A Mexican salad with grilled chicken and fajita dressing as a marinade! Quick to make and super tasty! Creamy avocado slices, steamed red and yellow pepper strips, and juicy chicken thighs make this Mexican salad the perfect dinner! The challenge here was to combine all of the incredible Mexican-inspired flavors in one chicken salad. When you think of Tex-Mex food, images of fajitas, tacos, nachos, enchiladas and chili con carne automatically come to mind. A Mexican salad would be a light, healthy alternative!
The chicken marinade from this recipe doubles as a salad dressing. Why? This way another dressing won't ruin the flavor of the fajita marinade. Many recipes use one flavor combination as a meat marinade and one that tastes completely differentDressing for saladgiven. With this simple trick, the entire fajita salad will retain the same beautiful flavor!
So prepare double the amount of marinade. Use half to marinate and set the rest of the marinade aside to use as a dressing later! Red chili flakes + freshly squeezed lime juice + coriander + garlic + cumin = so many flavors that harmonize with each other and create a taste explosion in your mouth!
Marinate as long as you like. Marinate overnight or for less than two hours – it all works! And if you're in a hurry, the chicken legs can also be prepared without marinating.
You can also use chicken breast for this Mexican chicken salad, but the boneless chicken thighs are so juicy and tender that they are perfect for this recipe.
Depending on the season, you can prepare the chicken differently -on the grillor in a grill pan. A nonstick skillet is also fine.
Once your chicken is cooked through, let it rest for a good 5 minutes before cutting it into strips. Use this resting time to briefly sauté the sliced onion and pepper strips. Then put all your ingredients together in a large bowl and drizzle with the remaining dressing.
Tender and juicy grilled chicken thighs in a chili-lime marinade
ThisTex-Mex salad is made with romaine lettuce, also known as lettuce, but you can also use butter lettuce, iceberg lettuce or even kale! In less than 30 minutes you can make this filling chicken salad - fresh and full of flavor.
Preparation time
10 minutes
Cooking time
30 minutes
Total time
40 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 484 kcal
Ingredients
Marinade / Dressing:
3 tablespoons olive oil
100 ml (just over 1/3 cup) freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons coriander, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon red chili flakes (or red pepper flakes)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
Salat:
4 boneless chicken thighs (skinless and boneless)
1/2 yellow pepper, deseeded and sliced
1/2 red pepper, deseeded and sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
5 cups romaine lettuce, washed and dried
2 avocados, sliced
Extra coriander leaves for garnish
(optional) sour cream
Preparation:
1. Mix the ingredients for the marinade together. Pour half of the marinade into a shallow bowl to marinate the chicken thighs for two hours, if time permits. Chill the remaining marinade and use it later as a dressing.
2. Heat about a teaspoon of oil in a grill pan or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and grill the chicken thighs on each side until golden, crispy and cooked through. Once the chicken is cooked, set aside and let rest.
3. Wipe the pan with a paper towel. Drizzle with a teaspoon of oil and sauté the pepper and onion strips until cooked to your liking.
4. Cut chicken into strips. Place the romaine lettuce in a sufficiently large salad bowl, then place the avocado slices, pepper and onion strips and chicken on top. Drizzle with the dressing and optionally serve with fresh coriander leaves and a dollop of sour cream.
Nutritional Information
Amount per serving
Calories 484 / Calories of Fat 333
Total fat 37g – 57% (from daily value*)
– of which saturated fat 8 g – 40%
Cholesterol 110 mg – 37%
Natrium 689 mg – 29 %
Potassium 956 mg – 27 %
Carbohydrates 13 g – 4 %
– of which fiber 8 g – 32%
– of which sugar 3 g
Protein 19 g – 38 %
Vitamin A – 119,4 %
Vitamin C – 80,8 %
Calcium – 4.7%
Eisen – 12,8 %
*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
