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Salads simply don’t get higher than this! This copycat recipe for the Chick-Fil-A Spicy Southwest Salad is spot on, from the tender, spiced grilled rooster (marinated in pickle juice, in fact!) to the creamy salsa dressing, there’s merely no cause to get in that drive-thru line anymore!
Earlier than You Get Began
- This recipe requires boneless, skinless rooster breasts. You should utilize 2 thinly-sliced rooster breasts, or 1 giant rooster breast reduce in half horizontally to create 2 skinny cutlets.
- Don’t overcook the rooster! Goal for an inside temperature of 158°-160° Fahrenheit, then set the rooster apart to relaxation 5 minutes. It’ll end cooking throughout that point, leaving you with perfectly-cooked, juicy rooster.
Learn how to Make This Recipe
See recipe card beneath for full record of measurements, substances, and directions.
Marinate the rooster
Cowl the rooster breasts with pickle juice and seal the combination in an hermetic container. Pop the container within the fridge for an hour and let the pickle juice work its magic!
Cheryl’s Tip: Be happy to deal with this step the evening earlier than! Don’t marinate the rooster for greater than 8 hours, although, or the protein will begin to break down, leaving you with chewy meat.
mAKE THE dRESSING
Toss all the dressing substances (apart from the lime juice!) right into a blender or a meals processor and blend till clean. As soon as it’s clean, give the dressing a style and stir within the lime juice, then style it once more. Add extra lime juice and/or salt as wanted till you’re proud of the flavour, then switch it to a jar or a bowl and set it apart till you’re able to serve it.
Cheryl’s Tip: The flavors within the dressing will deepen over time, so be happy to make it the day earlier than! Simply refrigerate it in an hermetic container and devour it inside 5 days.
Season the rooster
Combine up somewhat spicy spice mix of cayenne, paprika (smoked or candy), garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Pat the rooster breasts dry with paper towels, then season them generously with the spice mix, protecting all sides of the rooster breasts fully.
Grill the Hen
Grill the seasoned rooster over oblique warmth for five minutes, then flip the rooster breasts over and grill them till they attain 158°-160° Fahrenheit internally. This shouldn’t take very lengthy since your rooster breasts must be on the skinny aspect. When you hit your goal temperature, take away the rooster from the grill and set them apart to relaxation 5 minutes. After they’ve rested, slice them into skinny strips or bite-sized chunks.
Assemble the Salad
Toss the blended greens, black beans, corn, grape tomatoes, and roasted pink peppers collectively in a big bowl, then divide the combination evenly between two serving bowls. High the salads with the grilled rooster and tortilla strips, then serve with loads of creamy salsa dressing.
What I Love About This Recipe
- An ideal copycat for the southwest rooster salad at Chick-fil-A? Signal me up! Making this salad at house saves cash (and doesn’t financially assist CFA) and offers you far more bang for the buck you do spend. Plus making it’s quick and simple!
- It’s tremendous filling, and the grilled rooster + black beans combo packs in a ton of protein. It’s a lightweight lunch that’ll maintain you happy ’til dinner. Nice for meal prepping!
- There’s a lot unbelievable taste! Tomatoes, black beans, and roasted pink peppers. Hen marinated in pickle juice (non-obligatory however inspired) and seasoned with cayenne, paprika, garlic & onion powders, and a contact of salt and black pepper. And the dressing? Creamy mayo. Tangy bitter creamy. Salsa, cilantro, chili powder, cumin, and a squeeze of lime juice. Unbelieveably scrumptious.
Recipe Variations
- Pickle Juice Marinade: That is completely non-obligatory, however I extremely suggest it. Not solely will the pickle the juice tenderize the rooster and make it further juicy, it’ll additionally give the meat that Chick-fil-A taste you’re craving! Nonetheless, in case you’re not a fan of pickle juice, be happy to skip this half altogether and go straight to the spice mix.
- Stovetop Methodology: For those who don’t have a grill, you may cook dinner the rooster on the range as an alternative! Warmth 1 tablespoon neutral-flavored oil in a big skillet over medium-high warmth. When the oil’s sizzling and shimmery, place the seasoned rooster breasts within the pan and sear them 3-5 minutes. Flip them over, then sear them 3 to five minutes extra, or till they attain 160° Fahrenheit internally. At that time, switch them to a chopping board and set them apart to relaxation 5 minutes.
