Grilled Chicken Taco Salads with Spicy Cilantro Lime Dressing
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Traditional Tacos Salads with a twist- chock full of veggies, topped with grilled chicken, and drizzled with the most amazing spicy cilantro lime dressing!
Leftover Turkey Taco Salad, Greek Avocado Chicken Salad, and Chicken Avocado Salad are more salads that are too good to pass up!
This salad? Woah. And I mean that in the best way possible. In this particular instance woah = oh my gosh this is the most amazing salad I’ve ever eaten and I can’t imagine ever living without it ever again for as long as I live please marry me.
Except for the marrying part, that was a little weird. You guys it’s late. I really should not write late at night. Apparently I get the late night munchies and profess my endless love for taco salads.
This dressing though is no joke ah-MAZING. I love cilantro lime dressing straight up, but when you add some spiciness to the mix?? Heaven in my mouth.
This salad is wayyyyyyyy too easy. The whole thing start to finish is maybe 30 minutes tops. It’s basically 3 really quick steps.
1) grill the chicken
2) toss everything together
3) dump a gallon of this dressing on top
the end.
I really love jalapeños (really, I eat them from the jar) so I like to toss a bunch on top of this salad but if you’re a little more sensitive to heat, leave them off. Also? I sort of left the tortilla strips off of this salad when I was taking pictures because….. I forgot them. I’m sorry! But you really should throw some tortilla strips on top if you’ve got them, I mean it is taco salad after all, it really should have the tortilla element. Just pretend like there is a lovely little heap of tortilla strips nestled on top of this perfect salad.
Ahhhhh. That’s better.
More Recipes to Try
- Southwest Chicken Salad – bold flavors piled onto every satisfying bite.
- Chicken Gyro Salad with Tzatziki Dressing – fresh flavors that always hit the spot.
- Fiesta Lime Chicken Salad with Chipotle Dressing – big, bold flavors made for craving.
When you make this recipe, snap a photo and tag me on social – I love connecting with you and seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
Grilled Chicken Taco Salads with Spicy Cilantro Lime Dressing
Ingredients
- 3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded to ½ inch thickness
- 1 tbsp taco seasoning
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 6-8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup white or red onion, chopped
- 2 large avocados, diced
- 1 cup tomatoes, chopped
- tortilla strips, optional
- sliced jalapeños, optional
Spicy Cilantro Lime Dressing
- 1 cup cilantro leaves, loosely packed
- ½ cup plain yogurt, or plain greek yogurt)
- 2 tsp garlic
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 6 tbsp mayo, (I used reduced fat)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp onion powder
- juice of 1 lime
- 3 tbsp pickled jalapeños , diced
Instructions
- Add all dressing ingredients to blender and pulse until smooth. Cover and chill until ready to use.
- Whisk together taco seasoning, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder. Rub the seasoning into the chicken breasts, coating both sides. Grill over medium heat 4-5 minutes on each side until cooked through. Chop into bite-sized pieces.
- Toss together lettuce, black beans, onions, avocados, tomatoes, and grilled chicken. Drizzle with dressing. Optional: top with additional cilantro, jalapeños, and tortilla strips or crushed tortilla chips.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
When at a resturant, I always order my Taco salad with refried beans instead of ground beef. And use salsa for dressing. I’ve never tried a taco salad with half the things you’ve got in here. I am soooo looking to forward to it!
I just found you today,Tiffany, but you can Bet I’ll be back!
Thanks for the yummys!
Talk to you soon
Deborah’
I was wondering what you would substitute for yogurt in your recipes for dressings and sauces…