Tex-Mex Chicken Chopped Salad
I love a good chopped salad, and this Tex-Mex Chicken Chopped Salad is a tasty version! It’s packed with just as many goodies as greens, just how I like my salads. It’s super versatile to add or leave out anything you want. I love it with chicken, but would be great with ground turkey or grilled steak too.
I use all iceberg lettuce in this salad, I just love the juicy crunch it has, perfect for taco salads. Then I add tomatoes, green chiles, black beans, corn, queso fresco, avocado, and crispy tortilla strips.
The Dressing
This dressing is another jazzed up ranch. Any ranch lover always has a bottle of their favorite on hand, am I right? Just grad your fav and add salsa, taco seasoning, and lime juice. So easy, and it even doubles as a really tasty chip or veggie dip!
This is a salad I don’t get sick of; I could eat it every week, in fact we have a version of Turkey Taco Salad almost every Tuesday! This is also a great picnic potluck salad to make for a crowd. I use cubed chicken cooked in a skillet, but a grilled chicken breast would be really great too. You could even grill up a thin steak and slice that up, yum!
Simple, fresh ingredients make for a super satisfying meal! I love having salads at least once a week. And I always say, if you’re going to go through the work to chop and prep salads, definitely prep some for lunches too while you have everything out. It’s a huge time saver the next day; you’ll have lunch ready to go in the fridge.
Hope you enjoy this Tex-Mex Chicken Chopped Salad, let me know in the comments below if you make it!
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Tex-Mex Chicken Chopped Salad
Chopped salad meets taco salad. Packed with tasty fixings in every bite!
Ingredients
For the dressing
- 1/2 cup ranch dressing
- 1/4 cup salsa
- 1 tsp taco seasoning
- 1 tsp lime juice
For the salad
- 1 lb chicken breasts or thighs cubed
- Drizzle olive oil
- 1 pkg taco seasoning divided
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 cups romaine or iceberg lettuce packed
- 1 cup tomatoes diced
- 7 oz can corn drained
- 4 oz can green chiles drained
- 15 oz can black beans rinsed & drained
- 3/4 cup crumbled queso fresco
- 1/2 cup onions diced
- 1 avocado sliced
- Tortilla strips or crushed tortilla chips
Instructions
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In a small bowl whisk together the dressing ingredients. Reserve the rest of the taco seasoning packet for the chicken. Refrigerate until ready to serve, can be made ahead of time.
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In a medium skillet over med-high heat, add cubed chicken and olive oil and brown for about 5-7 minutes or until almost cooked through. Stir in water and remaining taco seasoning packet. Add additional water if it gets too dry. Cook on medium-low for another 2 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove from heat and allow chicken to cool to room temperature to prevent from wilting the salad.
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In a large bowl, or 4 separate individual bowls build the salad. Add lettuce, tomatoes, corn, chiles, beans, queso fresco, chicken, and onions. Toss with desired amount of dressing. Top with sliced avocado and crispy tortilla strips.
Recipe Notes
This dressing doubles as a great chip dip!
You can use pre-cooked chicken like rotisserie or frozen chunks, and just re-heat over the skillet and add in the water and taco seasoning. Ground chicken, turkey, or beef would work too.
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