Summer has officially started, which means we will be looking for any way to beat the Texas heat. A fresh, but hearty salad for dinner like this Chipotle Chicken Salad will do just the trick. It’s made with filling ingredients like avocado, bacon, and queso fresco, but is topped with a light vinaigrette that’s packed with flavor.

We start by marinating the chicken for about 15-20 minutes. You can definitely marinate the chicken the night before if you want to cut down on the prep time a bit, plus it adds more flavor. We didn’t plan that far ahead this week, so we went with a quick marinade!

While the chicken is marinating, you can prep the remaining ingredients. We used a combination of red leaf lettuce and arugula, but any greens would work with this salad. We also threw in a shallot because it’s what we had laying around, but red onion would work perfectly too. As for the bacon, we opted for a center-cut applewood smoked bacon. The center-cut is a bit meatier and less fatty, which is great for a salad. Lastly, we added some queso fresco, because it’s what we had on hand, but a pepper jack or goat cheese would just fine.

We originally planned to grill the chicken outside, but it’s already gotten SO hot that we decided to avoid the sun and grill indoors on our Le Creuset grill pan. It’s such a versatile pan and it’s cast iron, which means easy to clean! We got some great grill marks on our chicken breasts, sans breaking a sweat at the outdoor grill.

While the chicken is cooking, you can easily prep the dressing. This honey chipotle vinaigrette is sort of a copy cat recipe for Chipotle’s salad dressing. It’s the perfect combo of sweet, spicy, and smoky. We like to keep a couple cans of chipotles in adobo in the pantry for making dressings like this, but also for marinades and sauces. Just one chipotle packs a ton of flavor. The recipe makes about 1 cup of dressing, which is more than needed for the salad, but we like to have a little extra on hand.

Once the chicken is done cooking, all you have to do is arrange everything and toss with the dressing. It’s perfect for a quick, healthy, and satisfying weeknight dinner that everyone will love. Enjoy!

Chipotle Chicken Salad

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Servings: 2 people

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: American

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

Marinade for Chicken

• 2 Limes Juiced
• 1/4 cup Sweet and Sour Mix
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic Minced
• 3 tablespoons cilantro Chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper

For the Salad

• 2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
• 4 slices bacon
• 1 Avocado Diced or Sliced
• 1/2 cup Cherry Tomatoes Halved
• 1 Shallot Cut into thin strips
• 2 tablespoons Queso Fresco Crumbled
• 1/2 head Red Leaf Lettuce Roughly chopped
• 2 cups Arugula Roughly chopped

Honey Chipotle Vinaigrette

• 2 Chipotle Peppers in Adobo
• 1/2 cup Olive Oil or Grapeseed Oil
• 1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
• 4 tablespoons Honey
• 1 clove Garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon Oregano
• Salt & Pepper To Taste

Method

 

1. Add all ingredients for the marinade into a bowl. Add chicken breasts. Coat well, cover. Let marinate for at least 15-20 minutes.
2. Add all ingredients for the vinaigrette into blender. Blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Makes about 1 cup. Set aside.
3. Heat skillet over medium heat. Add 4 slices of bacon and sear until cooked. Set aside on paper towel to cool. Roughly chop once cooled.
4. Heat up grill pan or outdoor grill on medium to high heat. Add chicken breasts. Cook about 7 minutes on each side, or until cooked through.
5. Remove from pan and slice into strips.
6. Dress the lettuce with about 1/4 cup of the vinaigrette and toss to coat.
7. Add remaining ingredients - tomatoes, avocado, bacon, queso fresco, shallot, and chicken.
8. Top with drizzle of vinaigrette to taste.