Chicken fajita salad loaded with grilled cilantro lime chicken, avocado, and fajita veggies then topped with a skinny cilantro lime dressing which doubles as a marinade. This nutritious and filling salad is FLAVOR PACKED salad is low in carbs and high in protein and has only 461 calories.
If you’re trying to eat healthily or lose weight this year then you need this delicious fajita chicken salad in your life ASAP. It’s packed with grilled spicy and zesty fajita spiced chicken breasts, avocado, fajita veggies, and a skinny cilantro lime dressing that doubles as a marinade.
The entire salad comes together in under 20 minutes and is all cooked in one pan for easy clean-up! The recipe makes 2 filling salads that will keep you full for hours. Double or triple the recipes as needed to please a large group.
Tips for making this super simple:
- Hit the marinade window: You can marinate the chicken up to six hours ahead of time. This will open and deepen the flavor! If you need to marinate it longer — say, overnight — omit the lime juice. The acid in even a small amount of citrus can negatively impact the texture of chicken when left in a marinade for a long time.
- Shake the dressing: If you have a small jar with a tight-fitting lid, it’s the perfect vessel for making salad dressing. As a bonus, you can make extra and store what you don’t use in the jar in the fridge, and your next salad will be even easier to make.
- Get ahead: Cook your chicken ahead of time so you can assemble this salad in a flash.
- Extra chicken? Great! Save it and serve alongside grilled veggies the next night, or shred it for use in a sandwich or another salad. This delicious chicken is also great in wraps, on rice, or in tacos!
Other additions to this salad
Although this salad is super flavor-packed and nutritious, I sometimes like to add whatever I have on hand for added texture and nutrition. Here are some delicious additions to try:
- tomatoes (cherry or any variety)
- corn (canned or fresh)
- fresh sliced red onion
- shredded cheese or Cotija cheese
- black beans or beans of choice
- Tortilla strips or crushed tortilla chips
How to make ahead and store
To make this delicious salad ahead of time, grill the chicken and veggies and place them in an air-tight container until ready to use. When ready to serve, simply toss with chopped romaine and top with fresh sliced avocado and dressing.
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Whisk all the ingredients for the dressing/marinade in a medium bowl. Pour half the mixture onto the chicken breasts and coat chicken breasts with the marinade well. Cover and place in the fridge for 30-minutes or up to 24 hours or use immediately. Reserve the rest of the marinade for later to be used as a dressing.
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Heat a large heavy-duty pan or skillet to medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add a teaspoon of oil to the pan and then add in the chicken breasts. Cook 4-5 minutes per side or until cooked through. Remove from pan onto a cutting board and cool for 5 minutes then slice or chop into bite size pieces. Add the sliced bell peppers & onion to the pan. cook on high for 1-2 minutes or until charred.
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Divide romaine lettuce into two salad bowl. Top each salad with half the chicken, fajita veggies, and sliced avocado. Serve with reserved dressing and sour-cream if desired. Enjoy the salad warm!
Serving: 1serving, Calories: 461kcal, Carbohydrates: 14g, Protein: 33g, Fat: 33g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 21g, Trans Fat: 0.01g, Cholesterol: 91mg, Sodium: 954mg, Potassium: 1128mg, Fiber: 8g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 1862IU, Vitamin C: 19mg, Calcium: 48mg, Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.