Description
A vibrant and flavorful Southwestern Chicken Salad featuring a zesty lime and taco-spiced mayo dressing, combined with tender chicken, crisp vegetables, and fresh cilantro. Perfect for a quick and easy lunch or light dinner, this salad is refreshing and packs a punch of southwestern flavors.
Ingredients
Scale
Dressing
- 10 Tbsp mayonnaise
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1 Tbsp taco seasoning
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- Dash crushed red pepper flakes
Salad
- 3 cups cooked chicken
- 1 (11-oz) can whole kernel corn, drained
- ½ green pepper, finely diced
- ½ cup finely diced celery
- 2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
- 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Prepare the dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, lime juice, taco seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and crushed red pepper flakes until smooth and well combined.
- Combine salad ingredients: Add the cooked chicken, drained whole kernel corn, finely diced green pepper, celery, diced plum tomatoes, and chopped cilantro to the bowl with the dressing. Stir gently to coat all ingredients evenly with the dressing.
- Chill before serving: Cover the salad and refrigerate for 25-30 minutes to allow the flavors to meld and the salad to chill thoroughly before serving.
Notes
- For added crunch, consider topping with toasted tortilla strips or crushed tortilla chips just before serving.
- You can substitute mayonnaise with Greek yogurt for a lighter version.
- Cooked chicken can be grilled, roasted, or leftover rotisserie chicken for convenience.
- This salad can be served on a bed of lettuce or in tortilla wraps for variety.
- Adjust the amount of crushed red pepper flakes to control the heat level.