- Air Fryer Methodology: We love air fryer rooster breasts! All you must do is preheat the air fryer to 360° Fahrenheit, then spray the basket with neutral-flavored cooking spray and add the rooster breasts. Air fry the rooster breasts 10 minutes, then flip them over and cook dinner them 5 minutes extra or till they attain 160° Fahrenheit. Take them out and allow them to relaxation 5 minutes, then slice and serve.
Making modifications to a recipe may end up in recipe failure. Any substitutions or variations listed are easy modifications that I imagine will work on this recipe, however outcomes aren’t assured.
Chick-fil-A Southwest Salad Recipe
A bite-for-bite copycat of Chick-Fil-A’s Spicy Southwest Salad, with tender grilled rooster and a creamy Southwest salsa dressing.
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commonplace blender or meals processor
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jar or small bowl
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Hermetic container
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grill
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small mixing bowl
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whisk
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Paper towels
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Giant plate
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neutral-flavored spray oil
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inside meat thermometer
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Tongs
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Reducing board
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Sharp chef’s knife
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giant mixing bowl
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salad tossers
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2 Serving bowls
For the Creamy Salsa Dressing
For the Spicy Grilled Hen
To Put together the Hen
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Place 2 giant thinly-sliced boneless, skinless rooster breasts in hermetic container. Pour ½ cup dill pickle juice over rooster, protecting rooster breasts fully.
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Safe lid on container and place in fridge. Marinate rooster 1 hour. Don’t marinate longer than 8 hours.
For the Creamy Salsa Dressing
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Add ½ cup mayonnaise, ½ cup bitter cream, ¼ cup contemporary cilantro, 1 teaspoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon cumin, and ¼ teaspoon salt to blender. Mix substances collectively till absolutely mixed into clean combination. Pause blender and scrape down sides as wanted to completely mix substances.
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As soon as combination is clean, style dressing and add 1 squeeze contemporary lime juice. Mix or stir combination to include lime juice, then style dressing once more. Add lime juice and/or salt as desired.
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When happy with taste of dressing, switch combination to jar or bowl. Put aside or refrigerate till prepared to make use of.
For the Spicy Grilled Hen
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Preheat grill to medium-high warmth, roughly 375° to 400° Fahrenheit.
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Add ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, ¼ teaspoon paprika, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon freshly floor black pepper to small mixing bowl. Whisk substances collectively till nicely blended.
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Take away rooster from pickle juice marinade and pat rooster breasts fully dry on all sides with paper towels. Place rooster breasts on giant plate.
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Season rooster breasts generously on all sides with ready spice mix. Rub or pat spice mix into rooster to make sure protection.
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Frivolously spray grill rack with neutral-flavored spray oil, then place seasoned rooster breasts on grill rack over oblique warmth. Grill rooster breasts 5 minutes.
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Flip rooster breasts over and grill 5 to eight minutes extra, or till inside temperature reaches 158° to 160° Fahrenheit.
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As soon as rooster reaches 158° to 160° Fahrenheit internally, fastidiously take away rooster from grill and place on chopping board. Set rooster apart to relaxation 5 minutes.
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After 5 minutes, slice rooster breasts into strips or bite-sized chunks.
For the Southwest Salad
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Add 8-9 cups blended greens, ¼ cup cooked black beans, ¼ cup fire-roasted corn kernels, 12 grape tomatoes, and ¼ cup roasted pink peppers to giant mixing bowl. Toss substances collectively till nicely blended.
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Divide salad combination evenly between 2 serving bowls.
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High every bowl of salad with grilled rooster. Garnish salads with ½ cup tortilla strips and serve instantly with ready salsa dressing.
- Hen: You can even use 1 giant boneless, skinless rooster breast, halved horizontally to create 2 skinny cutlets.
Serving Dimension: 1saladEnergy: 757calProtein: 32gFats: 59gSaturated Fats: 13gTrans Fats: 0.1gLdl cholesterol: 130mgSodium: 2188mgPotassium: 1224mgWhole Carbs: 28gFiber: 5gSugar: 6gInternet Carbs: 23gVitamin A: 3905IUVitamin C: 63mgCalcium: 126mgIron: 3mg
Variety of whole servings proven is approximate. Precise variety of servings will rely in your most popular portion sizes.
Dietary values proven are common pointers and replicate info for 1 serving utilizing the substances listed, not together with any non-obligatory substances. Precise macros might differ barely relying on particular manufacturers and kinds of substances used.
To find out the burden of 1 serving, put together the recipe as instructed. Weigh the completed recipe, then divide the burden of the completed recipe (not together with the burden of the container the meals is in) by the specified variety of servings. Outcome would be the weight of 1 serving.
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