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Santa Fe Chicken Salad Lunchbox

Prep Time:

10 Minutes

Cook Time:

15 Minutes

Serves:

6 Servings

About the Recipe

No better way to get your family hooked on eating salads than this southwest-inspired Santa Fe Chicken Salad recipe. With flavors like taco grilled chicken, black beans, corn, avocado, and Homemade Jalapeño Ranch, it’s sure to be a meal your family will crave.

Ingredients

Jalapeño Ranch Dressing:

  • ¾ cup mayonnaise

  • ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt

  • 2 tablespoons lime juice

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • ⅓ cup milk

  • ⅓ cup chopped cilantro

  • 2 garlic cloves

  • ½ jalapeño, stemmed and seeded

  • ¼ teaspoon salt

  • ¼ teaspoon pepper


Salads:

  • 1 tablespoon olive or avocado oil, for cooking

  • 2 teaspoons taco seasoning

  • 1 pound chicken breasts, boneless skinless

  • 1 large head green lettuce, chopped

  • 15- ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

  • 1 cup corn, thawed if using frozen

  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

  • ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

  • 1 avocado, diced

Instructions

Make the dressing:

  • In a blender or food processor, combine all the dressing ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate leftovers up to 1 week.


Cook the chicken:

  • Heat oil inside a large pan over medium-high heat. Season chicken breasts with taco seasoning and cook the first side for 6 minutes and flip, cooking the other side for another 5 minutes, until the internal temperature has reached 165F. Remove from pan and set aside.


Pack it for lunch:

  • Divide the chopped lettuce between 6 lunch containers. Top with black beans and corn.

  • Cut the chicken breasts into 1-inch pieces and distribute them over the salad. Top with cherry tomatoes, shredded cheese, and avocado.

  • Pack the Jalapeño Ranch Dressing into mini sauce containers and send with the salads. 

As prepared via: Laura Fuentes

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