How many of you serve a large salad as an entrée for dinner?
My family quickly realized salad night meant a satisfying and filling meal, packed with protein. Salads are also a nice deviation from the normal, weeknight dinner routine, regardless of the time of year. And nothing could be easier than combining some of my favorite ingredients, in fresh ways, to create healthy and nutritious dinners. It’s a win-win for everyone.
In order to keep calories in check, making a healthy meat choice to include in our salads was key. I find chicken to be one of the most versatile meats to use in this type of meal and the perfect blank canvas for all of my favorite seasonings and flavors.
My homemade southwest seasoning is a flavorful blend of many spices used in southwest cooking. It’s an absolute star when used to season chicken. Even my pickiest eater loves chicken seasoned in this way. It really is fantastic.
And while flavor and delicious food are important to the overall eating experience, buying and consuming local foods is something I aspire to as often as possible. As a small farmer myself, I understand what consuming local products really means and buying food from small, family farms is very important to me.
I use thin-sliced breast fillets for this recipe. The chicken is nicely trimmed and I slice it half one more time after I seasoning it. This allows the chicken to cook as quickly as possible and the seasoning does not burn in the frying pan.
It only takes a few minutes to cook and it looks beautiful once finished. The chicken is a meal in itself! It also tastes wonderful the next day, which is not a surprising when starting with such a fresh product.
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The dressing is homemade and can be prepared up to two days prior to serving. I might even suggest making a double batch to keep on hand. It’s one of our family favorites.
The chicken is juicy, succulent and delicious, not to mention versatile in so many recipes. This seasoned chicken is also great in tacos…hint-hint.
I hope you enjoy this wonderful meal, my family asks for it again and again.
Southwest Chicken Salad with Homemade Southwest Dressing
Ingredients
Southwest Seasoning Mix:
- 1-1/2 Tablespoons chile powder
- 1-1/2 Tablespoons paprika
- 2-1/2 teaspoons table salt
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground pepper
Southwest Dressing:
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 Tablespoons ketchup
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon creamy horseradish
- juice of two limes
- 1 teaspoon Southwest Seasoning mix (from above)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon table salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon ground oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Southwest Salad:
- 1 cup dry, red or white quinoa
- vegetable oil
- 1-1/2-2 lbs Foster Farms Simply Raised Thin-Sliced Chicken Breasts
- 1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed
- 1 can (15 oz) sweet corn, drained
- 2 ripe avocados, peeled, seeded and cubed
- 2-3 heads romaine lettuce, depending on size, chopped
- 2 cups baby spinach leaves
Directions
- For the seasoning mix, add all ingredients to a small bowl and mix until fully combined. Set aside.
- For the dressing, whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl. Place in the refrigerator until you are ready to use.
- Prepare quinoa according to package directions. Set aside to let cool down.
- Season raw chicken with southwest seasoning, making sure to cover the whole breast. Slice each chicken breast in half, allowing for a faster cooking time.
- In a large, nonstick skillet add vegetable oil (a few Tablespoons) and cook chicken in batches over low heat. (This will keep the seasoning from burning. You might have to add some extra oil to each additional batch.) Cook thin-sliced breasts about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove to a paper lined tray. Let the chicken rest about 10 minutes before slicing into smaller pieces for the salad.
- To serve, you can either add all ingredients (lettuce, spinach, corn, black beans, avocado and chicken) to a large bowl and toss together, or make individual salads in separate bowls for each person. Drizzle dressing over the top of salad.
Liz says
What a superb entree salad! The spiced up chicken, the quinoa, the homemade dressing—-what’s not to love???
Cathy says
So true, it’s such a great mix of flavors and textures.
Liz @ The Lemon Bowl says
This is my ideal lunch salad – hearty and packed with flavor and protein!
Cathy says
Agreed!
Barbara Schieving says
My family would love this salad. How great to use the thin sliced chicken so it’s chicken to make too.
Cathy says
Yep, it makes it so simple.
Alida says
What a fantastic salad! The chicken is seasoned to perfection, the dressing, the black beans, the avocado…just wonderful!
Cathy says
Thank you!
Sheena @ Tea and Biscuits says
That looks like my kind of salad, I’m sure it’s very tasty!
Cathy says
Yep, my fave too.
Derek says
The skin on this chicken looks so delicious. I’ve been craving a good salad, and I think this is the one I’ll be making!
Cathy says
Best part is, it’s skinless chicken…which means so many less calories!!
Deb@ Cooking on the Front Burner says
I could (and do) eat salad all year long. Love the flavors you have going on in this one!
Renee - Kudos Kitchen says
My favorite thing to pig-out on (yes, pun intended) is salad. I think I could eat this salad everyday of the week and not get tired of it. Thanks for the recipe. Can’t wait to try it.
Nutmeg Nanny says
Oh man this salad is pretty darn delicious looking! Love that homemade dressing…yum!
Kristyn says
This looks so fresh and delicious! Also so easy to customize! Thanks for sharing!
Sharon @ What The Fork Food Blog says
What a great looking salad! I love all the flavors and the mixture of lettuce and spinach 🙂
Tanya Schroeder says
Wow! I love all that seasoning on the chicken! This salad is a winner, it has so many great flavors.
Mary @ Best Food Processor Guide says
I made this last night adding mushrooms to the mix. It was soooo good I can’t wait for lunch and leftovers today!! Thank you for your recipes.
vivarais jene says
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! Thanks for the recipe, I’m sure I will be using it frequently:)
Kara@K&R Adventures says
We made this salad for dinner this week and that southwest seasoning blend is perfection!! Hubby was sprinkling it on everything!
Cathy says
Glad you enjoyed it.
Dawn says
I was looking for a homemade southwest dressing and this was perfect! I think I may have added some greek yogurt to thin it out a bit. It had a great bite to it which we really enjoyed. Thanks for the great recipe!Daw
Cathy says
Glad you enjoyed it.