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Santa Fe Salad is a flavorful, veggie loaded salad. Lots of textures and spice, perfect for an easy weeknight dinner.
Table of Contents
Why Make This Santa Fe Salas
This salad is loaded to the max! Tons of vegetables, flavors, textures that work wonderful together. The Chipotle Vinaigrette is addictive, it has a light bite to it and cools off with a touch of honey. This salad is filling, full of feel-good ingredients and the moist, juicy chicken is the perfect protein to top it with. You will love this salad on your weekly rotation.
If you want another great high Protein meal, try my Chipotle Chicken Salad it’s great and so versatile.
Ingredients Needed
Chicken Breasts. I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe.
Oil. This is to cook the chicken up with. I use olive oil.
Seasonings. Garlic, onion powder, chipotle, smoked paprika, salt, pepper.
For The Salad
Romaine Lettuce. I love the crunch of the romaine lettuce with this salad. You can use mixed greens, but the romaine holds up so well and the dressing sticks to it great.
Tomatoes. I use cherry tomatoes and slice them up.
Red Bell Pepper. This adds color and lots of crunch to the salad.
Black Beans. This add fiber, flavor and gives it the southwest flare.
Corn. I use thawed frozen corn kernels, but fresh corn kernels will also work well.
Jalapeño. Sliced jalapeño adds a good crunch, heat and color to the salad.
Avocado. This can be sliced, or you can make a quick easy guac to top the salad with!
Quinoa. This is optional! It adds a little more protein and makes the salad filling.
Green Onions. For flavor and aromatics to the salad. They are so yummy!
Tortilla Chips. You know I love my tortilla chips, I like them crushed up on the top of the salad for a salty crunch (kinda like a crouton!)
Salsa. This is optional and not necessary with the chipotle honey dressing. This makes a good sub for the dressing should you choose to skip the dressing.
Cheese. I use cotija, feta or a mexican cheese blend for this salad.
Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette
Lime. Fresh limes to make the dressing, it gives a bright tangy flavor.
Honey. This adds some sweetness and marries the flavors together well. You can use maple syrup as well.
Garlic. Fresh garlic clove to give the dressing a bite and flavor.
Chipotle In Adobo Sauce. You don’t need much, I usually just use 1 or two full peppers in the adobo sauce. This is what gives the dressing all it’s spice and flavor.
Seasoning. Salt, pepper, oregano
White Vinegar. This is a perfect ingredient to make the Vinaigrette.
Olive Oil. A light tasting and light olive oil is best. Avocado will also work great.
Cilantro. Fresh chopped cilantro, it really makes everything taste wonderful and brings it all together. Use parsley if you aren’t a cilantro fan.
Recipe Variations
Romaine. Use kale, or mixed greens in place of romaine if needed.
Chicken. You can skip the chicken or use chicken thighs for more flavor.
Veggies. Add any veggies of choice to this salad. I also like to add zucchini or leftover grilled peppers.
Olive Oil. Use avocado oil in place for a good substitute.
Steps To Make This Recipe
Step One. Mix all of the chicken seasoning together in a small bowl. If your chicken breasts are large, cut them in half so they cook evenly and quickly. Pat chicken dry and rub the breasts with the seasoning mix. Add oil to a cast iron or large skillet. Cook for 8- 10 minutes each side on medium heat or until internal temperature is 165º and they are cooked through. Set aside to rest.
Step Two. Start quinoa and cook according to package. While chicken/quinoa is cooking, chop tomatoes, romaine onions, bell pepper, jalapeño. Make guac. Mix mashed avocado in a medium bowl with 1/2 tsp salt, 1 Tbsp cilantro.
Step Three. Add romaine and chopped veggie ingredients to a large salad bowl.
Step Four. Make the chipotle honey vinaigrette. Add all the ingredients into a small blender or food processor, pulse until everything is well blended. Add water to the dressing, pulse again and set aside.
Step Five. Cube chicken into bite sized pieces. Pour half of the dressing over the salad, add quinoa, cheese and mix well. Serve, add cubed chicken and more dressing as needed. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
Recipe FAQ’s
It is a little spicy, you can make it less spicy by leaving out the jalapeño and only using one chipotle pepper.
Yes, make this Santa Fe salad vegetarian by leaving out the chicken. You can make it vegan by skipping the cheese as well.
It is typically a salad made up of south western ingredients and flavors. Typically spicy bold flavors.
