoon chipotle chili powder, or sub a few dashes of chipotle tabasco hot sauce
- 2 tablespoons water to thin dressing
- For the salad
- 2 roma tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 cup diced cucumber, from 1 medium cucumber
- 1/2 cup corn
- 1 cup black beans
- 1 jalapeno, sliced
- 1 avocado, diced
- 2-3 cups chopped romaine
Instructions
- Add chicken and marinade ingredients to a large ziploc bag. Marinate chicken for 20 minutes to 1 hour.
- While you are marinating your chicken, chop all your ingredients for your salads.
- Next, make your chipotle ranch dressing: Add all ingredients for the dressing to a small bowl and mix until well-combined.
- Once ready to cook chicken, preheat grill to medium high heat. Lightly oil the grate. Grill chicken breasts for 6-8 minutes per side, or until juices run clear and chicken is no longer pink. Once chicken has cooked, transfer to a cutting board and dice into bite sized pieces.
- Make the mason jar salads by dividing ingredients evenly between 4 (32-ounce) large mason jars in the following order: dressing, tomato, cucumber, corn, black beans, jalapeño, chicken breast, avocado, romaine.
- When ready to serve, pour contents from the mason jar onto a plate or into a bowl and enjoy! Makes 4 large mason jars.
Recipe Notes
To make vegetarian: sub 1 cup chickpeas or 1 package of extra firm tofu, cubed
To bake the chicken instead of grill: Bake chicken breasts on a greased baking sheet at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and juices run clear.
34 comments
Is there a dressing sub to make it vegan?
Sure, feel free to skip the ranch dressing and use a vegan-friendly dressing of choice. You can also use chickpeas instead of chicken.
A good/easy vegan ranch:
1 C vegan mayonnaise
1/8 C non-dairy milk
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 tbsp dill
1 tbsp parsley
1 tbsp chives
This Chipotle Ranch dressing sounds INCREDIBLE!!!
http://www.cupcakesandsunshine.com
It’s the BEST!!
What a fun challenge!! This is one of my favorite kinds of salad!
Mine too! That chipotle ranch is seriously amazing.
Another super yummy salad! Salads in a jar are so pretty and make it feel really special as a break from regular meal prep 🙂
I went for the vegan option and did the chickpeas. Sauteed in the spices as if it were chicken and the flavors were on point. For the dressing I used vegan yogurt and a spoon of Just Mayo…..it helped the texture. Added few slices of radish and green onion tops because I had them. Bombdiggity!
Delicious! I’m all about green onion 🙂 Glad you enjoyed!
This is so cute! And sounds delicious! A little spice makes a salad even better!
Agreed! Always like a little heat 🙂
Really nice
Perfect lunch!
This is so my kind of salad! Definitely putting this in the lunch rotation!
So good! Enjoy 🙂
Love, love, love your recipes. But I feel compelled to ask if you would consider not using plastic bags to marinate. I know they’re convenient but we are drowning in plastic and you have such a large audience and could perhaps inspire others to lose the single use plastics. I live on an island and the vast amount of plastic trash that washes up on our beaches is heartbreaking. Seabirds, turtles, and whales ingest bags and die from intestinal blockages. The more we eliminate plastic from our everyday lives, the better off our planet will be. Thanks
Hey Alison! Thank you so much for your note – I am 100% aligned with you here. Typically I just marinate my chicken in a bowl and stick it in the fridge, but know that people have baggies on-hand for easy storage. I will definitely do my best to educate on more environmentally-friendly options moving forward! Thank you again!
This is insanely good! I had a craving for veggies so I just had it for breakfast 🙂
I’m glad you like it!! Perfect for any meal of the day 😉
I cant find my recipe for the bonus salad, the one with egg, avocado, chickpeas and bbq sauce.
Can I get another copy?
Hi Emily! Email [email protected] and she can help you out 🙂
How long can these be stored in the refrigerator and retain the freshness?
They should be fine for about 3-4 days in the fridge!
Just curious as to how big the jars are?
I use 32-ounce mason jars!
Unique Monique!
Your recipes are fabulous… they look delicious and nutritious! So grateful to have discovered you and your site today. The videos are very well done.Thank you!
Welcome to AK! So happy you found the site 🙂 Hope you find recipes you love!
I was wondering if i can marinate the chicken in ziplock bags and then freeze the bag,?
Yes, absolutely!
This made a great, tasty work lunch. In particular, I enjoyed the salad dressing – healthy, tasty, easy, and with a nice kick from the chipotle.
Such a great lunch! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Excellent salad and easy to make. I decided to cook the chicken in an air fryer. My teenage kids loved it as well 😁
Perfect! So happy to hear that!
I love jar salads and this one is my absolute favorite. It comes together super fast and it makes enough for 4 nights (2 if I share with my husband.) They are just spicy enough and super filling. A must-make salad!