chicken taco salad

Hearty and delicious chicken taco salad loaded with taco seasoned ground chicken, juicy tomatoes, fresh corn, savory cheese and a wonderful cilantro vinaigrette. This protein-packed chicken taco salad recipe makes the perfect healthy lunch or side dish for your next BBQ!

Gaby’s Chicken Taco Salad

For the chicken:

olive oil

onion,

garlic, chopped

chicken

taco seasoning

For the salad:

baby romaine lettuce, thinly shredded

cherry tomatoes, halved

cheddar cheese (or sub cojita)

corn,

avocados, pitted, peeled and diced

scallions, sliced

cilantro leaves

onion

black beans,

For the cilantro vinaigrette*:

shallot, roughly chopped

cilantro leaves (stems removed)

garlic

red pepper flakes

red wine vinegar

kosher salt,

black pepper

To make the vinaigrette: add all ingredients for vinaigrette to a food processor and process until well combined.

To make the chicken: heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and sauté for 5 minutes, or until they are soft. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds more. Add the ground chicken and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, until fully cooked. Finally, add the taco seasoning and ¼ cup water, or as needed, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer the mixture for 5 minutes while you assemble the salad.

To make the salad: to assemble this salad in one large serving bowl, layer half of the lettuce on the bottom of the bowl followed by half of all of the other toppings. Add the second layer of lettuce on top and finish with the remaining toppings. Top with the cooked ground chicken and toss the salad together or drizzle salad with a few tablespoons of the vinaigrette. Add more vinaigrette as needed and serve immediately. Serves 4-6.

This simple slow cooker chicken taco salad is high in fiber and protein which means it's very satisfying – all for under 300 calories. Trust me, you won't miss the tortillas!

Easy Crock Pot Chicken and Black Bean Taco Salad

16 oz total skinless, boneless chicken breasts

cumin

black beans (rinsed)

chunky salsa

romaine

reduced fat Mexican cheese blend

zesty avocado cilantro buttermilk dressing

Place the chicken in the slow cooker and season with taco seasoning and cumin.

Pour the beans over the chicken and top with salsa. Cover and cook on LOW for 4 hours, or until the chicken is tender and easily shreds with 2 forks.

Shred the chicken and combine with the beans and sauce, keep warm until ready to eat. Makes 3 1/2 cups.

To make the salad, place 1 1/2 cups lettuce on each plate, top with 3/4 cup chicken and bean mixture, 1 tbsp cheese and 2 tablespoons zesty avocado buttermilk dressing.

Creamy, crunchy, and fresh, this simple chicken taco salad has several layers of flavor, including a spicy salsa ranch dressing. Ready in under 30 minutes!

Easy Chicken Taco Salad Recipe with Salsa Ranch Dressing

chicken breasts,

½ tsp herbamere (or sea salt)

½ tsp chili powder

pepper

ranch dressing

salsa

head romaine lettuce, chopped

tortilla chips

grated cheese

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once it is warmed, add in the chicken strips. Coat the chicken in the oil by stirring it well. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and chili powder. Leave over medium heat, stirring until fully cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, stir ranch dressing and salsa together. Reserve 2-3 tablespoons for the greens.

Once the chicken is cooked pour the dressing/salsa combo over it, stir well and reduce to a low simmer for 5 more minutes. Give it a stir a few times.

Meanwhile, grate your cheese and toss the greens with the reserved dressing.

Build your plate starting with the greens, chips, chicken mixture, and lastly the cheese.

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/UUY77TcV.mp4

Step by step how to make chicken taco salad, an easy and healthy dinner recipe.

HOW TO MAKE Chicken Taco Salad Video

This healthy chicken taco salad is filled flavorful chicken breast, your favorite veggies and toppings, and a creamy Greek yogurt jalapeño ranch to tie it all together. This salad is so easy to make and completely customizable. It's perfect for a quick lunch or filling dinner that everyone will love!

Healthy Southwest Chicken Taco Salad

chicken breast

lime juice

paprika

oregano

onion powder

garlic powder

chili powder

plain whole milk Greek yogurt

jalapeño,

cilantro

dill

garlic,

salt and pepper,

romaine lettuce

corn

grape/cherry tomatoes

large ripe avocado, sliced

red onion

Cotija or feta cheese

Cilantro,

Make the chicken

Add the spices, lime juice, and olive oil to a large mixing bowl and whisk until well combined. Next, add the chicken breast and toss until well coated. Cover the bowl with and allow the chicken to marinate for at least twenty minutes.

