Mexican Chicken Salad

This Mexican chicken salad is a real treat! It’s got boneless chicken and vegetables tossed in a creamy yogurt and sour cream dressing. With just a hint of spice from the Taco seasoning, you can have it solo or pile it on tostadas for a midday meal.

Have a potluck or a summer barbecue to go to? Make this easy-peasy Mexican chicken salad! You don’t have to worry about warming it up as you can have it at room temperature or even straight out of the fridge. It tastes so good!

Honestly, you don’t even need an occasion. It’s the perfect meal prep cold salad you can have for lunch. There’s no lettuce or tomatoes, so nothing will wilt or become soggy as in a regular salad. Even so, if you like to keep your salad and dressing separate, pack them separately in a lunch kit. When you’re ready to eat, pour the dressing over the salad and simply dig in. No muss, no fuss!

Ingredients

Note: exact amounts are mentioned in the recipe card further down.

Salad Ingredients

Dressing Ingredients

Instructions

1. Cook the potatoes

• Peel the potatoes, cut them into bite-sized cubes and put them in a small saucepan. Add enough water to cover them completely and allow the water to come to a roiling boil. Cook for 8-10 minutes. They should be cooked through but still retain their shape.

• You can also use your pressure cooker to cook potatoes if you wish. I have an instant pot and use it almost every day to pressure cook food.

2. Cook the corn

• I used frozen corn from a packet and shallow fried it in a teaspoon of oil for a 3-4 minutes only on medium heat. Turned out glossy and perfectly done.

• If you have fresh corn, it will taste even better. Do steam fresh corn though so it’s not raw or chewy.

3. Cook the chicken

• Cut the chicken breast into bite-sized cubes and rub with taco seasoning all over.

• Heat the olive oil gently on medium heat in a frypan and add the chicken.

• Cook for 5 minutes, tossing until the chicken is cooked through and and browned slightly.

• Cover with a plate and keep aside.

4. Prep the other ingredients

• Slice the peppers and onions into long thin slices.

• Open the can of black beans and rinse the beans under running water. Take the required quantity (you’ll only need half a can) and keep the rest in the fridge for another time.

• Peel the avocado and remove the seed. Cut it into slices.

• One tip here: try to delay peeling the avocado to the last possible moment, preferably just when you’re ready to mix the salad. Ripe avocados turn brown very quickly.

6. Make the salad dressing

• Take all the ingredients for the dressing (sour cream, Greek yogurt, olive oil, parsley, and lime juice) in a small bowl and whisk together until smooth.

7. Assemble the salad when ready to eat

• Put all the salad ingredients in a large bowl and drizzle the dressing all over it. Mix lightly with a spoon and enjoy!

• If you are planning on serving the salad later, keep the salad ingredients and dressing separately in the fridge and assemble the salad when you’re ready to serve it.

Top tips

• Check if the taco seasoning has salt (it usually does). If it does, there’s no need to add extra salt to the chicken. If not, add some.
• Use a ripe avocado, and as mentioned earlier, add the avocado in the end, i.e. just before assembling the salad if possible. It keeps it from getting brown spots which look a little unsightly. 
• Avoid overcooking the chicken. Breast meat tends to dry out if cooked beyond a few minutes. 
• Fresh chopped herbs of your choice can also be used instead of dried parsley. Depends on what you have and what you like:)

More droolworthy salads

• Roasted Beetroot and Pumpkin Salad (with feta)
• Butter lettuce salad with mandarin oranges, strawberries and avocado
• Peach watermelon salad
• Italian tomato salad with onions and basil