Chipotle Chicken Salad is full of lean Protein, easy to whip up and made with simple ingredients you will love. Ready in 20 minutes or less.

Why Make Chipotle Chicken Salad

This chicken salad will knock your socks off with bold flavor. It’s mildly spicy, creamy and a great change up from the traditional chicken salad. If you want a salad with a little less adventure in flavor try my Chicken Salad Wrap Recipe.

Protein loaded, this chicken salad has a great amount of protein in it, keeping you fuller for longer! You can dip crackers, or chips into it, top salads with this recipe or make some toasted wraps. The options are endless and you will love them all.

Easy to make. I make my own chicken for this recipe, but you can make this even easier and more fuss free by using rotisserie chicken and shredding it. This will cut the time down by 20 minutes. Regardless it comes together quickly like Curry Chicken Salad. For a more complete meal, Southwest Chicken Bowls really hit the spot.

Ingredients Needed

Chicken Breasts. I make my own shredded chicken from scratch but if you want to make this recipe even easier and more fuss free, use shredded rotisserie chicken.

Chipotle Peppers In Adobe. Canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are the key ingredient to this recipe. They aren’t overly spicy and can be found in the international aisle at the grocery store.

Seasonings. Salt, pepper, dried basil.

Plain Greek Yogurt. This adds a creaminess and it brings the flavors together in the chipotle sauce. Greek yogurt adds more protein to the recipe.

All other ingredients and measurements can be found in the recipe card towards the bottom of this post. 

Recipe Variations & Substitutions

Chicken Breasts. If you want to make this recipe even quicker, use pre made rotisserie chicken and shred it. Turkey breasts will also work.

Plain Greek Yogurt. You can use sour cream in place of the yogurt.

Green Bell Pepper. This is optional, it adds a little more crunch and flavor to the salad. If you want to make this recipe even easier, you can sub raw chopped celery.

Lemon. Fresh squeezed lemon (or lime) is needed for the sauce, either one will work great.

Steps To Make This Recipe

Step One. If you are cooking your own chicken; heat oil in a large skillet. Cut the chicken breasts in half so they cook a bit quicker. Pat the chicken dry and add the seasonings. Cook in the skillet for about 10-11 minutes each side, or until internal heat reaches 165º (photo 1).

Step Two. When the chicken is about 10 minutes from being cooked, add in onions and peppers and let them sauté while the chicken cooks. Once the chicken is cooked through, let it sit for a few minutes and shred, add the sautéed peppers and onions, mix well and set aside in a large bowl (photo 2).

*pro tip- add the breasts to a stand mixer and shred them on low/medium setting.

Step Three. *If you are using rotisserie chicken, sauté the peppers and onions in oil with seasonings on their own for about 4-6 minutes, add them to the shredded rotisserie.

Step Four. Add all the Chipotle Sauce ingredients to a small blender or food processor (Chipotle peppers, apple cider vinegar, honey, lemon, mayo, plain greek yogurt, garlic cloves, cilantro, water). Blend until everything is smooth.

Step Five. Add the chipotle sauce and chopped green onions to the shredded chicken, mix well. Add the Chipotle Chicken Salad to a wraps, sandwiches, dip crackers in it or eat as it. Enjoy!

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can freeze these for up to 2 months.   

Recipe FAQs

Recipe Tips

Make it dairy free! Use plant based sour cream or plain plant based yogurt in place of the greek yogurt.

Taste the Chipotle Dressing as you go! Everyone has different flavor preferences, be sure to taste as you go, if you are sensitive to heat start with less adobo peppers. If you want to add more honey or lemon you can easily adjust the flavors.

Don’t Forget Crunch. Add a crunch element to your salad, such as tortilla strips, croutons, or toasted pumpkin seeds (pepitas), to enhance the texture.

Garnish with Fresh Herbs. Add a burst of freshness by garnishing the salad with chopped cilantro, parsley, or green onions.

Recipe Pairings

This chicken salad is great on it’s own, but you can easily make it more hearty by adding it on top of a bed of letting, make a wrap, sandwiches or serve it as an appetizer or light lunch with crackers. It’s delicious I know you will love it!

Other Lunch Recipes To Try

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