Cilantro Lime Chicken & Corn Salad
If I had to pick a summer salad to make every week from here on out, this would be the salad! It has everything I love about summer going for it. Sweet corn, ripe tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, juicy chicken and the most refreshing cilantro-lime dressing that gives this salad the perfect “zing!” This is the kind of salad I dream of during the cold and dark winter months.
One of the things that I love most about this salad is that it’s pretty darn easy to throw together. You blitz all the ingredients for the dressing together in your blender (or use your immersion blender), chop your veggies and cook your chicken. It’s a “throw it all in a bowl and toss together” kind of meal and it really doesn’t get much simpler than this.
I hope you all enjoy this summer salad as much a we do. My two young kids loved this as well so if you’ve got toddler in the mix I think you’ll be happy to know that it “passed” the toddler test at our home and I hope it does the same in your home.
Happy cooking everyone!
Cilantro-Lime Chicken & Corn Salad
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 25 minutes Serves: 4-6
Cilantro-Lime Dressing- 2 cups chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon unrefined salt
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast, cut into small cubes
- ghee or butter for cooking
- 1 medium sized cucumber, lightly peeled and roughly chopped-- I like to leave some of the peel on for flavor but taste your cucumber and if the peel is bitter then peel the whole thing
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (or two medium sized tomatoes chopped)
- 1/2 of a red onion peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 cups fresh corn kernels (from about 3 ears of fresh sweet corn)
Preparation
- Prepare the dressing by combining all the ingredients together in a blender, food processor or with an immersion blender. Blend until smooth. Taste for seasonings and adjust if needed.
- Cook your chicken in a large cast iron skillet (with ghee or butter) until cooked through and no longer pink, about 10 minutes, tossing the chicken every few minutes to evenly cook on all sides. Remove from the heat and let the chicken cool for about 10 minutes.
- Add the veggies to a large bowl. Once the chicken has cooled a bit add it to the bowl. Toss with 1/2 of the vinaigrette, if needed drizzle more dressing until you've reached your desired amount. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.
Notes
*Use this recipe as a guide and adjust measurements and ingredients as necessary.