This Margarita Chicken Salad recipe has tender and tangy chicken marinated in flavors of margarita mix and lime. Served atop a beautiful and colorful tex-mex salad.
A HEALTHY TEX-MEX CHICKEN SALAD RECIPE
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
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Tex-Mex Margarita Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 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)
Instructions
- 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.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Gorgeous, I love to cook……..
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.
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!
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….
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!
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/
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!
What a great salad – lots and lots of great ingredients! I love the margarita mix in the marinade!