Inspired by a restaurant-favorite, this tender and tangy chicken is marinated in flavors of margarita mix and lime, served atop a beautiful and colorful tex-mex salad.
Happy Sunday, Friends!
First, and in case you didn’t notice, it’s giveaway time again!! There’s a CANON DSLR Giveaway in this corner, $350.00 Giveaway in that corner, and now an iPad Air Giveaway right here, right now! Come awwwwn now! Who’s yo gurrrrrl??? <all pointing at me> <i hope>
Secondly. Can we pretend it’s Summer?
For realsies? I am over it. I tell you this every day, but it really is insanely cold out here. Coats and scarves aren’t enough. Besides, we’re like 4 days from Spring and they’re talking about more snow in the coming hours. World problems, I know.
So. We’re pretending it’s Summer with this Tex-Mex Margarita Chicken Salad. However, it all started with a trip to Chili’s.
Since we’re all in the circle of trust here, I feel comfortable telling you that once in a while, I don’t cook. Shocking, right? Feels good to get that off my chest.
Recently – because I didn’t cook – we went to Chili’s and I ordered some Margarita Chicken Salad thingamajig? Umm… love at first bite. LOVE! I wanted to bathe in it. I was smitten by a piece of chicken breast. So tender, so juicy, soooo delicious.
Thus, just a few days later, I got to work and made my own Margarita Chicken. Happy to report, I was smitten by my own, as well.
I let this baby marinade for hours on end. It slept in the fridge an entire night and half-a-day, swimming in a pool of a delicious Margarita Mix concoction. Now, you know that when something marinades for hours on end, it has to be good. Damn good! And this was no exception.
The only thing that I couldn’t do, but I wish I could have done, was grilled it on the grill that’s waiting for me on our porch. Instead, I used a grill pan and cooked it on the stove top. To my surprise, it was super juicy!
But for real, it’s all about the margarita mixture, and over the last few years I have determined that marinading chicken over night is truly key. Try my Garlic-Yogurt Baked Chicken and you’ll see – flavor explosion, if you will. Therefore, I hope you have a few hours to spare and make this amazingness soon. I know it’s sort of a pain to let things just marinade in the fridge for a few hours, but it’s so worth it and it’s SO GOOD! And don’t forget the salad!
ENJOY!
Scroll down and ENTER the GIVEAWAY! GOOD LUCK!! xo
- 1/2 cup margarita mix
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1 cup olive oil
- kosher salt and fresh ground pepper , to taste
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 4 to 6 skinless , boneless chicken breast halves
- 1 head iceberg lettuce , chopped
- 1 cup corn kernels , cooked
- 1 can black beans , well rinsed
- 2 tomatoes , diced
- 1 red onion , diced
- 1 avocado , sliced
- tortilla strips or chips , optional
- Click here for my Creamy Avocado Salad Dressing (Optional)
- In a large freezer bag or Ziploc bag, combine margarita mix, lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder; stir until well combined and add chicken.
- Close bag and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
- Coat grill pan with cooking spray and set over medium-high heat.
- Remove chicken from ziploc bag and discard sauce.
- Add chicken to grill pan and cook for 6 minutes; flip and continue to cook for an additional 5 to 8 minutes, or until done.
- In the meantime, prepare the salad.
- In a large salad bowl, layer chopped iceberg lettuce.
- Add corn, black beans, tomatoes, red onion, and avocado slices.
- When chicken is done, slice into strips and add on top of salad.
- Toss with Creamy Avocado Salad Dressing.
- Serve.
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Chicken and Dumplings Recipe says
Gorgeous, I love to cook……..
Torie Morris says
Would the “margarita mix” contain the tequila or would it just be the lime/sugar/water part? I’m wanting to make my own mix for this chicken but not sure what that entails.
Katerina Petrovska says
Hi Torie! I used a store-bought mix for this, but I have made my own margarita mix by following this recipe at Epicurious: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Homemade-Sweet-and-Sour-Mix-for-Margaritas-200594 – It’s up to you if you want to add tequila to it. Hope that helps! Let me know how it all turns out. Have a great rest of the day!
Torie Morris says
Would the “margarita mix” contain the tequila already or would it just be the sugar/lime/water part? I’m wanting to make my own margarita mix so not sure what type of recipe to look for….
Jodee Weiland says
I love this salad! It looks so delicious! I am always looking for new ideas for good salad choices in the warmer weather. This will be great for a lunch or dinner. Thanks for sharing!
Michelle @ The Gathering of Friends says
This salad is beautiful! This salad was perfect for our Feature Friday post today for “20 Delectable Salads” Thanks again for letting us feature your salad! Here is the link, I hope you can stop by! http://returntothetable.net/recipes/20-delectable-salads/
Stacy | Wicked Good Kitchen says
Gorgeous salad, Kate! I crave these types of salads piled high with goodness on nearly a daily basis. Spring is now here and I hope your weather patterns finally warm up!. Thanks for sharing and have a fabulous weekend!
mjskit says
What a great salad – lots and lots of great ingredients! I love the margarita mix in the marinade!
Ashley - Baker by Nature says
You are the giveaway queen!!! And this salad is my idea of meal perfection. And yes – I am all for pretending it’s Summer with you! So ready for the beach and pool!!!
Olga says
Me n my hubby really want n iPad but can’t afford one:((( would be so helpful 2 use around the kitchen 2 search up yummy recipes instead of getting my phone in flour lol
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) says
Girl you make salad look so decadent, its like I’m staring at dessert! Looks unbelievable!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
I need this salad in my life, I love anything Tex Mex!
Felice/All That's Left Are The Crumbs says
Can’t wait to try this soon.
Emily @ Life on Food says
This is my absolute favorite kind of salad. If I could have one every day I would be one healthy chick.
A_Boleyn says
Don’t be embarrassed that you don’t cook every day. My nephew and I went out for sushi on Saturday and gorged ourselves. The only thing I ‘cooked’ all day was 2 slices of toast and coffee. This sounds like a filling and tasty salad and if your inspiration came from an outing to a restaurant, that’s all the better. You can tell yourself and the world that it was ‘research’.
Katerina Petrovska says
LOL @ “it was research”!!! I love that! Hope you’re having a wonderful Sunday! xo
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
Gorgeous. And yes – let’s pretend it’s summer already! Pinned!
Consuelo @ Honey & Figs says
Can it be summer yet please? I’d love to have this for lunch everyday ahhh this is such a pretty salad!
Thanks for the marinade tip, I’ll surely try it next time I’m making some chicken!
Hope you’re having a lovely weekend so far! xx
Laura Dembowski says
I love to cook. I think it’s because baking is now my job, so cooking is the release baking used to be. Oh and it needs to be summer now. My body can’t take it anymore!