Jalapeno Chicken Salad

Jalapeño Chicken Salad is the perfect blend of spicy chili lime chicken and fresh cut veggies, all smothered in a spicy Jalapeño Ranch Dressing.  (But feel free to use Homemade Ranch Dressing if you love that classic flavor!) You won’t know what to do with all of that awesomeness!  If you like the dressing, (and I know you will) it also goes great as a dipping sauce for Bacon Jalapeño Poppers

Jalapeño Chicken Salad

I like my salads to bring me joy.  When I make a salad, I want something to look forward to!  This salad does just that.  Beautiful and flavorful! Piles of shredded rotisserie chicken, perfectly seasoned with a homemade chili lime seasoning, on top of a bed of fresh cut veggies like romaine lettuce, Roma tomatoes, diced red onion, crisp corn kernels, fresh and creamy avocado.  Let us not forget the bacon.  Crispy thick cut bacon.  To top it all off, we add our homemade, crispy fried jalapeños and our homemade Jalapeño Ranch dressing!

Jalapeño Chicken Salad Recipe

I’m not going to lie, you are going to have to work for this Jalapeño Chicken salad, but it is soooo worth it!  The basic foundation of the salad is relatively easy.

Rotisserie Chicken:  We make our own Rotisserie Chicken most of the time, but you can just buy it at the store as well.  You can season it up however you like, but we like our chili lime seasoning.  It pairs perfectly with the zesty and spicy flavors of the Jalapeño Ranch Dressing.  Serve the chicken warm or cold.  We like it both ways.

Thick Cut Bacon:  We almost always get the thick cut bacon.  When we cook up a pile of bacon, we line a baking sheet with tinfoil and cook it in the oven.  No mess, and very little work.  The worst part about the whole thing is the waiting time when all you can do is smell the amazing aroma of cooking bacon.

Fresh Cut Veggies:  We like to use corn, tomatoes, avocado, red onion, and cilantro.  Some other options are shaved carrots, cucumbers, peas, and red, green or yellow peppers.  You might even consider adding some chopped up hard boiled egg as well!

Toppings:  This salad pairs nicely with a ranch based dressing but you could also sub in your own favorites for this recipe as well.  We also top this salad with a hearty pile of crispy fried jalapeños, but you could also use croutons or tortilla strips or homemade croutons.

How to Make Jalapeño Chicken Salad

You will want to start with a few things already prepared.  I would highly suggest chopping all of your veggies and setting them aside in separate bowls.  Cook up and crumble all of your bacon, and make sure you have prepared the Crispy Fried Jalapeños and the Jalapeño Ranch Dressing.  From there, in a medium sized bowl mix together the chicken, chili powder, lime juice, cumin, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder.  Toss the chicken with the seasonings to evenly coat.  In a separate, large bowl, or in 4 small salad bowls, add romaine lettuce, corn, tomatoes, red onion, bacon, avocado, cilantro, and seasoned chicken.  Top with only half of the dressing.  You can always add more, but do this to taste.  Once you have tossed everything together, you can add more to your liking.

Can This Salad be Made Lowfat?

As a salad is generally healthier than the average meal, making this a low-fat salad is actually quite easy to do!

Chicken– use chicken breast that has been boiled or grilled without oil and butter.

Dressing– You could make your own ranch dressing using our Homemade Ranch Dressing but sub out greek yogurt for the sour cream and low-fat buttermilk for the mayonnaise.

Garnish-Use a sunflower seed or nut of your choice for texture in place of croutons or the fried jalapeno spears.