Santa Fe Salad is a flavorful, veggie loaded salad. Lots of textures and spice, perfect for an easy weeknight dinner. 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

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

• Chicken Breasts. I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe.
• 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. Apple cider vinegar will also work.
• 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.

Steps To Make This Recipe

Ready to cook up this Santa Fe Salad? Let me walk you through the recipe. For your convenience, there is a full ingredient list and detailed instructions in the printable recipe card below.

• 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

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.

Other great salads To try

Appetizers

Burrata Tomato Salad

Salads

Lemon Kale Caesar Salad

Salads

Cajun Chicken Salad

Dinner

Green Goddess Chicken Salad

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