This chipotle hen salad has juicy oven-grilled hen tossed with contemporary greens, juicy tomatoes, creamy avocado, candy corn, and cheese. All my favourite Southwestern fixings!
I really like a hearty salad with a kick, like my Southwest quinoa salad and this spicy chipotle hen salad. Customise this recipe along with your favourite do-it-yourself or store-bought dressing.
This chipotle hen salad is really easy to make with the juiciest oven-grilled hen. Slice up the hen, layer it on prime of a mattress of contemporary, bouncy greens, and sprinkle in a couple of corn kernels, slices of avocado, contemporary tomatoes, and cheese. Add a drizzle of dressing, and we’re performed! This may be dinner, this may be lunch, this may be your new favourite “grilled” hen salad. And also you don’t even must mild the grill.
What Makes This Chipotle Hen Salad So Good
- Oven-grilled hen. Sure, you may grill hen with no grill! I’ll present you the way with a grill pan. It’s a good way to sear the surface of the hen earlier than you pop it into the oven to complete cooking.
- Daring chipotle taste. You don’t must marinate the hen; only a fast toss in chipotle seasoning is all it takes to pack each chew stuffed with smoky, spicy Southwestern taste.
- Versatile. This chipotle hen salad recipe makes sufficient to comfortably serve 4 as a aspect salad, or you may take pleasure in it as a light-weight primary meal. It’s additionally a fantastic recipe to meal prep for tasty lunches all through the week.
Salad Elements
Under are my notes on the elements on this zesty chipotle hen salad. There aren’t a lot of them, however all of them work collectively to fill this simple salad with loads of Southwest taste. Scroll right down to the printable recipe card for the complete record, adopted by a step-by-step recipe overview afterward.
- Hen – Boneless, skinless hen breasts or thighs work finest on this salad recipe.
- Seasonings – We’ll season the hen in a mix of chipotle powder, cumin, and salt. You’ll be able to change up the person spices with fajita seasoning for an additional taste profile.
- Salad Greens – Any sort you’d like. Good selections are romaine lettuce, butter lettuce, spinach, kale, and arugula, or you should utilize a mixture of backyard greens.
- Avocado – Diced or sliced.
- Tomatoes – These might be cherry or grape tomatoes, cocktail tomatoes, or bigger varieties, like Roma tomatoes. Chop the tomatoes or slice them in half, relying on the dimensions.
- Cheddar Cheese – Shredded. You may additionally use a Mexican or Tex-Mex cheese mix or your favourite shredable cheese, like Colby Jack, Monterey Jack, or spicy Pepper Jack cheese.
Serving Ideas
By itself, this chipotle hen salad is a good primary meal salad for lunch or dinner. Or, you may serve it to share, as a aspect to quinoa stuffed peppers or a giant platter of pork carnitas or Mexican picadillo to tuck into tacos. Spherical out the meal with fluffy white rice or crunchy corn chips and salsa!
Meal Prep This Salad
You’ll be able to put together and grill the hen, chop the avocado and tomatoes, and shred the cheese for this salad recipe prematurely. Hold the whole lot saved in separate containers within the fridge with the intention to simply assemble your chipotle hen salad for fast, simple lunches.
One other enjoyable possibility is to prep in mason jars! To layer this hen salad in a jar, begin with the dressing on the backside, then add the corn kernels, hen, cheese, tomatoes, avocado, and at last, the greens. Jar salads are finest eaten the identical day.
Storing Leftovers
This salad turns into soggy the longer it sits within the dressing, so it’ll have one of the best texture and taste if you serve it straight away. Do your finest to retailer any leftover elements in separate containers within the fridge, they usually’ll final 2-3 days that approach.
You should use the leftover chipotle hen to make one other salad, or repurpose it into tacos or hen enchiladas!
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Prep. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
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Pound the hen. Pound hen breasts to an excellent thickness. Don’t pound them too skinny.
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Season the hen. In a big ziploc bag, mix chipotle powder, cumin, salt, pepper, and hen. Seal the bag and therapeutic massage the seasonings into the hen items utilizing your arms. Let stand 5 to twenty minutes.
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Grill. Grease a grill pan with cooking spray and set it over medium-high warmth. Add hen items and prepare dinner for 4 minutes; flip, and proceed to prepare dinner for two extra minutes, or till flippantly browned.
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Bake. Place the grill pan with the hen into the oven and bake for 18 to twenty minutes, or till the hen is cooked by way of. Take away from oven and let stand 5 minutes.
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Within the meantime, put together the salad. In a big salad bowl, toss collectively salad greens, corn kernels, diced avocados, and chopped tomatoes.
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Add the hen. Minimize up the hen and layer it on prime of the salad.
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Add dressing. Sprinkle with cheese, after which toss with creamy avocado dressing or your favourite do-it-yourself salad dressing. Serve.
Energy: 304kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 33g | Fats: 13g | Saturated Fats: 3g | Ldl cholesterol: 78mg | Sodium: 710mg | Potassium: 864mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 1230IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 141mg | Iron: 1.8mg
Dietary information is an estimate and supplied as courtesy. Values might differ in keeping with the elements and instruments used. Please use your most well-liked dietary calculator for extra detailed information.
Tips on how to Make Chipotle Hen Salad
Story time: My Macedonian mom cooks nearly solely with one skillet (for shakshuka) and one casserole dish (for moussaka). She couldn’t imagine how I “grilled” this chipotle hen within the oven utilizing my grill pan. Guess who bought the identical cast-iron grill pan for Mom’s Day?
When you have one, crack it out for this recipe. Six minutes on the stovetop, 20 minutes within the oven, and also you’re able to assemble this hen salad. Right here’s how one can make it:
- Prep. Whereas the oven preheats to 350ºF, pound the hen breasts to an excellent thickness. They shouldn’t be flattened, however related in thickness to hen paillard.
- Season the hen. Subsequent, seal the hen inside a big Ziploc bag with the chipotle powder, cumin, and salt. Utilizing your arms, therapeutic massage the seasoning into the hen.
- Grill. Subsequent, sear the hen on a greased grill pan over medium-high warmth. Prepare dinner for 4 minutes, flip, and prepare dinner the hen for an additional 2 minutes so it’s browned on either side. It’s nice that the hen isn’t absolutely cooked at this stage.
- Bake. Switch the grill pan with the hen to the oven and bake at 350ºF for 18-20 minutes. Afterward, relaxation the hen for five minutes when you put together the opposite elements.
- Within the meantime, put together the salad. Whereas the hen rests, add the salad greens, corn, avocado, and tomatoes to a big bowl. Whenever you’re able to serve, slice the hen and layer it over the salad. Sprinkle over the shredded cheese.
- Add dressing and serve. Select your dressing (see the Elements part earlier), and pour it over the salad. Toss and serve!
Do I Have to Use a Grill Pan?
You don’t have to make use of one for this recipe, although I positively suggest it. Grill pans are pans with ridges that go from the stovetop to the oven, they usually’re excellent for giving hen, beef, and seafood that charred-from-the-grill look and taste, with out the grill. In the event you don’t have one, nonetheless, you may comply with the steps above utilizing an oven-safe skillet as an alternative.
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