In an attempt to make menus healthier, most popular Mexican food chains now offer some variation of a taco salad or burrito bowl. But let’s be real… their classic burritos are the real stars. When you want to lighten up, throw together a taco salad at home and leave Chipotle to do what it’s really good at. Grilled chicken, fresh veggies, crunchy tortilla chips and homemade salsa make this a well-rounded, quick dinner for all you Mexican food addicts. If you want to cut down on time even more, skip grilling the chicken and instead add half a cup of black beans for protein.
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 12 min
Total Time: 27 min
Servings: 2
Ingredients:
1 chicken breast
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ head romaine lettuce
2 cups frozen corn
1 avocado
1 cup olive oil
½ lime
1 tomato
½ red onion
1 red bell pepper
1/2 jalapeño
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon sour cream
A handful of your favorite tortilla chips
Directions:
1. Wash and chop romaine lettuce. Place it in a serving bowl.
2. Place corn in a different bowl and microwave on high for about 6 minutes. Pour ¼ cup of water into the bowl before you microwave so the corn doesn’t stick to the bottom.
3. While you microwave the corn, scoop out the avocado with a spoon and put it into your serving bowl.
4. Dice the tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, jalapeño and garlic.
5. Once the corn has been microwaved, pour the water out and mix the corn into your serving bowl.
Photo by Raissa Xie
6. Squeeze lime into 1 cup of olive oil and whisk the liquid. Pour the diced tomatoes, onion, bell pepper, jalapeño and garlic into the cup to create a salsa. Stir everything together.
7. Coat the bottom of a shallow pan with olive oil. Pour the salsa onto the pan and sauté on a burner for 10 minutes. Shake the pan once in a while to make sure every vegetable is cooked evenly.
8. Place the chicken breast (thawed, if you used a frozen one) in another pan coated in olive oil. Sprinkle garlic powder, salt, and pepper on both sides of the chicken.
9. Pan-fry the chicken on a medium heat for 5 to 6 minutes on each side. You can make sure it’s fully cooked by cutting into the chicken and seeing if the meat has turned white.
10. Cut the chicken into small strips and place them into your serving bowl.
Photo by Raissa Xie
11. Pour your now sautéed salsa on top and mix everything together. Add a tablespoon of sour cream if you’re anything like me.
12. Get out your tortilla chips and start double dipping.