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Elote Chicken Salad
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Elote Chicken Salad

Your weeknight salad is dressed up with seasoned chicken and the flavor profile of Mexican elote. This salad is easy, quick, and delicious!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Course: Dinner, Salad
Cuisine: American, Mexican
Keyword: chicken salad, dinner salad, elote chicken salad, elote salad
Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

For the Chicken:

  • 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 1 tsp Mexican oregano, dried
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
  • pinch cayenne pepper
  • 2 tbsp olive oil

For the Salad:

  • 1 heart Romaine lettuce, sliced into 1/2-inch thick slices
  • 1 cup fresh baby spinach leaves, chopped roughly
  • 1/2 cucumber, sliced into half-moons
  • 1 cup baby carrots, sliced
  • 1 large tomato, such as heirloom or beefsteak, chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed and drained
  • 1 cup Cotija cheese, broken into small pieces (save some for topping!)
  • 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

For the Dressing:

  • 1 cup prepared ranch dressing
  • 1 lime, zested and juiced
  • Handful of chopped cilantro
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Instructions

  • Begin with cooking your chicken. Preheat the oven to 350.
  • Lay your chicken out on a foil-lined baking sheet. Cover in the oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper and cayenne. Massage the chicken so the spices are distributed evenly. Add the olive oil to coat the chicken. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until completely cooked through, but not dried out.
  • Remove the chicken from the oven and set aside to cool.
  • Being slicing your vegetables for the salad. Prepare the lettuces, cucumber, carrots, tomatoes and add them to a large bowl. Warm your frozen corn kernels in the microwave and drain all water once defrosted. Add the corn, Cotija and cilantro and toss the salad together and set aside.
  • Lastly, make the dressing. In a small bowl, take prepared ranch and add lime zest and juice, cilantro, and cayenne. Mix together until homogenous.
  • When everything is ready, shred your cooled chicken using two forks. Toss it into the salad and mix. Finally, add enough dressing to evenly coat the salad. Do not add too much dressing otherwise it will become wet. We want just enough to coat every lettuce leaf.
  • Transfer to a serving bowl and top with additional Cotija, lime wedges, and cilantro leaves as needed. Serve immediately and enjoy!