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Chicken Taco Salad
5 from 3 votes

Chicken Taco Salad

A fully loaded taco salad! Made with marinated pan seared chicken, nutritious fresh veggies, crispy tortilla chips, and all the best toppings. It's brimming with goodness and completely delicious!

Prep Time
25 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
45 mins
Servings: 4
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican

Ingredients

Taco salad filling
  • 1.5 lbs. chicken thigh trimmed of excess fat, boneless skinless
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil divided
  • 2 Tbsp lime juice fresh
  • 4 tsp chili powder divided
  • 2 tsp cumin ground
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt then to taste
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
  • 1 ear corn husked and kernels cut from cobs, or 1 cup frozen corn, fresh
  • 3/4 cup fresh salsa homemade or store-bought
  • 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
For the salad
  • 6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
  • 4 oz. corn tortilla chips (white, yellow or blue)
  • 1 cup cheddar cheese or Monterey jack cheese, shredded
  • 1 1/2 cups grape tomato halved or 2 roma tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 avocado chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped red onion
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • hot sauce to taste, Mexican

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. In a large mixing bowl whisk together 2 Tbsp lime juice, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 3 tsp chili powder, the cumin, garlic, 1 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste) and pepper.
  2. Add chicken to the mixture and toss well to evenly coat. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
  3. Preheat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Drizzle in 1/2 Tbsp olive oil. Add chicken in a single layer leaving space between the thighs.
  4. Cook until golden brown on bottom, about 6 minutes. Turn chicken and continue to cook until center registers 165 degrees on each pieces, about 6 minutes longer. Transfer to a plate and let rest 5 minutes before cutting into small pieces.
  5. Meanwhile clean skillet of any burnt bits then return to medium-high heat. Add remaining 1/2 Tbsp olive oil and saute corn for 2 minutes. Add black beans, salsa and remaining 1 tsp chili powder and season with salt to taste. Cook about 2 minutes to warm through then remove from heat and toss in cilantro.
  6. To plate taco salad to four individual plates or pasta style bowls evenly divide lettuce, chips, bean filling mixture, chicken, cheese, tomatoes, avocado, red onion, sour cream, and serve with hot sauce.