This incredible Santa Fe Chicken Salad is my version of a perfectly spiced salad. The chicken is grilled to perfection, super juicy, and tender. Black beans and freshly cooked corn sit on a bed of butter lettuce and crunchy vegetables. The salad is tossed in a lightly spiced ranch-style dressing that complements this salad perfectly. Enjoy it as is or make Santa Fe chicken salad wraps for the whole family.
HOW TO MAKE SANTA FE CHICKEN SALAD - VIDEO-
Santa Fe Chicken Wrap
Layer butter lettuce, chicken, black beans, and corn inside a burrito-sized tortilla. Top with some fresh veggies, such as bell pepper, celery, red onions, tomato, and avocado. Generously drizzle the dressing all over, then fold up the ends of the tortilla and roll it together to seal the wrap. Slice the wrap in half. Serve with Tapatio Sauce or Salsa on the side.
How To Make Santa Fe Chicken Salad Dressing
There is nothing better than a fresh-tasting, perfectly seasoned, homemade salad dressing. Smokey paprika, cumin, garlic, lime juice, and lots of cilantro make for a zesty dressing for this Southwest-style salad. A little bit of finely diced serrano pepper gives the dressing an extra bite, which is mellowed by the sour cream/mayonnaise base.
To make the dressing, combine the sour cream with the mayonnaise. Add salt, pepper, smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder, and fresh lime juice. Stir in finely chopped serrano pepper and herbs. That's it. I'm sure this dressing will definitely be a new favorite of yours.
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Recipe
SANTA FE CHICKEN SALAD + WRAPS
Ingredients
Chicken Spice Rub:
- 2 chicken breast (boneless and skinless), or 3 thin filets of breast
- ยฝ teaspoon sea salt
- ยผ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika (not smoked paprika)
- ยผ teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ยฝ cup chicken broth or water for cooking
Dressing:
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoon lime juice
- ยพ teaspoon sea salt
- ยฝ teaspoon pepper
- ยฝ teaspoon garlic powder
- ยฝ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ยฝ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 tablespoon fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley, or cilantro
- 2 tablespoon green spring onions, green part only, finely sliced
- 1 tablespoon fresh serrano or jalapeno pepper, de-seeded and finely diced
- ยผ cup water (to thin out dressing)
Salad Ingredients:
- 1 cup corn kernels, about 2- 3 fresh ears of cooked corn
- ยฝ red bell pepper, diced
- ยผ cup red onions, finely diced
- 1 stalk celery, diced
- 1 cup black beans, cooked
- 1 head butter lettuce
Wraps:
- 4 big flour tortilla wraps, warmed
- Santa Fe chicken salad
- diced tomatoes
- 1 avocado sliced
- Tapatio chili, or salsa if desired
Instructions
- 1. Cook fresh Corn, or use canned corn kernels.2. Heat cooked black beans. Season them with a little salt and garlic powder.3. Cut up all salad ingredients, and assemble them on a big platter. 4. Make the dressing: To a small bowl add the sour cream, mayonnaise, seasonings, and fresh herbs. Mix together, then set aside in the refrigerator.5. Prepare the Chicken: Rub olive oil on both sides of the chicken breast. Combine the salt, pepper, garlic powder, sweet paprika, and chipotle powder. Add the rub to the chicken. Reserve the broth or water for cooking later.6. Cook Chicken: Heat a little olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chicken and brown it on both sides. For regular thick chicken breast, brown for about 4 minutes on each side. For the thin filets, brown for only 2 minutes on each side. Then pour ยฝ cup of chicken broth or water. Cover the skillet with a lid. Lower the temperature to medium/low and cook for another 2 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. This method will make the chicken super juicy. Remove the skillet from the heat but leave chicken covered until ready to use.7. Pour the salad dressing over the salad. You can add just a splash of water if you want to make the dressing a bit thinner. Slice the chicken and place it on top of the salad.For making Wraps: Warm a burrito-sized flour tortilla. Then layer with a few big leaves of butter lettuce, chicken slices, beans, corn, bell pepper, onion, and avocado slices if you like. Spoon the dressing over, and wrap it up tightly. (Fold up the ends then roll the wrap) Cut the burrito in half. Serve with Tapatio sauce or salsa if desired. Enjoy!
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