This is one of our favorite summer salads. This recipe is very forgiving so feel free to adapt it to your personal taste. It is filled with the goodness of fresh salad tomatoes, avocado, corn, black beans, romaine lettuce and a full flavored creamy Chipotle dressing. The dressing is amazing and you will find yourself making it to use on other salads as well.Be sure and use romaine lettuce as it is sturdy enough to stand up to the moist ingredients and won’t wilt as quickly. This flavorful salad is just as good on the second day!
Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad
Dressing:
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2/3 cup light sour cream
- 1 tablespoon minced chipotle chile, canned in adobo sauce
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 4 teaspoons fresh lime juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Salad:
- 4 cups shredded romaine lettuce
- 2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 breasts)
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 cup diced peeled avocado
- 1/3 cup thinly vertically sliced red onion
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 (8 3/4-ounce) can no-salt-added whole-kernel corn, rinsed and drained
To prepare dressing, combine first 7 ingredients, stirring well.
To prepare salad, combine lettuce and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over salad; toss gently to coat. Serve immediately.
Tip: Add a spoonful of adobo sauce for a spicier salad. Kidney or pinto beans also taste great in this dish.
Yield: 4 Servings Servings Size: Approx 2 1/2 cups
Nutritional Information
Calories: 249, Fat: 8.2g, Saturated fat: 2.8g, Monounsaturated fat: 2.9g, Polyunsaturated fat: 0.7g, Protein: 23.3g, Carbohydrate: 25.1g, Fiber: 7g, Cholesterol: 50mg, Iron: 2.2mg, Sodium: 650mg, Calcium: 106mg WWPP 6
Adapted from Cooking Light AUGUST 2006
41 comments
8 pings
Lindsey @ Why Just Eat says:
July 1, 2011 at 8:52 pm (UTC -7)
This looks so good! I just picked up some red onions and corn at the farmer’s market – can’t wait to make this for lunch tomorrow
Tami says:
July 2, 2011 at 8:03 am (UTC -7)
Hi Lindsey! I hope you like the salad as much as we do!
debra says:
December 4, 2012 at 1:43 pm (UTC -7)
looks to be very tasty cant wait to make
Nikki says:
January 8, 2013 at 5:02 pm (UTC -7)
Made this tonight – WOW!!! It is so good and that dressing will be put to use on other things. YUM!!
Tami says:
January 9, 2013 at 6:31 am (UTC -7)
Nikki thank you for the feedback and I’m delighted that you enjoyed this recipe! It is a favorite around here too.
Stacey says:
January 13, 2013 at 10:32 pm (UTC -7)
How long is the dressing good for?
Tami says:
January 14, 2013 at 7:50 am (UTC -7)
Hi Stacey,
I have never had any salad leftover for more than two days. I would think the dressing would be good up to the freshness date of the sour cream used, as long as it is properly refrigerated. Hope that helps.
Tami
Megan says:
January 16, 2013 at 11:05 am (UTC -7)
Made this for lunch and WOW!!! This is definitely one of my favorite recipes. I marinated the chicken in some of the adobo sauce that came from the chipotle peppers before cooking! So yummy! Thanks for the recipe! !
Tami says:
January 16, 2013 at 12:30 pm (UTC -7)
Hi Megan!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe and I’m delighted that you took the time to come back and leave a comment.
Great idea for marinating the chicken in a little adobo sauce!
Karen says:
January 25, 2013 at 6:57 am (UTC -7)
I made this a while back and loved it. I love spicy food and the dressing was awesome! I just want to say that the chicken should be seasoned very well before it’s roasted or else all the flavor will be in the salad part and the chicken will be really bland, throwing off the balance a bit.
Tami says:
January 25, 2013 at 7:05 am (UTC -7)
Good observation about the chicken being well seasoned Karen. I’m delighted to read your review! Thank you for taking the time to come back and share your thoughts.
Enjoy the weekend!
Sue says:
January 31, 2013 at 6:56 pm (UTC -7)
Where did you find the minced chipotle, canned in adobe sauce? I have had no luck.
Thanks!
Tami says:
January 31, 2013 at 7:40 pm (UTC -7)
Hi Sue, The canned Chipotles in adobe sauce are whole chiles – you have to mince them yourself. Where I live they are sold in all the grocery stores in the Mexican food aisles along with the canned green chilies, enchilada sauce and jars of salsa.
