Grilled Chicken Fajita Salad

I love fajitas. The way the peppers and onions compliment the perfectly marinated and seasoned chicken (or shrimp or steak if you’re feeling adventurous). There is nothing like the marriage of the flavors as they all combine into that perfect bite. This recipe brings together all of the deliciousness of a perfect fajita… but in a salad form. With the crisp crunch of the lettuce, you’ll never even miss the tortillas!

In a small bowl, whisk the marinade/dressing ingredients together until well combined. Set aside for right now.

Why should you cut the chicken breasts into smaller pieces?

For this recipe, we cut the chicken breasts into two thin fillets each. The ones that I had for this recipe were really generous so I flipped them on their side and cut across the middle. You can cut them in half too. The point is to make the pieces smaller so that they better absorb the marinade, they cook faster, and more pieces get that grilled char on them, resulting in more flavor in your chicken, making the whole fajita salad better! You don’t have to do it this way – do whatever works for you but trust me, smaller is better!

Next, place the chicken into a large ziploc bag, bowl or suitable container with a lid. Pour half of the mixture in with the chicken, turning to coat. Seal the bag (or the container) and marinate for 2 hours in the refrigerator. Set the remaining half of the dressing in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble the salad.

Heat one teaspoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add peppers and onions and cook, stirring often, until onions are translucent and peppers have softened, about seven minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Remove the chicken from the ziploc bag and discard the remaining marinade. On an outdoor grill cook chicken breast pieces until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees, flipping at least once.

Finely chop the cilantro and toss with romaine lettuce in a large bowl. Chop chicken into bite sized pieces and cut avocados into slices.

Add avocado, peppers and onions to the lettuce mixture. Pour reserved dressing over the contents of the bowl and toss to combine.

Divide into bowls and top with the grilled chicken. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Fajita Salad

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Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts boneless, skinless

Marinade / Dressing

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup lime juice
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tsp brown sugar packed
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp salt

Fajita Veggies

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 yellow bell pepper seeded and sliced
• 1 red bell pepper seeded and sliced
• 1 small onion Sliced in strips

Salad

• 5 cups romaine lettuce cleaned and chopped
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 2 avocados sliced

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Instructions

• Whisk the marinade/dressing ingredients together until well combined.
• Cut the chicken breasts into two thin fillets each and put into a large ziploc bag, bowl or suitable container with a lid.
• Pour half of the mixture in with the chicken, turning to coat. Seal the bag (or the container) and marinate for 2 hours in the refrigerator.
• Set the remaining half of the dressing in the refrigerator until you are ready to assemble the salad.
• Heat one teaspoon of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add peppers and onions and cook, stirring often, until onions are translucent and peppers have softened, about seven minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
• On an outdoor grill cook chicken breasts until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
• Finely chop the cilantro and toss with romaine lettuce in a large bowl.
• Chop chicken into bite sized pieces and cut avocados into slices.
• Add avocado, peppers and onions to the lettuce mixture. Pour reserved dressing over the contents of the bowl and toss to combine.
• Divide into bowls and top with the grilled chicken. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

* The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator.

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