I love a good salad. To me it tastes far better than a basket of french fries and a lot healthier for you! Since the New Year hubby and I have been trying to commit to eating a little healthier but believe me we are not about to compromise on taste. Being a food blogger the last thing I am going to do is short change our taste buds. This Chicken Fajita Salad with Chipotle Ranch is no exception to that rule. It is big on taste and brings plenty of healthy vegetables and protein to the table. 
Do you like chicken fajitas? Hubby and I love them. Now this Chicken Fajita Salad with Chipotle Ranch brings it all to light in salad form. Perfect for a weekend lunch or dinner. It combines lightly marinated grilled chicken, grilled peppers, and grilled onions nestled on a bed of fresh greens. It is topped with sweet heirloom grape tomatoes and spicy smokey ranch. How can you go wrong there?
Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce give the ranch dressing a wonderful spicy smokey flavor and can be found in the Mexican section of your grocery store!
So go ahead and add this to your weekly menu plans! It is everything I say and more. Chicken Fajita Salad with Chipotle Ranch is something that will feed your body and your soul!
Chicken Fajita Salad with Chipotle Ranch
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 lb chicken breasts cut into strips
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke flavoring
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1 cup bottle ranch dressing
- 1 chipotle pepper chopped plus 1 tablespoon of adobo sauce
- 1 large onion sliced in wide half crescents
- 1 red pepper sliced in wide half crescents
- 1 green pepper sliced in wide half crescents
- 1 orange pepper sliced in wide half crescents
- 8–10 cups mixed salad greens (I used spinach, romaine and butter)
- 1 1/2 cups heirloom grape tomatoes sliced in half
Instructions
- In large Ziploc bag combine chicken, lime juice, olive oil, garlic, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, smoke flavoring, cayenne, black pepper and cumin. Allow to marinate for two hours in refrigerator turning the bag several times.
- In small bowl combine ranch dressing, chipotle pepper and adobo sauce.
- Heat grill to approximately 400 degrees. Grill chicken and veggies until the chicken is done and veggies are starting to blacken on the edges; approximately 10 minutes. Turn halfway through. Remove from grill and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Arrange chicken and peppers on top of greens. Top with sliced grape tomatoes. Add dressing and toss.
Notes
Veggies must be cut large enough not to slip through grill.
Canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce can be found in the Mexican section of your grocery store.
Other recipes you will love!!
Barbecue Chicken Cobb Salad
https://www.smalltownwoman.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Beth-1.pdf
When I grill cut-up veggies I use a “grill basket”. A perforated (1/4 ” or so) metal pan sometimes round wok-shaped and sometimes square/rectangular with sloped sides. This is also available as a flat perforated sheet. These can be used for a variety of grill items, think un-skewered shrimp, scallops, button mushrooms or small fish, for example. Available where ever you find BBQ accessories. I try to keep the small items well oiled so they catch lots of smoke.
Dealing with “Chipotle en Adobo” / Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. Smoked jalapenos in a thick tomato sauce.
Dealing with this stuff was a complete mystery to me the first time. And the second. And the third. (Slow learner, huh?)
What I eventually figured out: remove any non-edibles, mainly stems. Maybe some or all of the seeds depending on your desired heat level. Put everything in a small food chopper/processor or blender. Whiz the heck out of it. You will now have well chopped chipoltes distributed in the tomato sauce. 2 tablespoons is one “serving” and there are about 14 tablespoons in the can or 7 total servings. For the purposes of this recipe you will use 1 tablespoon of the blended sauce. At this point I would remiss if I did not remind you that it really should be “to taste” but I strongly recommend that you actually taste the dressing and then wait for a couple of minutes to allow the heat to “build” in your mouth. You can always add more but you can not un-chipolte it. Now, what about the rest? Take an empty ice cube tray and put 2 tablespoons in each section, or 1 tablespoon in a not-like-it- hot home. Do not touch your face or eyes until you do a good handwash. Bag up the frozen chipolte cubes and store in the freezer for the next time.