If you google Chipotles in adobe sauce and click on images you will be able to see what the different brands look like and that helps when you go the grocery store.
Hope that helps. Good luck and Happy Cooking!
Sue says:
January 31, 2013 at 7:59 pm (UTC -7)
Thanks, I will definitely look in all those areas.
Jenn says:
May 11, 2013 at 1:43 pm (UTC -7)
Another note: the adobo chilis I have purchased in the past are EXTREMELY spicy. I love hot things, and find any excuse to eat Sriracha and jalapenos, and I still think chipotle peppers in adobo are hot. Be forewarned!
Whit says:
February 5, 2013 at 4:27 pm (UTC -7)
Tried this tonight and it was so delicious! Going to put it in a wrap tomorrow for lunch!
Tami says:
February 5, 2013 at 7:53 pm (UTC -7)
Great idea to put it into a wrap! Thank you so much for coming back and leaving a comment to let me know you enjoyed it!
Erica says:
February 28, 2013 at 11:47 am (UTC -7)
Hi! This looks fantastic and I’m super excited to try it, but I’m wondering if I can substitute greek yogurt for the sour cream?
Thanks!
Tami says:
February 28, 2013 at 11:51 am (UTC -7)
I think Greek Yogurt usually works well in place of sour cream so I would use it for sure! Happy Cooking Erica!
Melissa says:
March 6, 2013 at 7:41 pm (UTC -7)
I made this for dinner tonight and followed the recipe exactly, omg this is so delicious and healthy! So nice to find a healthy recipe that has so much flavor. I will definitely be making this often. Can’t wait to have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Thank you!!!
Tami says:
March 6, 2013 at 7:56 pm (UTC -7)
Hi Melissa! Thank you for coming back and letting me know how much you enjoyed the salad. I will have to put it on our menu soon.
Sara says:
March 15, 2013 at 6:28 pm (UTC -7)
I made this last night and didn’t mix the lettuce in (or the avocados because mine were still rock hard, but wouldn’t have anyway because my crazy husband doesn’t like them) and ate it for dinner last night, lunch today (with avocado! Yum!) and dinner tonight. Yeah, this is REAL good. I just put down 1.5 cups of lettuce and top it with 1 cup of the salad.
Tami says:
March 16, 2013 at 8:01 pm (UTC -7)
Hi Sara! I am so delighted to know you enjoyed this salad and modified it so hubby could enjoy it as well! I like how you kept all the ingredients separate so you could mix it up fresh as needed. Brilliant!
Joia Jones says:
April 7, 2013 at 9:50 am (UTC -7)
YUH-UHM! I just made and ate this DELISH salad. After calculating my specific ingredients/brands, I came just slightly under the posted calorie count (I’m a nerd about weighing and measuring every ingredient) and, I have to say, I LOVE when I can get full from eating something so delicious…and not using a huge portion of my calorie count for the day! I reposted this to my social networks because it’s THAT GOOD.
Tami says:
April 8, 2013 at 7:58 am (UTC -7)
Hi Joia! So glad to know how much you enjoyed this recipe. It has become the most popular recipe on my blog and for good reason as it is delicious!
Happy Cooking!
Lisa @ Fern Creek Cottage says:
April 13, 2013 at 2:45 pm (UTC -7)
I made this for dinner tonight and it is delicious! Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Tami says:
April 14, 2013 at 1:52 pm (UTC -7)
Thank you Lisa! This is one of the most popular recipes on my blog and for a good reason too – everyone loves it!
Shelley says:
April 14, 2013 at 2:23 pm (UTC -7)
I made it today and put it in a whole wheat wrap and it was delicious! I put too much chipotle pepper so I put a sprinkle of sugar subsitite and made it a little sweet but still a spicy kick and taste! Also added orange bell pepper slices and used leftover shredded rotisserie chicken.
Tami says:
April 14, 2013 at 6:19 pm (UTC -7)
HI Shelly! Sounds like you fixes turned out great! I love that you used this in a wheat wrap – very clever and a nice way to serve it.
Mary says:
April 19, 2013 at 9:36 pm (UTC -7)
Wowza! I’m not much for Taco Salad, but I’m sold on this! Thank you, thank you!
Maghan says:
April 22, 2013 at 8:12 am (UTC -7)
This salad is awesome! I’ve made it twice now for parties and so many people complimented and had to have the recipe! Thanks for sharing! Also, to cut out the step of making the chicken, I just buy the Perdue grilled “done its” and it turns out perfectly!
