Southwest Chipotle-Lime Chicken Salad
This southwest chipotle-lime chicken salad is made with a fresh mixture of tomatoes, black beans, and corn, with a blend of spiced brown rice, shredded chicken, and cheese, then topped with red onions, avocado, and a kick-in-the-mouth chipotle-lime vinaigrette. Oh yeah, and all this on a bed of mixed greens.
Servings 5 salads
INGREDIENTS
Salad:
- 1 ¼ cup brown rice cooked with 2 ½ cups water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne optional
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 can black beans rinsed
- 1 cup corn
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken about 2 breasts or store-bought rotisserie chicken
- 8-10 cups mixed spring greens
- ½ cup cheese shredded
- ¼ cup red onions chopped
- 2-3 avocados
Chipotle-Lime Vinagrette:
- ¼ cup lime juice about 2 limes
- 3 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon chipotle pepper in adobe sauce about 1 pepper with liquid + 1/2 teaspoon for extra spice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 clove garlic minced
INSTRUCTIONS
- Rice. Cook the rice as instructed on the package. Add ½ teaspoon salt and 1 t teaspoon olive oil to the boiling water while cooking. This will add flavor and help the rice from sticking together. Once cooked, move rice to a large mixing bowl to cool (you can pop the rice in the fridge to cool faster). Next, mix in spices (cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, and cayenne). Finally, add the tomatoes, corn, and black beans.
- Chicken. In a medium size bowl, mix shredded chicken and cheese.
- Assemble. Start with the spring greens, add about 1 cup of the rice mixture to each salad container, evenly distribute shredded chicken-cheese mixture, top with avocado and sprinkle on red onions.
- Dressing. Add all the ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth.
TIPS + TRICKS
Cooking Rice: Rinse your rice to wash away extra starch and add a teaspoon of olive oil. That usually does the trick for me.
Shredded Chicken: I love shredded chicken from the slow cooker or a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store.
Avocado Freshness: Cut an avocado in half and wrap it in aluminum foil. When ready to eat, with your utensil scrap off the browning layer to reveal the fresh green avocado underneath. Then scoop the avocado out of the skin on top of the salad.
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