Tex Mex Hen Salad | Diethood

This Tex-Mex hen salad is a wholesome salad recipe you may make tonight! It’s made with juicy margarita-marinated grilled hen on a mattress of crisp lettuce, ripe tomatoes, and crunchy crimson onions with avocado, candy corn, and black beans. Don’t neglect the creamy avocado dressing!

Wholesome Tex Mex Hen Salad

This tackle a Tex Mex Hen Salad is a bit like a Santa Fe salad or Southwest chicken salad. It’s critically love at first chunk! The hen is marinated for hours in a easy however flavor-packed margarita marinade earlier than you grill it. The result’s the juiciest, most flavorful hen strips ever. It’s onerous to withstand gobbling them down earlier than you even assemble the salad!

We’ll serve it over a mattress of crispy iceberg lettuce with ripe tomatoes, crunchy crimson onions, and buttery avocado rounded out with corn, black beans, and avocado dressing. You’re going to go nuts for the zesty, spicy, creamy Tex Mex taste mixtures on this straightforward salad recipe. Each minute that hen spends marinating within the fridge is completely value it!

Why You’ll Love This Tex Mex Hen Salad Recipe

• Recent and simple substances. You don’t want any fancy or sophisticated substances to make this tasty and wholesome Tex Mex salad. Only a few contemporary veggies right here, a slice or two of ultra-tender hen breast there. Simple peasy.
• Margarita marinade. This isn’t simply any grilled hen, it’s margarita grilled hen, and it’s DELICIOUS. So tender, so juicy. It’s impressed by a variation that I had at Chili’s as soon as. My selfmade margarita marinade is simple to make with a package deal of margarita combine and contemporary lime juice.
• Meal-in-one. This Tex Mex hen salad has all of it. Loads of veggies, juicy marinated hen, and a great deal of zesty Southwestern taste wrapped up in a single wholesome bowlful. It’s satisfying to function is for lunch or a light-weight dinner, or you’ll be able to spherical out a meal along with your favourite sides.

How you can Make a Tex Mex Hen Salad

We’ll stroll by means of make the BEST grilled hen salad loaded with Tex Mex taste, beginning with some notes on the substances you’ll want. You’ll want to scroll to the recipe card under the publish for the total ingredient quantities and recipe directions.

Salad Components

• Hen: Skinless, boneless hen breasts, minimize in half. You can too use hen thighs, they’ll simply take a bit longer to prepare dinner.
• Marinade: You’ll make a fast Tex Mex hen marinade from margarita combine, lime juice (freshly squeezed is a should), olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
• Lettuce: I make this salad with crisp iceberg lettuce, however you should use any leafy inexperienced that you’ve got readily available. Romaine, arugula, butter lettuce, spinach, or perhaps a spring combine are all good choices.
• Candy Corn and Black Beans: You need to use canned corn and beans for further comfort, simply make sure you rinse and drain them effectively beforehand. I additionally like to make this salad when I’ve leftover grilled corn on the cob.
• Tomatoes and Onion: Diced onion and tomatoes praise the Tex Mex flavors and add some contemporary veggies to the combo. You need to use crimson onion or yellow onion. Inexperienced onions would additionally work.
• Avocado: Creamy avocado is stuffed with wholesome fat and tastes nice on this Mexican-style hen salad.
• Garnishes: Garnish this salad with tortilla chips, shredded cheese, chopped cilantro, or another toppings you’d like. See additional within the publish for extra add-ons and variation concepts.
• Dressing: I toss the whole lot along with my creamy avocado lime dressing. It’s gentle and contemporary and tremendous straightforward to make.

Instructions

• Marinate the hen. Mix the margarita combine and marinade substances in a big Ziploc bag. Add the hen and toss to coat. Afterward, let the hen marinate within the fridge for a couple of hours.
• Grill the hen. Grill your hen utilizing your methodology of alternative. I exploit a grill pan on the stovetop to prepare dinner the hen for about 6 minutes per aspect till cooked by means of. This hen can also be nice on the out of doors grill through the summertime (comply with the grilling instructions for my grilled blackened chicken). 
• Assemble the salad. Start by including your chopped lettuce to a big salad bowl. Subsequent, layer on the corn kernels, rinsed and drained black beans, tomatoes, crimson onion, and avocado. 
• Add the hen and dressing. Lastly, slice up the grilled hen and add this to the salad. High the entire thing with a beneficiant drizzle of avocado dressing, or your dressing of alternative.

