Mexican Grilled Chicken Salad
Mexican Grilled Chicken Salad Recipe: loaded with tons of veggies and topped with spicy tomato ranch dressing. This is not your average Grilled Chicken Salad recipe!
Chicken Salad To Get Excited About
Doesn’t it look glorious?
I mean, really. Have you ever seen a more satisfying looking salad?
We’ve been taking measures lately, to make sure we include more and more fresh raw produce into our diet. I would guess we enjoy a “dinner salad” at least twice a week, if not more.
I also try to eat at least one raw vegetable dish a day, so often I enjoy a salad at lunch. Yet to keep this up, my salads need to be exciting.
There’s something marvelous about cool crisp veggies topped with hot protein, don’t you think? If I could demonstrate how I want to eat (all the time right now) on one platter, it would be this Mexican Grilled Chicken Salad.
Veggies, veggies, and more veggies, topped with juicy seasoned grilled chicken, bacon, and crumbly cheese. Then smothered in a creamy spicy tomato ranch dressing.
That pretty much covers it.
Mexican Salad Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make this fabulous salad…
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast – boneless and skinless makes the chicken healthier
- Old El Paso Taco Seasoning – incredible for great flavor with little effort!
- Romaine Lettuce – the cool crunchy base of the recipe
- Grape or Cherry tomatoes – cut in halves to make them easier to enjoy
- Avocados – peeled, pitted, and sliced for presentation and for a creamy texture in the salad
- Fresh Corn Kernels – you can use the canned version of you like, but fresh corn always tastes best
- Cooked Crumbled Bacon – because bacon makes everything better
- Green Onions – finely chopped for a crunchy pop of flavor
- Crumbled Queso Fresco Cheese – a classic crumbly cheese sprinkled on many mexican dishes
- Thick Ranch Dressing – from the refrigerated section, not the dry goods section
- Fresh Spicy Salsa – added to the ranch dressing to create an amazing mexican dressing
Mexican Salad
The beauty of this salad is that it’s not only healthy and delicious, it’s also so darn easy to prepare.
Sprinkle zippy Old El Paso Taco Seasoning over the chicken. This eliminates the need for all sorts of herbs and spices in one fell swoop.
The taco seasoning coats the chicken, creating a vibrant crusty finish once the chicken is grilled.
Just look…
- For the salad, pile the steaming chicken on a bed of crisp romaine lettuce and cuddled it up with ripe avocado and sweet grape tomatoes.
- Then sprinkle fresh corn, crumbled bacon, chopped scallions, and crumbled queso fresco over the entire Mexican Grilled Chicken Salad like magic flavor confetti! (I kind of sprinkled it all over the floor as well. All these ingredients were a little too exciting if you know what I mean.)
Mexican Grilled Chicken Salad
Our Mexican Grilled Chicken Salad is truly a feast for all five senses. It’s an aromatic, crunchy, and colorful dinner option that is perfect for spring and summer cooking.
Finished with a simple 2-ingredient spicy tomato ranch dressing, this grilled chicken salad is at the very top of my shortlist right now.
See The Recipe Card Below For How To Make Mexican Grilled Chicken Salad Recipe. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Does This Recipe Last?
If you store the chicken apart from the other ingredients of the salad, it will stay fresh in an airtight container for 4 to 5 days. The salad greens and vegetables can last in the fridge for 3 to 4 days.
What Is Queso Fresco?
Queso Fresco is a crumbly Mexican Cheese that is translated as ‘Fresh Cheese’. It is traditionally made from cow’s milk and is aged for just a short time to give it that fresh taste!
You can find this cheese in the dairy section or cheese section in your grocery store. Or if there is a Mexican market near you they will most definitely have it.
Other Great Salad Recipes To Try
- Thai Quinoa Salad Recipe
- Garlic Lime Roasted Shrimp Salad Recipe
- Brazilian Chopped Salad Recipe
- The Best Steakhouse Caesar Salad Recipe
- Thai Red Curry Grilled Chicken Salad Recipe
- Southwest Salad Recipe from Lil’ Luna
Mexican Grilled Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 1 packet Old El Paso Taco Seasoning
- 2 heads romaine lettuce
- 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 avocados, peeled and sliced
- 1 cup fresh corn kernels
- 1 cup cooked crumbled bacon
- 1 bunch green onions, chopped
- 1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco cheese
- 1 cup thick ranch dressing, from the refrigerated section
- 1/2 cup fresh spicy salsa
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to medium heat. Place the chicken breasts in a baking dish and sprinkle with Old El Paso Taco Seasoning. Turn to coat the chicken on all sides. Chop the lettuce and prep all other vegetables.
