Now that's officially summer, I have been craving salads non-stop. I normally have a salad at least twice a week but now I want it almost every day. The only challenge is finding a new salad recipe every week. Tired of the same combination of avocado, tomato, and chickpeas, I decided to amp it up and give the classic cobb salad a twist - Mexican style. This Mexican cobb salad has it all from sweet corn to black beans to fresh oranges and of course, fajita spiced chicken. The best part? The chipotle lime vinaigrette that brings enough spice to round it all out.
Mexican Cobb Salad
Ingredients
Chipotle lime vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoon chipotle in adobo sauces
- juice of 2 limes
- 1 garlic clove
- 2 tablespoon honey
- ¾ cup cilantro roughly chopped
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup olive oil
Fajita spiced chicken
- 1 lb chicken breast
- 2 tablespoon oil divided
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
Remaining ingredients
- 8 strips bacon
- 1 ½ cups corn kernels
- 8 cups salad greens
- 1 ½ cups black beans
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- 4 eggs boiled
- 2 oranges peeled, sliced
- 2 avocadoes pitted, sliced
Instructions
- Make the chipotle lime vinaigrette by blending together 2 tablespoon chipotle in adobo sauces, the juice of 2 limes, 1 garlic cloves, 2 tablespoon honey, ¾ cup cilantro, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, and ½ cup olive oil until smooth.
- Prepare the fajita spiced chicken. Combine 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon granulated garlic in a small bowl. Coat the chicken in 1 tablespoon oil and sprinkle the seasoning mix on both sides.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Cook the chicken until the juices run clear, about 5-8 minutes depending on how thick your chicken is. Remove from heat and keep warm.
- Meanwhile, cook the bacon. Heat a saute pan over medium and lay the bacon strips on the hot pan. Cook until crispy, flipping it over to cook both sides. Remove from heat and cut the bacon into bite-size pieces.
- Drain all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat. Add the corn and saute until slightly charred, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
- Assemble the salads. Portion 2 cups salad greens into 4 bowls and top with black beans, corn, cherry tomatoes, boiled egg, orange, avocado, bacon, and the fajita spiced chicken. Serve with the chipotle lime vinaigrette.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
Salads can be simple or complicated but the most important thing is that all of the ingredients work together. You would think that since it's just a salad you can throw anything together and it'll work. Sure some might but why not take an extra step and pair ingredients that marry together? I like to believe that I achieve that in this Mexican cobb salad. It may seem like too many ingredients but they all work wonderfully together.
The chipotle lime vinaigrette is, by far, one of my favorite vinaigrettes. It has a great balance of sweet, spicy, and sour from the honey, chipotle, and lime juice. Add some fresh cilantro, season the dressing with salt and pepper and you have a fantastic vinaigrette.
Season the fajita spiced chicken with a heavy dose of the spices and cook on the stovetop or in the oven until the juices run clear. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before slicing. Cook the bacon, saute some corn, boil an egg, cut some oranges, cherry tomatoes, and avocado and you're ready to assemble.
This Mexican cobb salad has components from the classic dish including the bacon, egg, and avocado but includes new ingredients like oranges, corn, and black beans to give it a Mexican twist. I've made this salad at least five times this year and can honestly say, I'm still not sick of it!
For more salad inspiration check out this lemon garlic roasted salmon salad recipe!
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