Ideas for Success

A selfmade Tex Mex hen salad is nearly foolproof. That being stated, I seen the next whereas testing this recipe:

• Let the hen marinate. This takes a little bit of planning forward, but it surely makes all of the distinction! The hen wants about 2-8 hours to marinate within the margarita combination and actually take in all these flavors. Not solely that, marinating is vital for ultra-tender hen.
• Use what you have got. There’s no unsuitable strategy to make a salad. When you’re lacking an ingredient, swap it out for no matter you have got readily available to customise this Tex Mex hen salad nevertheless you’d like. See under for some concepts.
• Cooking occasions will range. Relying on the thickeness of your hen items, the precise grilling occasions could also be totally different from the occasions which are given. Use my instructions as a tenet, however ensure that to verify your hen for doneness (see under).

Can I Bake the Hen As a substitute?

Sure! When you’d choose to bake your Tex Mex hen for this salad, bake the marinated hen for about 20-Half-hour at 400ºF till cooked by means of. Precise baking occasions will rely upon the scale and thickness of your hen breasts. Seek advice from the instructions in my oven-baked chicken breasts recipe for particulars.

How Can I Inform When Hen Is Completed? 

The best strategy to inform if the hen breasts are finished cooking is to take the temperature utilizing an instant-read thermometer. In response to USDA tips, hen is cooked when the inner temperature reaches 165ºF.

Salad Variations and Add-Ons

It’s your salad, and you’ll costume this Tex Mex hen salad up or down nevertheless you’d like.

• Completely different protein. Rather than marinaded hen, high this salad with steak, or one other protein like salmon or grilled shrimp.
• Vegetarian. To make a vegetarian Tex Mex salad, skip the hen, or strive marinating tofu as a substitute. You can too high this salad with meaty fried mushrooms, tempeh, lentils, or chopped up chickpea patties.
• Completely different marinade. When you’d choose one other grilled hen marinade, strive my beer marinade or make juicy cilantro lime chicken. You possibly can even skip the marinade and high your salad with crispy fried chicken as a substitute. 
• Grains. Rather than or along with lettuce, assemble this salad on a mattress of quinoa or bulgur wheat, or strive coconut lime cauliflower rice for a low-carb model.
• Cheese. Crumble over contemporary Mexican cotija cheese or feta, or add shredded Asiago, delicate Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack cheese, or a shredded Mexican cheese mix.
• Completely different dressing. Different good dressing choices are Catalina dressing or Ranch dressing. Or, you’ll be able to check out my favourite homemade salad dressings for extra concepts. 
• Extra veggies. Bulk up the greens with no matter’s in season. Add on sliced cucumber, shredded carrot, or shredded cabbage. You can too add sauteed or roasted bell peppers, grilled zucchini, or grilled eggplant to the combo. 
• Extra add-ons. Crumble on cooked crispy bacon, or strive diced mango for some contrasting sweetness. You can too strive including pomegranate seeds, craisins, croutons, pumpkin seeds, or pepitas. Something goes!

What to Serve with a Tex Mex Hen Salad

We love making this salad for a straightforward gentle meal or wholesome lunch through the week. You possibly can’t beat these zesty flavors! In fact, there are many methods to show this hen salad right into a extra hearty meal. Attempt these serving options:

How you can Make Forward and Retailer

• Fridge. It’s greatest to get pleasure from this salad quickly after it’s made. Do your greatest to retailer leftover substances separate from the dressing. Preserve leftover salad lined within the fridge for 1-2 days. The refrigerated avocado dressing will keep contemporary for as much as 1 week.
• Make forward. To get a headstart on this salad, you’ll be able to meal prep the hen forward of time. Marinate and grill the hen as directed, and retailer it hermetic within the fridge for as much as 3-4 days. Slice it and add it to your salad everytime you’re prepared. You can too make the dressing prematurely and retailer it hermetic within the fridge.
• Freeze. Whereas I don’t advocate freezing the salad substances, you’ll be able to completely freeze any leftover margarita hen breast. Retailer the cooked and cooled hen hermetic and freeze it for as much as 3 months. Thaw the hen within the fridge in a single day earlier than including it to your subsequent Tex Mex salad.

ENJOY!

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