Chipotle Grilled Chicken Salad Recipe

My fabulous Chipotle Grilled Chicken Salad Recipe has a Honey Jalapeno Vinaigrette that makes this salad sweet and spicy. It’s full of color, texture, and delicious flavors that are anything other than ordinary.

This Chipotle Chicken Salad post has been updated from 2018 to improve your reading experience. No changes were made to the recipe.

Years ago salads served as entrees were rare if nonexistent. If only they had known about this grilled chicken salad recipe back then, we would all have been eating differently.

On the rare occasions that we went out for dinner when I was a child, meals were served with a side salad. These salads were usually chunks or a wedge of iceberg lettuce drowned in dressing. Eating salads as an entree was unheard of.

Boy, have times changed. I had no problem eating this beautiful salad for dinner. There are so many colorful veggies that kept me noshing until I couldn’t shove in another bite. I made a honey jalapeno vinaigrette that had a sweet kick and it paired perfectly with the tender grilled chipotle chicken.

Why You’ll Love This Chipotle Chicken Salad

Full of flavor. The adobo marinade adds incredible depth of flavor to the chicken in this salad and I like to get a little chicken in every bite. It’s so tasty! The honey jalapeno dressing adds the perfect contrast. The flavors of this salad are crave-worthy.

A complete, one-dish meal. You won’t need anything else to complete this meal, the grilled chicken salad recipe stands alone, fills you up, and hits all the right flavor notes for a one-dish meal.

Guilt-Free Eating. Beautiful, fresh greens and protein make this a guilt-free meal with all the right ingredients for healthy eating.

Equipment Needed to Make Chipotle Grilled Chicken Salad

• Food Processor.
• Knives for Chopping.
• Pizza Cutter.
• Grill.

Ingredients for your Grilled Chicken Salad Recipe

• Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts.
• Lettuce Greens. I like a variety of lettuce varieties. Since this salad is topped with chipotle chicken, I use sturdier lettuce including Romaine, Ice Berg, and Green Leaf.
• Fire Roasted Corn. I find mine in my grocers’ freezer section.
• Red Cabbage.
• Red Pepper.
• Avocado. 
• Tomato. You can also use salsa or pico.
• Cilantro. Buy a bundle of the fresh herb at your grocery store, rinse the leaves and break them off of the stems. Use the stems for the paste.
• Chipotle Paste. Ingredients for this homemade paste are listed below.
• Honey Jalepeno Viniagrette. Ingredients for this homemade salad dressing are listed below.
• Tortilla Straws. Make homemade tortilla straws using raw tortillas, or crush tortilla chips to top your salad.

Ingredients for the Chipotle Paste

• Chipotle Chilies in Adobo. This is in a can at your local supermarket.
• Olive Oil. Vegetable or canola is fine too.
• Honey.
• Onion.
• Fresh Cilantro. I use the stems for the paste and the leaves for salad
• Chili Powder.
• Ground Cumin.
• Paprika.
• Cayenne Pepper.
• Mexican Oregano.
• Garlic Powder.
• Salt.
• Ground Black Pepper.
• Zest of 1 Lime. Optional.

Ingredients for the Honey Jalepeno Viniagrette

• Lime Juice and Zest. The acid pairs beautifully with the cilantro.
• Canola or vegetable oil. The fat.
• Salt.
• Fresh Cilantro Leaves and Stems. Flavor.
• Honey. Sweetness.
• Dijon Mustard. Tanginess and Flavor.
• Jalapeno. A little heat.
• Avocado. More fat and flavor.

Please note, that the recipe card has more complete instructions. This is intended as an overview.

How to Make Chipotle Grilled Chicken Salad Recipe

Step 1: First, use a food processor to combine the ingredients in the chipotle paste. Rub it all over your chicken and marinate it for at least thirty minutes. Keep it in the refrigerator to marinate until you are ready to grill it.

Step 2: Next, combine the ingredients of the homemade vinaigrette in a food processor, and refrigerate until you are ready to serve the salad. Season your tortillas and cut them into strips using a pizza cutter. Bake them until crisp. Once they are finished baking, grill your chicken.

Step 3: Assemble the various salad ingredients, rinsing vegetables and chopping as needed. Toss to combine. Add chicken, dressing, and tortilla straws on top.

What to Serve with your Chipotle Grilled Chicken Salad

Crusty Bread or fresh, homemade flour tortillas could both be the perfect accompaniment to this delicious salad as your main entree. You can also pair this chicken chipotle salad with a delicious soup with similar flavors.

Substitutions and Additions

• If you don’t have the ingredients for this amazing Honey Jalapeno Vinaigrette, use any dressing you like that works with chipotle flavors.
• Salmon or shrimp can work in place of the chicken in this recipe.
• Use your favorite vegetables. I wanted this grilled chicken salad to have Mexican-inspired flavors that worked well with the chipotle chicken marinade.

How to Reheat and Store Grilled Chicken Salad Recipe

Best Way to Store Chipotle Grilled Chicken Salad.

Store this salad in a covered container in the refrigerator.

