Southwest Chicken Salad

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Southwest Chicken Salad is the perfect grilled chicken salad recipe for summer! Juicy chicken, roasted corn and garden veggies topped with tangy honey lime dressing. Make this easy recipe for dinner tonight!

closeup side view of southwest chicken salad on white plate


Do you grill your meals outdoors during the hot months of summer? I do, and not only because it keeps the kitchen cool. Grilled foods taste better and as long as they aren’t overloaded with unhealthy ingredients, they’re usually healthier too.

You can grill salmon in foil or make grilled pineapple salmon for some healthy protein. For veggie side dishes, make some grilled cauliflower steaks or grilled cactus salad. Meals like those are low in calories and full of flavor.

For the bbq chicken lovers, I have plenty of healthy grilled chicken recipes, including this off the hook, southwest grilled chicken salad!

overhead: plate of salad greens with grilled corn, southwestern veggies and slices of chicken breast

Grilled Southwest Chicken Salad

This salad recipe combines three of my favorite foods; bbq chicken, Mexican street corn, and apricots! Adding them to a healthy salad with southwest veggies like avocado and peppers, chickpeas and tangy honey lime dressing makes it a winner of a summer dinner!

The grilled corn is off the hook delicious, and it’s easy to make too. Those little charred bits of corn add some seriously big flavor to the salad!

You can make a little or a lot of it, so it’s perfect for a small family meal or for feeding a crowd at picnics and get-togethers with family and friends. Plus, it’s made and on the table in 30 minutes!

closeup of bbq chicken salad with honey lime dressing

Ingredient Notes

  • Chicken– I use chicken tenders for this recipe because they grill more quickly than a whole chicken breast. If you need to grill larger pieces of chicken, just be sure to cook them to an internal temperature of 165°F.
  • Corn on the cob– If you can’t find any fresh ears of corn at the market, it’s okay. You can use fire roasted corn instead. It’s sold in the frozen vegetables aisle of most stores, and I’ve seen it at specialty stores like Trader Joes, too.
  • Garbanzo beans– Feel free to switch up the ingredients to suit your taste preference. I love chickpeas (garbanzo beans) and they have a lot of health benefits, so I like to toss them into a salad like this one. Black or kidney beans would be delicious in a southwest chicken salad, too.

    You can use canned beans or cook them yourself. Check out this post on how to cook chickpeas if you need instructions!

Grilled Chicken Salad Recipe Video

Watch the video in the recipe card at the bottom of this post to see how I grill everything and assemble it.

southwest grilled chicken salad on white plate

Prepping Ahead

One really nice thing about this grilled chicken salad recipe is that you can prep a lot of the ingredients ahead of time.

When you get home from the store, spend 30 minute cleaning and prepping any veggies that you’ll need. Then, place everything into Ziploc bags or an airtight container and you’ll be good to go. It’ll save you a lot of time later!

closeup side view of southwest chicken salad on white plate

Grilled Southwest Chicken Salad + Video

Southwest Chicken Salad has juicy grilled chicken, corn and garden veggies . Make this southwest salad recipe for an easy dinner tonight!
Servings: 2 servings
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 30 minutes

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Preheat grill to 350°F.
  • Brush mayonnaise all over both ears of corn. Sprinkle with kosher salt and cumin and grill until cooked and slightly charred (about 12-15 minutes total). Allow to cool and cut kernels off cob. Set aside.
  • Grill chicken tenders 2 minutes per side, or until cooked through depending on size, basting with BBQ sauce. Remove from grill, allow to rest (then chop into bite size pieces) while you make salad.
  • To a mixing bowl add honey, lime juice and salt. Whisk together then add the salad greens. Toss to coat,  divide salad greens on two plates.
  • To the same bowl, add grilled corn, bell peppers, avocado, apricots, chickpeas (if using) and chopped BBQ chicken. Mix well and divide on top of salad greens. Season with fresh cracked black pepper and serve.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 518kcal | Carbohydrates: 49.5g | Protein: 29.8g | Fat: 24.8g | Saturated Fat: 5.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 75.4mg | Sodium: 340.8mg | Fiber: 8.7g | Sugar: 25.3g

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Course: Dinners, salads
Cuisine: American, Southwest
Have You Made This Recipe? Let Me Know on InstagramTag @keviniscooking or tag me #keviniscooking!

This recipe first appeared here on Kevin Is Cooking in June 2015. The content has been updated to include a video.

titled image (and shown): southwest chicken salad

Kevin

Whether in the kitchen or on the grill, you’ll find me cooking American favorites with a love for BBQ, Mexican and Tex Mex. I’m passionate about making tasty food because life’s too short to be bland!

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