This Chicken Taco Salad is not your average salad! Full of flavor, super easy to throw together, and topped with creamy homemade ranch, this recipe is on the healthier side and delicious! This easy weeknight dinner is a winner for the whole family, whether you top it with Doritos or not!
Why You’ll Love This Chicken Taco Salad Recipe
I’ve loved taco salads for as long as I can remember! My mom would throw all the tasty taco ingredients into a shell and we’d go crazy for it. Now that I’m an adult and thinking about my health a little more, I wanted to make an elevated version that gives me that nostalgic feeling and taco flavor with a little more health sprinkled in.
I wound up using chicken, lots of veggies, a little cheese, and some black beans. Then, I added some fun flair to it – nacho cheese Doritos for crunch! Of course, you can omit these or swap them for plain tortilla shells, but I loved the flavors Doritos brought to the salad.
I also made my own creamy homemade ranch because I might as well go the whole way, right?
Key Ingredients
This taco salad has fresh and wholesome ingredients in it, but retains all the delicious crunchy goodness of a taco! I’ve divided the ingredients into two categories: the salad and the dressing. If you don’t want to make the dressing fresh you can use a storebought version.
Taco Salad Ingredients
- Chicken breasts
- Seasonings: Chili powder, dried oregano, garlic powder, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste
- Romaine – chopped
- Black beans – drained and rinsed
- Tomatoes
- Cheddar – shredded
- Cilantro
- Green onions – chopped
- Avocado – sliced
- Tortilla chips – optional
Homemade Ranch Dressing
- Mayonnaise
- Buttermilk
- Chives – minced
- Parsley – minced
- Dill – minced
- Lemon juice
- Garlic – minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
How to Make Chicken Taco Salad
Step 1: Heat Skillet
Heat a medium-sized skillet over medium heat and add a little olive oil to the pan.
Step 2: Cook Chicken
In a small bowl, combine the chili powder, oregano, garlic powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Sprinkle the seasonings over the chicken breasts and add them to the pan. Cook them until the juices run clear and the center is no longer pink when cut. If you have really thick or large chicken breasts, you may want to cut them in half to speed up the cooking. Otherwise, lower the heat of your pan a little so they don’t burn before cooking all the way through.
Step 3: Assemble Salad
While the chicken is cooking, assemble your salad with the romaine, black beans, tomatoes, cheddar, cilantro, green onions, avocado, and optional tortilla chips. Distribute everything between two large bowls.
Step 4: Add Chicken
After the chicken has rested for 5 minutes slice and lay it on top of your salad.
Step 5: Make Dressing (Optional)
Combine all the dressing ingredients in a small mason jar and shake until combined. This dressing gets stronger and more flavorful the longer it sits, so you can store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
FAQs
You can use your favorite taco ingredients to make your salad! Add your favorite veggies, maybe some caramelized onions, or even some sour cream. If you have some ground beef to use, go ahead and make some homemade beef taco meat to add to your salad instead of chicken.
You can serve it with chips and your favorite salsa. I like this simple blender salsa and fresh peach salsa depending on my mood. A grilled corn salad would also be a great addition, or chile con queso dip to drizzle on the salad a little bit or enjoy as a side.
Once the salad is put together, it’s best served immediately, but you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Beyond that, it’ll be too saggy to enjoy. However, if you are meal prepping or you know you’ll have leftovers before you assemble the salad, you can store the meat separately in an airtight container. It’ll last in the fridge for 3-4 days. The lettuce will last about 5 days in the refrigerator, and the dressing can be made up to 3 days ahead.
More Taco Recipes You’ll Love
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Chicken Taco Salad with Creamy Ranch
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1-2 heads romaine chopped
- 1 14 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 5 green onions chopped
- 1 avocado sliced
- Crushed nacho cheese flavored tortilla chips optional
- Optional Ranch Dressing
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh dill
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 small clove garlic minced
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add a little olive oil to the pan.
- In a small bowl combine the chili powder, oregano, garlic powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Sprinkle over the chicken breasts. Add to the pan and cook until juices run clear and the center is no longer pink when cut. If you have really thick or large chicken breasts you may want to cut them in half to speed up the cooking. Otherwise lower the heat of your pan a little so they don’t burn before cooking all the way through.
- While the chicken is cooking assemble your salad with the romaine, black beans, tomatoes, cheddar, cilantro, green onions and avocado (and optional tortilla chips) and distribute between two large bowls.
- After the chicken has rested for 5 minutes slice and lay on top of your salads.
- Optional Dressing
- Combine all ingredients in a small mason jar and shake until combined. **This dressing gets stronger and more flavorful the longer it sits** Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Once the salad is put together, it’s best served immediately, but you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Beyond that, it’ll be too saggy to enjoy.
- If you are meal prepping or you know you’ll have leftovers before you assemble the salad, you can store the meat separately in an airtight container. It’ll last in the fridge for 3-4 days. The lettuce will last about 5 days in the refrigerator, and the dressing can be made up to 3 days ahead.
A friend of mine introduced me to taco salad a couple of years ago saying “your chef’s palate may be too fancy for this.” It was not! Totally delicious! And this recipe looks beautiful to boot!
Thanks Sabrina and thank you for stopping by!!
oh yum! this lookss really great! thanks for sharing!
styleandchocolates
Hi Celyn, thanks for stopping by!