I LOOOVE a taco salad, so I’m honestly surprised that I don’t have one on my site yet.
This is my take on a high-protein taco salad, and instead of beef, I’m using a crispy chipotle chicken, which really takes things up a notch.
And we’re combining that with a Chipotle-copycat chipotle honey vinaigrette. That’s a real mouthful, but totally worth it because Chipotle’s dressing is secretly the best thing on their menu. And it makes this whole salad have such a deep, bright, smoky, spicy flavor.
It has lots of components and ingredients, but the net result is that you’re getting tons of flavor, 33g of protein, and 14g of fiber per serving.
Which makes this an amazing, healthy dinner or a high-protein meal prep for the week.
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Why You’ll Love This High-Protein Taco Salad
- High-protein and high-fiber. With 33g of protein and 14g of fiber per serving, this is the kind of salad that keeps you full and satisfied for a long time.
- Everything you love about a taco salad, because there’s already so much to love.
- With a Chipotle chicken twist. It comes from the crispy chipotle chicken and a Chipotle honey vinaigrette to dress everything.
- Super customizable. Swap in what you love, swap out what you don’t.
- Great for meal prep. Make a double batch, have it for dinner on Sunday, and you’ve got lunches prepped for the rest of the week, too.
Love Chipotle as much as I do? My High-Protein Copycat Chipotle Burrito Bowl is a must-try. Easy to make and even better than the original (even though that’s hard to believe).
Key Ingredients
While there are quite a few components in this taco salad, here are the most essential ingredients:
- Chicken thighs. I like to finely dice up boneless, skinless chicken thighs, toss them in a seasoning blend, and cook them in a medium-hot pan until crispy. They add just the right flavor and texture to this taco salad.
- The Chipotle honey vinaigrette. This is a copycat of Chipotle’s famous vinaigrette, and it’s truly drinkable. If you’ve ever wondered what to dress a taco salad in, this is the only right answer.
- Iceberg lettuce. It might not be the most nutritious lettuce out there, but it’s an essential component for a taco salad, IMO.
- Lots of veggies and beans. Black beans, corn, tomatoes, and diced avocado round out the bowl.
- The finishing touches. It wouldn’t be a taco salad without crushed tortilla chips, and I like to add lots of fresh cilantro and some pickled red onions, then finish everything off with a big squeeze of fresh lime juice.
Want something a little more traditional? Try my Chicken Tinga Tacos. The recipe is inspired by Guisado’s, the famous LA taco spot.
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How to Make It
This recipe comes together in just 35 minutes from start to finish. Cook up your chicken, prep your mix-ins, then toss everything together in that delicious Chipotle honey vinaigrette.
Dice and season the chicken
Finely dice your chicken thighs, then toss them with chipotle peppers, adobo, smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder, and lime until well coated.
Cook until crispy
Heat a pan to medium-high and add a little oil, then spread your chicken in a single layer. Be sure not to overcrowd. Leave it alone for 4 to 5 minutes until you start to see crispy edges, then toss and finish cooking until browned throughout.
Blend your dressing
Add all the vinaigrette ingredients to a blender, then blend until smooth.
Build your salad
Pile in your iceberg lettuce, chicken, black beans, corn, tomatoes, cheese, and avocado, then toss with your dressing. Top with crushed tortilla chips, cilantro, pickled red onions, and a fresh squeeze of lime.
If you’re a taco person, you have to give my High-Protein Breakfast Tacos a try, too.
Victoria’s Tips
These are a couple of tips that take this high-protein taco salad from good to great.
- Don’t overcrowd the skillet. If you want really crispy chicken, you may need to cook it in two batches or use a pretty big pan. Overcrowding leads to steamed chicken, which isn’t nearly as delicious as crispy.
- Scale to your desired heat. Chipotle peppers are moderately spicy, and I’ve added a medium amount here. For mild, use just the adobo sauce. If you like things spicy, feel free to add more peppers.
- Avoid a soggy salad. Remove the seeds when you dice your tomatoes, and make sure your beans are drained and fully dry before they go in. Any extra liquid risks making the whole thing soggy.
