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Southwest Chicken Salad with Lime Vinaigrette!

A delicious complete meal salad for two. If you have time, I recommend brining the chicken in salt water for 30 minutes before cooking as this makes the most tender chicken breasts. But if you are in a hurry, you can skip it.

Course dinner, lunch
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword chicken salad, gluten free salad, Mexican salad
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 2 servings

Ingredients

Lime Vinaigrette

  • 3 tablespoons  extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon  honey
  • pinch of sea salt

The Salad:

  • 2 2 chicken cutlets or 1 chicken breast made into two cutlets (instructions below)
  • 1/2 a head of romaine lettuce, chopped
  • 1/2 cup  cherry tomatoes cut in half
  • 1/3 cup black beans
  • 1 Persian cucumber diced (Persian cukes are very small, no need to peel)
  • 1/3 cup roasted salted pepitas (pumpkin seeds
  • 1 cob of corn, corn shaved off cob
  • 1 1 /2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon  chili powder
  • 1/2  of a ripe avocado peeled and sliced
  • 6  sprigs cilantro (for garnish)
  • sea salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. NOTE: If you want your chicken breasts super moist and tender, brine them for 30 minutes first: see directions for making cutlets below, then pour water into a bowl and add 1/3 cup sea salt or kosher salt. Leave cutlets in water for thirty minutes, then pat dry and continue with directions below.

The Dressing:

  1. Make dressing by placing all ingredients in a small bowl and whisking until emulsified

How to Prepare Cutlets:

  1. Place chicken breast flat on a cutting board. Slice the breast in half (so it is half as thick as it was but just as wide and long) Place each half between two pieces of parchment paper and fold the edges of paper to prevent splattering. You can use plastic wrap as well but I just hate wasting plastic! Pound with a rolling pin until breast is about a 1/2 inch thick. Now you have two cutlets! Sprinkle both sides of chicken with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Making the Salad:

  1. Wash, dry and chop romaine, place on a platter and add tomatoes, cucumbers, pepitas and black beans, set aside

  2. Shave corn off cob using knife. Place a medium sized skillet on high heat, when skillet is hot add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Turn heat down to medium heat and add chicken cutlets to pan. Cook each side for 4 minutes, remove from pan and allow to rest. (Make sure it's cooked through, but don't over cook)

  3. Add a little more olive oil to pan if needed and add corn to pan, cook for 3-4 minutes, moving corn around with spatula frequently. Add chili powder and a little sea salt and stir corn some more, remove from heat.

  4. Peel and slice avocado. Add corn to salad platter, toss salad with dressing, plate. Slice chicken on the diagonal and place on top of each salad

  5. Add slices of avocado on top of chicken and garnish each salad with a few sprigs of cilantro, serve