A Southwest Chipotle Chicken Salad with wonderful southwest flavors from chipotle rubbed chicken, black beans, corn and tortilla strips.
My wife’s favorite lunch out is Chicken Fiesta Salad at Grand Traverse Pie Company. And I must agree with her that it is a great salad. So, of course, it is copycat time.
So my first decision was not to try to recreate the dressing. There are several very nice southwest/chipotle dressing on the market, and it seemed similar but with a touch of heat. I would use one of them.
The chicken while moist had only a touch of taste. The meat needed a bit more taste and a little heat. See previous post Chipotle Dry Rub. A rub I will use over and over.
The rest was basic cooking for two. I used frozen corn and black beans so I wouldn’t have partial cans in the refrigerator. Use prepped greens in a 5 oz container. Just right for two servings. There is about 1 cup per oz of greens.
My Rating
A solid 5. I liked mine better. Much more taste in the chicken.
Notes: Like all salad recipes. Vary to your taste but this salad will fill you up at lunch, unlike others.
Start by making the dry rub in the previous post. Chipotle Dry Rub. And preheat oven to 350 convection or 375 conventional.
Trim and pat dry two skinless boneless chicken breasts. Give them a nice sprinkle of the dry rub. Heat 2 teaspoon oil in an oven safe pan over medium high heat. I used a 10-inch cast iron. When the oil is hot sear both sides of the chicken breast for about 2 minutes each.
Place in the oven and bake until internal temperature of 165. About 25 minutes for me but your time may vary some by the thickness of the chicken and your oven. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before cutting.
Using the pan the chicken cooked in, add one small or 1/2 medium onion sliced or chopped, 1/2 cup corn and 1/2 cup black beans. Cook over medium-high heat until there is a little browning. About 4-5 minutes.
On a large plate, cover with greens of your choice. Half of a 5 oz package is just about right. Top with a sliced chicken breast. Next cover with the hot bean/corn/onion mixture. Add a sprinkle of shredded cheese then a hand full of tortilla strips.
Serve with dressing on the side.
Do you want more recipes from 101 Cooking for Two? Sign up for the newsletter and get all posts delivered straight to your inbox!
Southwest Chipotle Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
- Chipotle dry rub
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1/2 cup corn
- 1/2 cup black beans
- 1 onion - small or 1/2 medium diced or sliced
- 5 oz cleaned mixed greens - about 5 cups
- Southwest dressing of your choice
Instructions
- Start by making the dry rub in the previous post. Chipotle Dry Rub. And preheat oven to 350 convection or 375 conventional.
- Trim and pat dry two skinless boneless chicken breasts. Give them a nice sprinkle of the dry rub.
- Heat 2 teaspoon oil in an oven safe pan over medium high heat. I used a 10-inch cast iron. When the oil is hot sear both sides of the chicken breast for about 2 minutes each.
- Place in the oven and bake until internal temperature of 165. About 25 minutes for me but your time may vary some by the thickness of the chicken and your oven.
- Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes before cutting.
- Using the pan the chicken cooked in, add one small or 1/2 medium onion sliced or chopped, 1/2 cup corn and 1/2 cup black beans. Cook over medium-high heat until there is a little browning. About 4-5 minutes.
- On a large plate, cover with greens of your choice. Half of a 5 oz package is just about right. Top with sliced chicken breast. Next cover with the hot bean/corn/onion mixture. Add a sprinkle of shredded cheese then a hand full of tortilla strips.
- Serve with dressing on the side.
Recipe Notes
Have a question or something not clear? Ask in the comments.
Do you want more recipes from 101 Cooking for Two? Sign up for the newsletter and get all posts delivered straight to your inbox!
Nutrition is for one serving. Number of servings is stated above and is my estimate of normal serving size for this recipe.
All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
If you like this recipe or find it useful, the pleasure of a nice 4 or 5 rating would be greatly appreciated.
I'm DrDan and welcome to my blog. You will find delicious easy everyday recipes mostly for smaller households. Please look around and enjoy your visit. 
Savannah
September 12, 2018 at 11:13 amFajita dry mix on chicken and thick sharp cheddar cheese & no onion.
Joan
October 6, 2015 at 8:22 amI made this last night. My picky husband loved it as did I. I made a few changes. I used leftover chicken tossing it in the rub and then tossing it in the skillet with the vegetables, made my own southwestern dressing and crumbled corn chips on top since my husband can’t have gluten and the tortilla strips in the store aren’t GF. I never get past the peach crumble pie when I go to the Grand Traverse Pie Company so I had never tried their version of this salad.