Storage & Meal Prep
If you’re planning to store leftovers for later, keep all the components in separate airtight containers in the fridge for up to 4 days.
For meal prep, portion the chicken and the mix-ins into containers, but keep the lettuce, avocado, tortilla chips, and dressing separate, then toss and combine when you’re ready to enjoy.
FAQ
Swapping the traditional ground beef for chicken boosts the protein count, and the beans add even more. With 33g of protein per serving, this is the kind of salad that’ll keep you full and satisfied.
As written, it’s medium spicy, but it’s super easy to change to your preference. Just scale the chipotle peppers up or down. For a mild result, use only the adobo sauce, and for extra heat, throw in an extra chipotle or two.
Definitely. It keeps in the fridge for up to a week, and you can even double the recipe because it’s the kind of sauce you’ll want to put on everything. Just give it a shake before using.
In my opinion, hands down, you’ve gotta go with shredded iceberg. But, romaine also adds a nice crunch.
High-Protein Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad
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Ingredients
Instructions
- Dice and season the chickenDice up 1½ lb boneless skinless chicken thighs into small pieces. Add them to a bowl with 2 chipotle peppers in adobo (finely chopped), 1 tbsp adobo sauce, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp lime juice or apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp smoked paprika, and 1 tsp garlic powder, and mix until evenly coated. Season with salt to taste. Let it sit for 15 minutes if you have time, or cook right away.
- Cook until crispyHeat a drizzle of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Spread the chicken out in a single layer and let it sear undisturbed for 4 to 5 minutes so the moisture cooks off and the edges crisp. Toss and keep cooking until browned and cooked through, another 5 to 6 minutes. Take it off the heat.
- Blend the dressingAdd ¼ cup olive oil, ¼ cup red wine vinegar, 2 tbsp honey, 1 chipotle pepper in adobo, 1 tbsp adobo sauce, 1 tsp dried oregano, ½ tsp ground cumin, and ½ tsp garlic powder to a blender. Blend until smooth and season with salt to taste.
- Layer your baseAdd 8 cups shredded iceberg lettuce to a big bowl, or divide it across 4 plates. Top with the chipotle chicken, 1 can black beans (drained & rinsed), 1 cup corn, 3 roma tomatoes (diced), and 1 avocado (diced).
- Dress & add the toppingsAdd your chipotle honey dressing and toss until combined. Scatter 1 cup crushed tortilla chips and ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro , and ¼ cup pickled red onions over the top. Finish with a fresh squeeze of lime.
Nutrition
Notes
- Make it ahead: Store the vinaigrette, chicken, and chopped veggies separately for up to 4 days. Add the tortilla chips and dressing only to the portion you’re eating right away so nothing goes soggy.
- Swaps: Diced chicken breast works if you want it leaner, just watch it closely so it doesn’t dry out. Ground chicken or turkey also works.
- Heat level: The chipotle in both the chicken and the dressing brings real smoky heat. Use 1 pepper in the chicken instead of 2, or just the adobo sauce, for a milder version.
- Quick-pickled red onions: Soak thinly sliced red onion in equal parts warm water and vinegar with a pinch of sugar and salt for 15 minutes while everything else comes together.
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Struggling to eat enough protein? I'll send you a full week of meals with the shopping list.
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More Recipes To Try
- 10 Dense Bean Salad Recipes Perfect for Meal Prep
- The 13 Best High-Protein Salad Recipes to Keep You Full
- 7 Healthy Summer Grilling Recipes for Easy Outdoor Dinners
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The dressing is quite literally drinkable
Delish! I was using up what I had on hand, so I diced up already cooked chicken and tossed it with the spices, lime juice and oil, before adding the rest of the salad ingredients. The dressing was incredible! I needed it mild heat, so I only used a little of the sauce from the chipotle peppers can. Definitely making extra bc I’ll use it for a lot of things!
Love this! So glad you enjoyed 🙂
Served it to lunch guests, and it was a big hit. Delicious!
So happy to hear this Hege! Thanks for your feedback.