Tami says:
April 22, 2013 at 9:49 am (UTC -7)
Great tip to cut down on the prep Maghan! So glad to know you liked this recipe and I want to thank you for coming back to let me know! Happy Cooking!
Jim Burfield says:
April 25, 2013 at 10:36 am (UTC -7)
I make the salad bars in a retirement community, in Florida. Do you mind if I try this recipe on my residents? I think they would love it.
Tami says:
April 25, 2013 at 10:54 am (UTC -7)
HI Jim – please give it a try!
Confused says:
April 30, 2013 at 3:44 pm (UTC -7)
This exact recipe was in the August 2006 issue of Cooking Light Magazine, right?
Tami says:
May 1, 2013 at 8:08 am (UTC -7)
Yes as noted at the bottom of the recipe this is from Cooking Light.
Kristy says:
May 5, 2013 at 4:46 pm (UTC -7)
Just made this for my dinner with a few changes. I replaced the sour cream with fat free plain yogurt because it’s what I had on hand.I also added a bit of garlic powder to the dressing. I used the dressing as a sauce on some bean and cheese burritos I made for my husband and he Loved them.
For my salad I added a bit of chopped pobolano pepper I roasted and I browned the corn a bit n a dry cast iron skillet. The salad was really delicious.
Tami says:
May 9, 2013 at 9:31 am (UTC -7)
Great changes to the salad recipe Kristy! So glad you enjoyed it.
Cynthia says:
May 25, 2013 at 11:12 am (UTC -7)
OMG this salad is to die for!! The dressing is so delicious better than ranch
Rachel says:
June 17, 2013 at 8:49 pm (UTC -7)
Delicious! Made with greek yogurt instead of sour cream and went heavy on the chipotle peppers because we like spice. We had grilled chicken for dinner last night, so just grilled a few extra pieces. Cut them up tonight and tossed them with the salad for a SUPER easy and tasty weeknight dinner. Also made some Cilantro-Lime rice and it was practically the same as my burrito bowl order at Chipotle!
Tami says:
June 18, 2013 at 1:32 pm (UTC -7)
I’m so glad you liked it Rachel. It’s the perfect salad to take to a pot luck!
Recipe Roundup 10 | This Classical Life says:
August 23, 2012 at 6:57 am (UTC -7)
[...] Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad adapted by Nutmeg Notebook from Cooking Light was tasty and filling and everybody ate it. [...]
Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad | allicatcooks says:
January 7, 2013 at 3:36 pm (UTC -7)
[...] from Nutmeg Notebook’s Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad: Dressing: 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro 2/3 cup light sour cream 1 tablespoon minced chipotle [...]
What I have been doing on pinterest « singlemamalife says:
January 23, 2013 at 6:15 am (UTC -7)
[...] Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad! It was yummy, the only thing is it was a bit time-consuming to make, lots of chopping! This would be good for a ladies luncheon though. I am not a lady who lunches though, so maybe for one of you classy people. Also, it made a lot. If it is just for 2 people, cut it in half…and leave the dressing off. That way, you can just put the dressing on as you need it and you don’t end up with leftover soggy salad. No one likes soggy salad. [...]
Unpinning Pinterest 8/14/12 says:
February 14, 2013 at 10:36 am (UTC -7)
[...] YARN-FREE PIN: Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad – Oh. My. Word. I made this salad for dinner earlier this week, and served it up with a loaf [...]
Monthly Meal Plan | Mommyinthemountains says:
February 18, 2013 at 5:55 am (UTC -7)
[...] Chipotle Salad- We eat this one ALOT… a fave. [...]
Weekly Meal Plan | So Very Blessed says:
February 19, 2013 at 7:39 pm (UTC -7)
[...] – Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad (from Nutmeg Notebook) for lunch, which was fantastic! I left out the red onion and I made the [...]
Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad! Under 250 calories for 2.5 cups! Delicious! | nutmeg notebook | Dreamy Blog says:
May 6, 2013 at 12:57 am (UTC -7)
[...] This has everything that you’re looking for a good dish! Delectable and healthy! This is so easy to prepare, so I would try this once I get into my kitchen. This is a fresh treat that I can give to my family! I’m sure your kids would love this taco salad! Go check out her blog! [...]
Taco Salad with Chipotle Dressing | hugs 'n kitchen says:
June 12, 2013 at 9:47 am (UTC -7)
[...] Adapted slightly from Nutmeg Notebook [...]