Mexican Grilled Chicken Salad with Creamy Honey Lime Dressing
This Mexican Grilled Chicken Salad is one of the best Mexican inspired food recipes to serve this summer. The juicy grilled chicken blends well with the creamy honey lime dressing and the greens and veggies make a great salad for lunch, dinner, or a snack. In fact, it is the perfect meal for any time of day, and you can have it on the table ready to eat in no time.
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This Mexican Chicken Salad with Creamy Honey Lime Dressing is one of the best Mexican inspired food recipes to serve this summer. The juicy grilled chicken blends well with the creamy honey lime dressing and the greens and veggies make a great salad for lunch, dinner, or a snack. In fact, it is the perfect meal for any time of day, and you can have it on the table ready to eat in no time.
Why I love this recipe for Mexican Chicken Salad with Creamy Honey Lime Dressing
This tasty chicken salad is filled with all the good stuff like cherry tomatoes, black beans, and corn right from the can so there is very little prep time. Add grilled chicken to everything and you have a delicious and healthy mexican inspired meal unlike any of the other chicken salads you have ever had. If you like Mexican inspired dishes, you’ll also love this pasta salad.
RELATED: Vegetarian Mexican Inspired Pasta Salad
Ingredients for this Mexican Chicken salad
To make this Mexican inspired grilled chicken salad recipe, you will need these basic ingredients.
For the Chicken Marinade you’ll need:
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts: About six ounces each.
- Olive oil: Divided.
- Cloves garlic: Minced.
- Lime zest
- Lime juice
- Ground cumin
- Smoked paprika
- Kosher salt: To taste.
- Black pepper: To taste.
For the Creamy Honey lime dressing you’ll need:
- Lime juice
- Honey
- Olive oil
- Greek yogurt
- Fresh cilantro
- Dried oregano
- Kosher salt: To taste.
- Black pepper: To taste.
For the Salad bowl you’ll need:
- Romaine lettuce: Chopped.
- Cherry tomatoes: Quartered.
- Can black beans: Rinsed and drained
- Can corn: Rinsed and drained.
- Medium red onion: Thinly sliced.
- Chopped fresh cilantro
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Salad making essentials
ALLIGATOR CHOPPER
Cheese grater
SALAD SPINNER
LEMON SQUEEZER
ELEGANT SALAD BOWL
MASON JARS
How to make Mexican Grilled Chicken Salad from scratch, you can do it!
This delicious Mexican dinner salad comes together quickly in 5 easy steps:
Make the marinade: First, add the marinade ingredients to a medium bowl and mix well. Then add the chicken and toss to coat. Cover and chill for 30 minutes to marinate. Then slice chicken into strips.
Cook the chicken: Next, preheat the grill to medium heat before adding chicken. Cook for five to six minutes on each side until they are golden brown. The internal temperature should be 165 degrees F.
Rest and chop: Then, let the chicken sit for five minutes to rest before chopping it.
Make the dressing: While you wait, add all the dressing ingredients to a blender and mix until it is smooth and creamy.
Assemble and serve: Finally, add all the prepared vegetables to a large bowl and top with the grilled chicken. Drizzle the dressing on top and garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve immediately.
Make this Mexican Grilled Chicken Salad with Creamy Honey Lime Dressing, then check out my Vegetarian Mexican Inspired Pasta Salad, or my Healthy Southwest Chopped Salad, and more of my healthy salad dressing recipes.
TIPS AND FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Read on for tips, serving ideas, how to make this recipe, and how to avoid making it a disaster.
How to serve Mexican Chicken Salad
Serve this easy Mexican chicken salad as an appetizer, side dish, or the main entree. You can have it on the table within minutes and change it up however you like. Salads are so easy to modify to your own liking by adding or omitting ingredients. Adding extra meat or veggies, you can have a hearty meal for the whole family. You can try one of our fun serving suggestions or share one of your own below.
You can:
- Sprinkle cheese on the entire salad such as shredded tex mex cheese or shredded cheddar cheese
- Turn it into a Mexican chicken taco salad by adding chipotle powder, taco seasoning, or chili powder.
- Add other seasonings like onion or garlic powder.
- Toss a cup of tortilla strips in the salad for some extra crunch.
- Place a small bowl of croutons and fried onions to top your Mexican chicken salad.
- You can also add a bowl of salsa to the table for those who would rather use that.
- Top your delicious salad with sliced avocado and other veggies like bell peppers, celery, and carrots.
Recipe tips:
- If the weather is not cooperating, use a grill pan in the oven instead of grilling on the BBQ pit.
- I use chicken breasts because it is leaner, but you can use another cut of meat.
- Avocado oil can be used instead of olive oil.
- For less fat, use plain Greek yogurt.
- Although you need to rest your chicken for five minutes, do not let it sit out longer than that because it can spoil quickly.
- Be sure you do not overcook your chicken, if you do it will be rubbery and dry.
How to store leftover Mexican CHicken Salad
- Store: Salads do not keep very well once you add all the ingredients, especially the dressing. If you think you cannot finish it all, do not add the dressing to the salad, just add it to individual servings. Then pack it into an airtight container, like a mason jar, and it should stay fresh for several days in the fridge.
- Freeze: Freezing this salad is not recommended.
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Mexican Inspired Grilled Chicken Salad with Creamy Honey Lime Dressing Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- For the Chicken Marinade:
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 3 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Kosher salt and ground pepper to taste
For the Creamy Honey Lime dressing:
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2/3 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
For the Salad bowl:
- 4 cups romaine lettuce (chopped)
- 2 cup cherry tomatoes (quartered)
- 14 oz can black beans (rinsed and drained)
- 8 oz can corn (rinsed and drained)
- 1 medium red onion (thinly sliced)
- 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro (chopped)
EQUIPMENT
DIRECTIONS
- Add all the marinade ingredients to a medium bowl and stir to combine. Add the chicken and toss well to coat. Cover the bowl and let the chicken marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Heat a grill pan or an outside grill over medium-high heat. Grill the chicken for 5-6 minutes per side, or until golden brown and it reaches the internal temperature of 165 degrees F.
- Once cooked, set it aside on a cutting board and allow it to rest for 5 minutes, then chop it.
- In the meantime, in a blender add all the dressing ingredients and blend until smooth .
- To a large salad bowl, add all the salad ingredients and top with the grilled chicken.
- Drizzle with the prepared dressing and garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.
If you loved this salad, try my Vegetarian Mexican Pasta Salad recipe!
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Other summer salad recipes to try
- Summer Peach Salad with Fresh Mint Dressing – the perfect balance of sweet, salty, and fresh flavors! Featuring seasonal peaches, blueberries, avocado, red onions and blue cheese, this summer salad is perfect for a weeknight meal.
- Summertime Strawberry Feta and Mint Salad – Enjoy this summertime salad with your favourite BBQ protein, or add grilled chicken for a complete dinner salad.
- Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad – This delicious and easy Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad is packed with fresh summer vegetables like fresh seasonal corn, radishes, zucchini, heirloom tomatoes straight from the Farmer’s Market or even from your garden – it’s coated with a simple dressing, making a tasty side dish.
