Fiesta Chicken Salad

With summer in full swing, I find myself looking for lighter, more refreshing menu options. I love anything that I can make on the grill, as well as anything that I can make in large enough batches to have leftovers! Jesse, from Good Girl Gone Glad inspired me with her recipe for Fiesta Chicken Salad last week. It's an easy recipe, and it leaves plenty of room for modifications and substitutions.

I have my own recipe for homemade chicken fajitas, so I'll break my version of the recipe into two parts. You can have chicken fajitas for dinner one night and fiesta chicken salad as it's own meal later in the week.

I couldn't wait to try Jesse's recipe, so I skipped fajita night and made the chicken specifically for the salad. I got two full dinners out of it, plus I froze a small portion of the chicken, in hopes that we can use it in a few weeks. It was raining the night I made this, so I had to cook the chicken inside, but it was still delicious!

Chicken Fajitas
Inspired by Cook This, Not That: Kitchen Survival Guide

Serves: 4 (or 2, plus leftovers for salad)

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cooking Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

1/2 cup orange juice
2 Tbsp. chopped chipotle peppers
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp. ground cumin
salt and black pepper to taste
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
8 small (6") flour tortillas, warmed
Guacamole
1 cup shredded jack or cheddar cheese


1. Combine the orange juice, chipotle peppers, lime juice, cumin, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1 tsp. pepper in a sealable plastic bag. Add the chicken and marinate in the fridge for an hour.

2. Preheat a grill or stovetop grill pan until hot. Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard what's left in the bag. Grill the chicken for 5 to 6 minutes per side, until lightly charred and cooked all the way through. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

3. While the chicken cooks, heat the oil in a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Cook the bell peppers and onion until charred and caramelized on the outside, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper

4. Slice the chicken into thin pieces. Serve with warm tortillas, guacamole, and cheese.



Fiesta Chicken Salad
Inspired by Good Girl Gone Glad

Serves: 2
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

2 chicken breasts (leftover from fajitas)
1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
2 ears of corn, boiled (kernels sliced off the cob)
1/2 cup salsa
1 (10 oz.) package mixed salad greens
1/2 small onion, diced
4-6 cherry tomatoes, diced
1 avocado, pitted and diced
1/4 cup Southwest Salad Toppings (optional)
tortilla chips (optional)


In a large saucepan, mix chicken, black beans, corn and salsa. Heat over medium heat until warm.

Meanwhile, prepare the salad by dicing onions, tomatoes and avocado.

On dinner plates, prepare a bed of lettuce and surround it with tortilla chips. Top salad with chicken mixture, onions, tomatoes, avocado and salad toppings.

Today I'm linking up to Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam &  Hearth & Soul Blog Hop at A Moderate Life.