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and then cook the chicken for 4-6 minutes per side until the internal temperature is 165.

Make the dressing

Add the jalapeño ranch dressing ingredients to a high-powered blender and blend until smooth and creamy.

Once the chicken and dressing is done, prepare your salads. Start with a base of romaine lettuce and then add the sliced chicken breast, black beans, corn, tomatoes, avocado, red onion, and crumbled cheese. Drizzle the jalapeño ranch dressing over everything and enjoy immediately!

I usually stray away from making chicken breasts because I always dry them out! This marinade made it easy to make the chicken for this salad juicy and full of flavor! Also love the jalapeño ranch dressing, it’s light and spicy in all the right ways. We made our salads with roasted corn, avocado and fresh pico. Then with the leftovers we made delicious tacos for lunch! Either way you spin it, the chicken and dressing are perfection.

I love taco salads, and this recipe did not disappoint! We added peppers, onions, cilantro, and avocado to ours. I love that this recipe is customizable to what I have in my fridge and I usually have most of these ingredients, making it an easy weeknight dinner. The jalapeno ranch was also amazing - I made a double batch and used the leftovers on fish tacos!

This salad dressing was bomb! The chicken was great but the salad dressing really made it.

Oh WOW, I would eat this for every meal. So delicious! I added grilled corn, pico, avocado, pickled onion and cotija cheese and it was incredible. Thanks for another amazing recipe, Ashlea!

This was so easy and SO good!! The chicken was so flavorful. My fiancée normal doesn’t put any dressing on salads and he couldn’t stop eating the jalapeño ranch dressing. This recipe will definitely be going into the weekly rotation.

Ashlea - your dressings are always so flavorful! Recipe came together so quickly, we added avocado, cotija and pickled onions and it was delicious!

I’ve been wanting to eat more salads at home and this is SO GOOD! The dressing is amazing and the chicken marinade is so good. Definitely putting this in my rotation!

This recipe is so yummy, fresh, easy to make, and perfect for summertime! I love that the dressing is made with Greek yogurt to make it healthier and to add a little more protein. Another great recipe I’ll be making again from ATHT, thank you Ashlea!

Love this! I made it using steak instead of chicken and it was delish!

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/wMAAhscU.mp4

This healthy southwest chicken taco salad is filled flavorful chicken breast, your favorite veggies and toppings, and a creamy Greek yogurt jalapeño ranch to tie it all together. This salad is so easy to make and completely customizable. It's perfect for a quick lunch or filling dinner that everyone will love!

Southwest Chicken Salad

🌮🥗🎉 Fast, EASY, fresh and fabulous! All your favorite taco flavors in one big kickin’ salad that everyone will LOVE! Juicy taco seasoned chicken, tomatoes, corn, black beans, shredded cheese, and more with homemade creamy lime cilantro dressing to top it all!

Loaded Chicken Taco Salad with Creamy Lime-Cilantro Dressing

chicken breasts

tomatoes tomatoes

black beans

avocado

cheese

mayonnaise (lite okay)

sour cream (lite okay, plain Greek yogurt may be substituted)

cilantro leaves (minced)

sugar

Cook

To a large skillet, add the olive oil, chicken, evenly sprinkle with 1 heaping tablespoon taco seasoning, and cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, flipping intermittently so all sides cook evenly. Cooking time will vary based on thickness of chicken breasts and sizes of pieces. Allow chicken to rest in pan off the heat while you assemble the salad.

Layer

To a large platter, add the lettuce, and evenly sprinkle with the tomatoes, corn, black beans, avocado, cheese, tortilla chips, and chicken; set aside.

Whisk

To a small bowl, add the mayo, sour cream, lime juice, 1 heaping tablespoon taco seasoning, and whisk to combine.

Thin

Add the cilantro and stir to incorporate. Add additional lime juice to thin out dressing if desired.

Drizzle

Taste dressing and depending on how much lime juice was used, add sugar to taste. Evenly drizzle dressing over salad.

Beautiful presentation.  Baked tortilla over a bowl, 200 degrees 10-15 minutes.  

Michael’s favorite dressing

Thank you. This was delicious. Only thing I did differently was add a little mild Taco Bell sauce to it. But I  loved it. Will definitely make it again.

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Top 5 chicken taco salad recipes from across the web

The most viewed chicken taco salad recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

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Gaby’s Chicken Taco Salad

Easy Crock Pot Chicken and Black Be...

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The most viewed chicken taco salad recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine