Santa Fe Chicken Salad with Tangy Lime Dressing
This Santa Fe Chicken Salad is fresh and hearty with tender chicken breast, black beans, roasted corn and tortilla strips! It’s tossed with a zesty lime dressing for the ultimate loaded salad!
There’s rarely a day that I don’t eat salad because it’s the perfect way to get a wide variety of veggies (and sometimes fruit!) all in one sitting.
When I eat out I often gravitate toward large salads like salmon nicoise salad and chicken cobb salad instead of ordering a heavy entree, and that’s especially true when I go out for Mexican food.
If I see a salad like this Santa Fe Chicken Salad on the menu, I’m gonna order it. 🙂
This salad has everything I love all in one place. It’s packed with grilled chicken breast, hearty black beans, veggies and crunchy tortilla strips.
And the clincher? It’s tossed in a fresh, zesty lime dressing that brings it all together.
Components can be made in advance, making this the perfect weeknight meal. 🙂
Why you’ll love this recipe
- This Santa Fe Chicken Salad is fresh and hearty with plenty of zesty flavor.
- It’s packed with grilled chicken breast and black beans so it’s a high protein meal.
- Components can be made in advance, making this a great meal prep meal.
- It can be easily customized with ingredients that you already have on hand.
Recipe ingredients
This salad has a wide variety of ingredients that can be customized based on your personal preferences or what you have on hand.
- Chicken. You can grill the chicken as instructed in the recipe, or use leftover or rotisserie chicken as a time saver. You can also sub with your favorite protein or make this salad meatless.
- Lettuce. Romaine lettuce is a great choice here as it’s nice and crisp. You can certainly substitute it with your favorite variety.
- Black beans. My Instant Pot black beans make this recipe next level, but using rinsed and drained canned beans is a great time saver.
- Veggies. Corn, tomatoes, green onions and avocado can be swapped out with whatever veggies you have on hand.
- Tortilla strips. These add crunch and make the salad even more satisfying. If you wish, omit them and sub with pepitas.
- Dressing. The lime dressing is nice and zesty. Feel free to use your favorite store bought brand.
See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and quantities.
How to make this recipe
This Santa Fe salad with chicken has a few components, but most of them can be prepared in advance to make salad assembly a breeze.
Pro tip: Prep the chicken, corn and dressing up to a day or so in advance for meal prep.
See the recipe card below for full instructions.
- Grill the chicken. Season the chicken with the taco seasoning and grill the chicken breast about 8 minutes per side or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
- Grill the corn. While the chicken cooks, place the corn on the grill and cook on all sides, turning every 3-4 minutes or until blackened. Remove from heat and cut the corn from the cob when cool enough to handle.
- Prepare the tortilla strips. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the tortilla strips with the olive oil and salt, to taste. Bake in an even layer for 5 minutes or until golden and crispy.
- Prepare the dressing. Place all salad ingredients in a small jar, cover and shake until combined.
- Assemble the salad. Place the lettuce, chicken, green onions, cherry tomatoes, black beans, roasted corn, avocado, and cheddar cheese and tortilla strips in a large bowl. Add enough dressing to coat — you may not need it all.
Serving suggestions
This salad is so satisfying as-is, but below are some different ways to change things up!
- Serve with a side of Mexican sweet corn cake to take this meal over the top.
- Use grilled tequila lime chicken for extra flavor. You can even sub out the chicken for chili lime grilled shrimp skewers or blackened salmon as well!
- Omit the chicken and cheese to make this recipe dairy-free and vegan.
- Swap the tortilla strips with toasted pepitas for a grain-free, lower carb twist.
Recipe notes
- Pro tip: Prep the chicken, corn and dressing up to a day or so in advance for meal prep.
- For best results, serve the salad immediately after assembly.
- For meal prep, store salad components separately for up to 3 days.
More salad recipes you’ll love:
Did you try this recipe? If so, be sure to leave a review below and tag me @flavorthemoments on Facebook and Instagram
Santa Fe Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts about 1 – 1.5 pounds
- 3 teaspoons homemade taco seasoning or your favorite store bought seasoning
- 1 large ear of corn husks and silks removed (or about 1 cup of thawed frozen corn)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 small corn tortillas cut into strips
- 4 cups romaine lettuce chopped; sub with your favorite lettuce
- 2 green onions white and green parts, sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 cup black beans rinsed and drained
- 1 avocado seeded and diced
- 1 cup grated cheese cheddar or your favorite
For the dressing:
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup substitute with honey
- 1 tablespoon freshly chopped cilantro
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Season the chicken breast with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with the taco seasoning. Let stand at room temperature for about 1 hour.2 skinless boneless chicken breasts, 3 teaspoons homemade taco seasoning
- Preheat the grill to medium and cook the chicken breast about 8 minutes per side or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees. Remove from heat, cover loosely with foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes before chopping or slicing.
- While the chicken cooks, place the corn on the grill and cook on all sides, turning every 3-4 minutes or until blackened. Remove from heat and cut the corn from the cob when cool enough to handle.1 large ear of corn
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the tortilla strips with the olive oil and salt, to taste. Bake in an even layer for 5 minutes or until golden and crispy.2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 small corn tortillas
- Place the lettuce, chicken, green onions, cherry tomatoes, black beans, roasted corn, avocado, and cheddar cheese and tortilla strips in a large bowl.4 cups romaine lettuce, 2 green onions, 1 cup cherry tomatoes, 1 cup black beans, 1 avocado, 1 cup grated cheese
- Place all salad ingredients in a small jar, cover and shake until combined. Drizzle the desired amount of dressing over the salad and toss to coat. Serve immediately and enjoy!6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice, 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup, 1 tablespoon freshly chopped cilantro, salt and freshly ground black pepper
Notes
- Pro tip: Prep the chicken, grilled corn and dressing in advance to make salad assembly even faster.
- Total time above includes grilling chicken and corn. You may prep the chicken and corn in advance or you may also opt to use leftover or rotisserie chicken and thawed frozen corn to make meal prep even faster!
- You will more than likely have dressing leftover. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
**This post was originally published in April 2013. I’ve updated the post with new photos, text and have modified the recipe slightly.
25 Comments on “Santa Fe Chicken Salad with Tangy Lime Dressing”
Very tasty and easy meal! I don’t have a grill so I used chicken tenders and baked them in the oven at 400 for 20 min while preparing the rest of the salad.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the salad Kiki, and I appreciate your feedback! 🙂
I made this for my wife. At first reading, the maple syrup seemed out of place, but if you use syrup from bigtooth maples (which are native to New Mexico and contain less sugar than New England maples), the salad is excellent. Thank you for posting this. Why does “Flavor The Moments” want my IP address?
I’m glad you like the salad and thanks for your feedback!
This definitely looks like my kind of salad too Marcie! I have a salad for lunch or dinner almost every day, and usually order them when we go out to eat at restaurants. I love homemade dressings and this tangy lime dressing sounds like a must try!
You sound like you love salads as much as I do! Thanks Leanne! 🙂
Salads, Taco-esq recipes, and I are best friends in the summertime. Who am I kidding, taco-esq recipes and I are best friends all year around! I can’t wait to mow down this satisfying looking salad when mother nature finally cracks up the heat! Looks amazing!
I am loving all of those bright colors and flavors!
Thank you Zainab! 🙂
This is so my kind of meal, Marcie! I would actually prefer a big, hearty salad like this to many other meals. Crisp lettuce combined with that tangy dressing sounds so perfect for this summer!
This is definitely a great spring/summer meal! Thanks Katherine and I hope your baby girl comes soon! 🙂
I’m thrilled you updated this post, because I’m pretty sure I missed it the first time around, Marcie! And that’s a dang shame!!! We definitely order the same way at restaurants, and if this flavor packed beauty was on a menu, best believe I’d order it!! Can’t wait to make this at home! Pinned! Cheers!
Pretty much everybody missed this post because I didn’t have many followers then! LOL Thanks Cheyanne! 🙂
I’m right there with you…I eat salads all the time! And when I go out to eat Santa fe salads are one of my favorites. This looks perfect, Marcie! That tangy lime dressing is calling my name. So wonderful for spring and Cinco de Mayo!
Thanks Gayle — loaded salads are just the best! 🙂
I’m a salad girl, too! I can’t get enough of them. This looks like one I would love. Pinning this! 🙂
That’s great, Nicole! I hope you enjoy it when you make it!
Gah, I love this salad. Everything about it – especially that lime dressing! I agree with you on roasted corn – it makes everything better : )
Thanks, Ashley! I’ll be grilling a lot of corn as it’s everywhere right now. YAY!
Oh this salad. Sounds amazing!!!
Thanks, Aimee! I ate it 3 days straight!
I LOCE santa fe salads. I used to get it almost every day at work. Yours looks perfect, I would love to try this!
Thank you! If you try it, I hope you enjoy it!
Looks delicious! I’m always looking for easy salads like this to take to work.
I’ve been eating it for lunch the past couple of days and certainly didn’t tire of it!