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Taco Chicken Salad – Bursting with tender, juicy chicken, this healthy chicken salad is the perfect switch up from your classic chicken salad recipe. Delicious taco flavors find they way into this gluten-free and paleo-friendly salad that can easily adapt for meal prep. Out of this world delicious!
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Ingredients list for the chicken taco salad
Chicken
- 2 medium chicken breasts, skin off
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning (here’s to make your own taco seasoning mix)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Cilantro Sauce
- 1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro
- 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt (or sour cream, or mayo)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 jalapeno, optional
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- Juice of 1/2 lime
- Pinch of salt and pepper
Salad:
- 2 heads of Romaine lettuce, trimmed, rinsed and roughly chopped
- 1 avocado, diced
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 1/4 cup red onion, diced
- Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
Directions
Chicken:
1. Add the chicken, garlic, olive oil, and taco spices in a large bowl or ziplock bag. Place chicken in the fridge and let marinate for at least 15-30 minutes or up to 24 hours.
2. Drain chicken from marinade and discard marinade. Bring to room temperature for 10 minutes, then place chicken on a grill or pan heated to medium-low heat. Cook until chicken is no longer pink in the inside, about 9-10 minutes per side – or until it has reached an internal temperature of 165ºF (74ºC).
3. Allow the grilled chicken to rest for a couple of minutes, then cut into cubes.
Cilantro sauce:
1. Combine cilantro, Greek yogurt, olive oil, jalapeño, garlic, lime juice, salt, and pepper in a blender or food processor and pulse until smooth. Transfer to a glass jar or a bowl and keep refrigerated until serving.
Salad:
1. When ready to serve, in a large salad bowl, combine chopped romaine lettuce, avocado, tomatoes, red onion, and cooked chicken. Drizzle with the cilantro sauce and toss well to combine. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve the taco chicken salad immediately. Enjoy!
Tips for making the taco chicken salad
- You can slice chicken breasts horizontally so they cook faster. You can also use chicken tenders if you like; in this case, there’s no need to slice chicken before grilling.
- Try these add-ins that go well with this salad: cucumber, corn, black olives…
- To keep the avocado slices from turning brown, brush the avocado in either lemon juice or lime juice. It will act as an antioxidant and keep the avocado from turning brown too quickly.
- The cilantro sauce can be stored in the fridge in a sealed container for a couple of days. make a big batch if you like, you’ll have some in advance for your other salad recipes!
- Being a cold chicken salad makes this recipe perfect for summer, picnics or potlucks. You can make it up to a day in advance, leaving the avocado until you are ready to serve the chicken salad to keep the ingredients as fresh as possible.
How to grill chicken
Make sure to grill chicken or pan-sear on medium-low heat, so chicken breasts don’t burn while undercooked in the inside. When out of fresh chicken, we like to use a bag of frozen grilled organic chicken breasts that we heat up in a skillet and use for the salad.
What to serve with the taco chicken salad
This easy chicken salad is delicious as is, but you can also serve it over a bed of rice or tortilla chips to make a full meal. We are pretty sure you could use it to fill burritos or tacos too! Oh, wait we did it already here with these delicious chicken lettuce wraps!
More chicken salad recipes
- Healthy Avocado Chicken Salad
- Healthy Spinach Chicken Salad with Cauliflower
- Healthy Chicken Pasta Salad with Pesto, Avocado, and Tomato
- Roasted Chicken Parmesan Kale Salad
Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com