Recipe Pairings
This recipe is darn good on it’s own but it pairs even better with my Garlic Rolls The fluffy homemade rolls are great for dipping into extra dressing.
Make The Recipe Healthier
You can make this recipe lower in calories but skipping the cheese and avocado on the salad. This will save you about 190 calories per serving.
Storage Tips
If you are meal prepping this salad, keep the quinoa, cheese and dressing on the side until you are ready to chow down. This salad will keep for up to 3 days in the fridge without dressing.
Other Southwestern Inspired Meals
If you loved this recipe let me know! Also, follow me on Instagram & Pinterest for even more fun recipes to make you feel good from the inside out. Thanks for being here.
Santa Fe Salad
Equipment
- large skillet or frying pan
Ingredients
- 3 chicken breasts boneless/skinless
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp chipotle powder
- 1 tsp olive oil
For The Santa Fe Salad
- 6-8 cup romaine
- 1 cup black beans, cooked *see notes
- 1 cup corn kernels thawed
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 cup tomatoes, chopped
- 1 Jalapeño
- 2 green onions
- ¼ cup cotija cheese *see notes
- ¼ cup quinoa
- 1 avocado
- ⅓ cup tortilla chips
Chipotle Honey Vinaigrette
- 1½ limes, juiced
- ⅓ cup light olive oil
- 2 Tbsp chipotle peppers in adobo
- ¼ cup cilantro
- ¼ tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 Tbsp honey *more if needed
- 3 Tbsp water
- 4 Tbsp white vinegar
Instructions
- Mix all of the chicken seasoning together in a small bowl. If your chicken breasts are large, cut them in half so they cook evenly and quickly. Pat chicken dry and rub the breasts with the seasoning mix. Add oil to a cast iron or large skillet. Cook for 8- 10 minutes each side on medium heat or until internal temperature is 165º and they are cooked through. Set aside to rest.
- Start quinoa and cook according to package. While chicken/quinoa is cooking, chop tomatoes, romaine onions, bell pepper, jalapeño. Make guac. Mix mashed avocado in a medium bowl with 1/2 tsp salt, 1 Tbsp cilantro.
- Add romaine and chopped veggie ingredients to a large salad bowl.
- Make the chipotle honey vinaigrette. Add all the ingredients into a small blender or food processor, pulse until everything is well blended. Add water to the dressing, pulse again and set aside.
- Cube chicken into bite sized pieces. Pour half of the dressing over the salad, add quinoa, cheese and mix well. Serve, add cubed chicken and more dressing as needed. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days.
I don’t often comment on recipes but the dressing alone in this recipe is OUTSTANDING! I make salads like this a bunch but can never seem to get the flavor of the dressing right and well, this one hit the nail on the head. Elevated my salad to taste so much more like something from chipotle- brilliant !
Hi Heather! Oh YAY I am so thrilled to hear you enjoyed it 🥰 thanks for taking the time to comment and let me know.
Great salad that is really filling. Didn’t even need the cheese. I forgot to put it in and didn’t even miss it.
That’s great news! Makes the salad even healthier 😉 thanks for coming back to let me know what ya think! Happy cooking. Xoxo
This recipe does not disappoint! The dressing is *chefs kiss* amazing and takes it to a whole new level. You don’t want to sleep on this one!
Thank you Rachel! So happy to hear you loved thid one as much as I do! xoxxo
Stumbled across this salad on Instagram. Super yummy! Thanks for the recipe. It’ll be a go-to in our meal rotation.
Hi Callie!
So thrilled to hear you enjoyed this salad. It’s one of my favorites.
So delicious! I was starting dinner late and grabbed a box of chick fil a nuggets and chopped them to use instead of cooking chicken breasts. 🤣 Loved the dressing and all the bright flavors. Thank you for a wonderful recipe that I’ll put into regular rotation!
Wow this was so good! My husband said that this was the best salad he’s ever eaten! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!
Can you leave out the quinoa and substitute pinto beans for the black beans.
Yea! Absolutely, you can customize it to your liking.
Everyone loved it—including my son who does not like salad! My kids asked me to make again soon.
I am thrilled to hear this, and even more flattered to hear that your son enjoyed it as well. Thanks for letting me know. Xoxo
This salad is one of my faves! It’s always a hit when I make it and I just love the dressing.
Everyone needs to make the salad I can’t get over how tasty it was. I cannot wait to make it again.. my meat and potato loving children even loved this!