- Grill the chicken for 5 minutes per side. Then allow the chicken to rest for at least five minutes before slicing. Meanwhile, place the ranch dressing and the salsa in the blender and puree until smooth.
- Pile the chopped lettuce on a large platter. Slice the chicken and arrange over the lettuce. Then arrange the sliced avocados and tomatoes around the chicken. Sprinkle the corn, chopped green onions, crumbled bacon and queso fresco over the entire salad. Serve immediately with a side of spicy tomato ranch dressing.
Video
Nutrition
Making this recipe? Follow us on Instagram and tag @ASpicyPerspective so we can share what you’re cooking!
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Old El Paso. All opinions are my own.
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Yummy! This salad looks amazing and so delicious. So colorful and full of flavor, so excited to make this salad. My family is going to love this for the weekend! Saved to my bookmarks!
I think I just found my new favorite meal. Incredibly good!
This hearty chicken salad recipe is loaded with flavors and SO GOOD! The BEST salad for summertime!
I always crave mexican food, but sometimes it is really carb heavy, so this is my go to when I want something mexican food related, but on the healthier side!
This salad was one of the best I’ve ever had. Could make a salad eater out of me. Shared it with a few friends and they were reaching for it before I could set it down because it LOOKS yummy…tastes as good as it looks. The hubby proclaimed it a “keeper.” Looking forward to trying all your salads. Thank you!
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Such an awesome salad! So full of flavor.
This is the absolute perfect salad! I love it so much!
This chicken salad is amazing. I am loving the Mexican inspired combination, saving this for the summer grilling.
This salad is so colorful…I LOVE it!
The colors of this salad are beautiful, and the flavor is so full and delicious! I love making this for an easy dinner.
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Excellent salad. Made it for lunch using homemade taco seasoning I had in my pantry. The dressing was fantastic even though I was too cheap to get the “good stuff” and went with a cheapie from ALDI. Left off the cheese to be a little healthier. Next time, I plan to crumble some tortilla chips on top for extra crunch!
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This salad is beautiful, full of flavor, quick to put
Together, one I will make again!!
This salad looks amazing! I love how colorful it is!
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This looks amazing fresh n jus yummy!!
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This is a beautiful & yummy-looking salad! I want to try it with some of our fresh garden produce. But I don’t know what “queso fresco” is (except “fresh cheese” of course). I’ve never seen this in my grocery store. Can you tell me what kind of cheese it is, or what I could sub that would be comparable if I can’t find it? Thanks!!
It’s Mexican cheese. It’s usually by the sour cream an the stick cheese. It’s call la morenita
Wow, I wouldn’t know where to start! Can I just dump the entire thing in my mouth?! Looks incredible.
This salad is so full of textures and flavors, I love it!
This is simply amazing, Sommer! Love the bright veggies!
Perfect for summer! I can already tell I’m going to have this one one repeat.
I made this salad for Sunday night’s dinner and oh my word! It was fantastic! I grilled the chicken along with two ears of corn and it was amazing. Definitely my new favorite salad. I’m not big on creamy dressings but the addition of the fresh salsa to the ranch was perfect. The only bad thing is there was not one crumb left in the bowl so no leftovers for lunch today!
Gosh, that looks so good right now!! I love the goal of making sure you eat at least one raw vegetable dish a day – I need to adopt that. Starting with this salad!!
This salad is right up my alley!!! I need to make this ASAP!!!
This is just gorgeous and so flavorful! Love all the color!
I absolutely need this salad for lunch right now! I love that it has everything and each component balances and complements the next. Amazing!
Such a beautiful salad, and it sounds so delicious. It’s a total win in my books win food is both stunning and yummy :)
This is my first attempt at chicken salad and I want to say a big THANK YOU! This is delicious and I really appreciated your optional variations.
Love this! You know how I feel about Mexican food- yummy!
Looks like a perfect meal to me! A rainbow on a plate!
What a gorgeous plate! I could eat this salad everyday :)