How Long Will the Grilled Chicken Salad Recipe Last in the Fridge?

Covered, this salad will last for up to a week in the refrigerator.

Can I Freeze and Thaw the Chipotle Chicken Salad

No, this salad cannot be frozen. You can, however, grill and freeze the adobo chicken in bulk, and thaw as needed to toss in a salad.

Chipotle Chicken Salad FAQ

Tips to Make the Perfect Grilled Chicken Salad Recipe

Plan ahead. When I make a recipe, I try and repurpose extra ingredients in other recipes. So when I made my Crockpot Chipotle Chicken Tacos, I created an adobe paste that used 2 to 3 chipotle peppers in it.

The little can of chipotle peppers that I use has about 12 peppers in it so I make more and just freeze it in small containers to use on a salad or in other dishes later.

Don’t skip the chipotle marinade. When I needed to add flavor to this chicken, I pulled one of my containers of chipotle paste out of the freezer and slathered it all over the chicken, and just left it in the refrigerator until we were ready to grill it. The first bite of this salad said I’d found exactly what this salad needed.

Chop the lettuce into bite-sized pieces. That makes it so much easier to eat. I like using a sturdier lettuce variety so it doesn’t get weighed down by the ingredients. Iceberg, Romaine, Green Leaf, or a salad mix are good choices.

Store the extra dressing in the fridge. This dressing recipe yields more than what you need for 4 salads so make plenty. It’s delicious and would even make a great sauce for seafood!

I prefer to make tortilla straws with uncooked tortillas. The seasoning sticks to them and they bake up light and crispy.

Nothing is missing in this salad except for the guilt. I actually crave this salad and when I have a batch of the jalapeno dressing made I’ll eat this salad every day until it’s gone. Here are a few more salads that I can eat every single day!

• Fresh Greek Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
• Favorite Green Salad with Sweet Poppyseed Dressing
• Grilled Shrimp Salad with Wheat Berries

Pin this amazing Grilled Chipotle Chicken Salad!

Other recipes to enjoy

• Cherry Chipotle Salad Recipe
• Crockpot Mexican Meatballs in Chipotle Sauce
• Crockpot Chipotle Chicken Tacos Recipe
• Chipotle Garlic Bacon Wrapped Brats with Avocado Pico
• Fresh Greek Salad With Lemon Vinaigrette

Don’t Forget To Come Back And Let Me Know How Your Grilled Chicken Salad Recipe Turned Out!

Print

5 from 3 votes

Chipotle Grilled Chicken Salad

Chipotle Grilled Chicken salad has a Honey Jalapeno Vinaigrette that makes this salad sweet and spicy.  It’s full of colors, textures, and delicious flavors.

Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 15 mins

Total Time 35 mins

Servings 4 servings

Author Hostess At Heart

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

Salad

• 2 chicken breasts Skinless boneless
• 8 cups lettuce Greens of your choice (I like green leaf)
• 1 cup corn Fire roasted – I find mine in my grocers’ freezer section
• 2 cups Red cabbage shredded
• 1 red pepper diced
• .75 avocado remaining 1/4 is used in the dressing
• 1 tomato diced – you can also use salsa or pico
• 1 bunch cilantro

Chipotle paste

• 3 Chipotle Chilies in Adobo
• 3 tbsp olive oil vegetable or canola is fine too
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp diced onion
• 1 cup Fresh cilantro I use the stems for the paste and the leaves for salad
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp Mexican oregano
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt
• ¼ tsp ground black pepper
• Zest of 1 lime optional

Honey Jalapeno Vinaigrette

• 1 lime juice and zest
• 1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves and stems
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 jalapeno seeded
• 1/4 avocado

Tortilla Straws or crushed tortilla chips

• 2 Tortillas raw

Instructions

• Combine chipotle paste ingredients and process in a blender or food processor until thick. Rub chicken thoroughly with paste. Marinate for 30 minutes or up to several hours. Refrigerate until grilling.
• Combine Vinaigrette ingredients and process in a blender or food processor. Refrigerate until serving.

Tortilla Straws

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Spray both sides of each tortilla with non-stick cooking spray or brush with oil. Sprinkle with chipotle chili powder and salt. Cut into strips (a pizza cutter works great). Place tortilla strips on an oiled baking sheet and bake for 5-10 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Grill Chicken and allow to cool slightly. Slice thinly.
• Assemble salad ingredients. Top with grilled chicken and garnish with additional cilantro. Serve with vinaigrette and tortilla straws.
• Store covered in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Notes

This dressing recipe yields more than what you need for 4 salads so make plenty.  It’s delicious and would even make a great sauce for seafood!

Nutrition

Serving: 4g | Sodium: 1766mg | Calcium: 112mg | Vitamin C: 92mg | Vitamin A: 4391IU | Sugar: 32g | Fiber: 11g | Potassium: 1386mg | Cholesterol: 72mg | Calories: 692kcal | Saturated Fat: 25g | Fat: 41g | Protein: 31g | Carbohydrates: 58g | Iron: 4mg

This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.

Tried this recipe? That’s awesome!Mention @hostessatheart or tag #hostessatheart!