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Chipotle Chicken Mexican Street Corn Salad | Get Inspired Everyday!

Chipotle Chicken Mexican Street Corn Salad


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5 from 11 reviews

  • Author: Kari
  • Total Time: 50 minutes
  • Yield: 4 to 6 servings 1x

Description

This Chipotle Chicken Mexican Street Corn Salad is a celebration of summer corn at it’s peak!


Ingredients

Scale

Chipotle Chicken:

1 Teaspoon chipotle chili powder

1 Teaspoon onion powder/granules

1/2 Teaspoon ground cumin

1 Tablespoon coconut aminos

1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs or chicken breasts

Mexican Street Corn Salad:

45 ears of shucked fresh corn, yielding about 2 cups kernels

1 Tablespoon minced jalapeno

1/4 cup finely diced red onion

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1/4 cup crumbled Cojita cheese, see notes

1/4 cup avocado oil mayonnaise

1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 Teaspoon sea salt, or to your taste

1/2 Teaspoon chili powder

1/4 Teaspoon ground cumin

Salad Ingredients:

12 cups chopped and washed romaine

2 cups halved cherry tomatoes

1 ripe avocado, diced

Optional: thinly sliced jalapeno

Extra crumbled Cojita cheese if desired

Cilantro Dressing:

1 cup roughly chopped cilantro

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

1/2 cup avocado oil

1/2 Teaspoon sea salt, or to your taste


Instructions

For the chipotle chicken, combine the chipotle chili powder, onion powder, cumin, and coconut aminos until combined. Add the chicken thighs/breasts and turn to coat them completely. Place a lid on the container, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, but overnight is more flavorful.

When you’re ready to make the salad, preheat the grill over medium high heat until a temperature between 400-450ºF is reached. Place the ears of corn on the grill and turn every couple of minutes as the sides begin to char. You’re looking for a nice dark brown, almost but not black color to be appearing on some of the kernels before you rotate the ear of corn. This whole process takes about 6-8 minutes.

When the corn is done, remove the ears from the grill, and set them aside to cool a bit. Meanwhile turn the grill down to medium to maintain a temperature of around 350ºF. Grill the chicken, 6-8 minutes per side for your averaged sized chicken thighs, and around 8-12 minutes per side for chicken breasts, (chicken always varies in cooking time because they’re never the same size).

While the chicken grills, add all the ingredients for the street corn salad into a bowl, except for the corn. When the grilled corn is cool enough to handle, stand 1 ear at a time on the cutting board on the flat end. Use a sharp knife to cut the kernels away from the cob, being careful not to cut too deeply into the cob which is tough. Add the kernels to the salad. Mix to combine, taste test and adjust the salt as necessary, and set it aside.

When the chicken is done, remove it from the grill and set it aside while you finish making the salad.

In a large serving bowl, add in the romaine, cherry tomatoes, avocado, and optional jalapeno and Cojita cheese.

To make the cilantro dressing add the cilantro, garlic, and lime juice to the blender. Blend starting on low and working up to speeds 3-4 on a Vitamix. When the mixture is still chunky, start adding in the avocado oil in a thin steady stream with the blender running. Keep blending until all the oil has been added, and the dressing is emulsified. Add sea salt to taste, and blend again just to combine.

When the chicken has cooled a bit, cut it into strips or bite sized pieces, and add it to the serving bowl. From here you can serve it all separately, or add the street corn salad and cilantro dressing to the serving bowl, and toss before serving.

Notes

I use feta cheese in place of the Mexican Cojita when it’s not available. It’s a different flavor, but it works well here.

  • Prep Time: 30
  • Cook Time: 20