This Chicken Taco Salad is a flavorful salad that combines the freshness of an easy salad, with the flavors of Mexican cuisine. It’s perfect for a quick lunch, or light dinner and is a great nutritious salad that is loaded with seasoned chicken, vegetables, and the best delicious dressing.
This chicken taco salad is such a tasty salad that comes together in less than 30 minutes. It’s a great healthy meal option that is perfect for meal prepping, or for feeding the whole family.
Why make this Salad
- Great Healthy Option – This salad is a nutritious option for lunch or dinner, that is loaded with chicken for protein, and lots of vegetables, like peppers, onion, tomato, and avocado.
- Quick and Easy Dinner – Easy to make, it comes together in less than 30 minutes for a great option for dinner on any busy day!
- The Best Dressing – This salad is topped with the best tangy cilantro lime vinaigrette. It’s a little sweet, fresh, and so full of flavor. You’ll want to add it to all your salads.
Ingredients Needed
This is a quick overview of the ingredients you’ll need for this Chicken Taco Salad Recipe. Specific measurements and full recipe instructions are in the printable recipe card below.
- chicken breast
- chili powder, cumin, and paprika – a delicious flavor mixture to season the chicken
- salt
- olive oil – for cooking the chicken and veggies
- yellow onion
- mini sweet peppers or bell peppers
- lettuce
- tomato
- black beans
- corn
- cheddar cheese
- avocado
- tortilla chips
For the Salad Dressing
- cilantro
- olive oil
- lime juice
- white vinegar
- honey
- minced garlic
- salt and pepper
How to make Chicken Taco Salad
Step 1: Cook the chicken. Cut chicken into bite sized pieces. Sprinkle the chicken evenly in the seasoning mixture. Saute the chicken in the pan over medium heat until cooked through. Then set chicken aside.
Step 2: Prepare the vegetables. Slice and dice the vegetables as needed. Sauté the pepper slices, and onion in the pan where you cooked the chicken until it is tender.
Step 3: Make the salad dressing. Add all the ingredients to a food processor or blender and mix until combined.
Step 4: Assemble the salad. Add the lettuce followed by your choice of toppings into a big bowl and toss together. Or serve toppings in individual bowls and let everyone assemble their own salads. Serve with cilantro lime vinaigrette over the top.
Tips and Tricks:
- Use high Quality Ingredients – Use fresh, high-quality ingredients to give your salad the best flavor
- Customizable Toppings – Add your favorite additional toppings to your salad, or take off any you don’t like. Some other favorite toppings are jalapenos, olives, tortilla strips, or salsa.
Storage Instructions
All the salad ingredients, and dressing can be stored individually in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 3 or 4 days. This makes the salad a great make ahead option for meal prepped lunches all week, just assemble as much as you’ll eat each day and enjoy.
This salad is such a flavorful and healthy dinner option, that combines the crunch of salad, and bold flavors of tacos – perfect for dinner or lunch any day of the year that the whole family will love, or for prepping your lunches all week!
If you make this Chicken Taco Salad please leave a comment and 🌟 rating letting me know what you think! If you post the photo on Instagram, please tag me – I’d love to see what you’re making!
Chicken Taco Salad
Ingredients
For Cooking:
- 2 chicken breasts
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt (to taste)
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 2 TBS olive oil
- 1/2 large yellow onion (diced)
- 3 mini peppers (sliced)
For Salad Assembly:
- 4 cups lettuce (rinsed and chopped
- 2 roma tomatoes (diced)
- 1 cup black beans (drained, and rinsed)
- 1 cup canned corn (drained)
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 1 avocado (pitted, peeled, and diced)
- tortilla chips
- fresh cilantro
For the Cilantro Vinaigrette:
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro (diced)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 3 TBS fresh lime juice
- 2 TBS white vinegar
- 1 TBS honey
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
For the Chicken Taco Salad:
- Cut chicken into bite sized pieces. 2 chicken breasts
- Mix together the spices in a small bowl, sprinkle the spices all over the chicken. 2 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp paprika
- Add the olive oil to a saute pan, and heat it over medium heat. 2 TBS olive oil
- Cook and saute the chicken the pan, until cooked through.
- Remove the chicken from the pan, and set it aside.
- Add the diced onions and peppers to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes, or until tender. 1/2 large yellow onion, 3 mini peppers
For Salad Assembly:
- Assemble the salad. Add the lettuce, followed by remaining toppings onto one big serving bowl. Or place them in separate small bowls and let everyone assemble their own salads. 4 cups lettuce, 2 roma tomatoes, 1 cup black beans, 1 cup canned corn, 1 cup grated cheddar cheese, 1 avocado
- Serve with tortilla chips and your choice of dressing.
For Cilantro Vinaigrette:
- Add the ingredients to a food processor or blender and mix until combined.
- Enjoy over the salad.
Notes
- Use high Quality Ingredients – Use fresh, high-quality ingredients to give your salad the best flavor
- Customizable Toppings – Add your favorite additional toppings to your salad, or take off any you don’t like. Some other favorite toppings are jalapenos, olives, tortilla strips, or salsa.
Nutrition
This post was originally published August 28, 2011. The photos and blog text were updated for clarity on June 28, 2024.
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