Southwest Salad with Orange Honey Chipotle Chicken & Avocado Mint Dressing
Though it’s overcast and raining while I write this, it’s warming up here in Charleston and the sun has been shining for the most part. This means it’s one of my favorite food times of the year… GRILLING SEASON!!!
For this recipe I morphed two ideas I had into one dish. One being orange honey chipotle chicken and the other being the avocado mint dressing. I do have some ideas to use this dressing in other ways too… so stay tuned.
I wanted this marinade to be thick and almost work like a honey bbq sauce would. Looking back I definitely should have saved a bit of the marinade on the side to brush on the chicken as I grilled. I definitely plan on doing that the next time I make this and will report back!
Serves 4
Ingredients
Orange Honey Chipotle Marinade
1 T chipotle powder
1 t onion powder
1 t cumin
1/2 t smoked paprika
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 T olive oil
2 T honey
2 T orange juice
1 T lime juice
1 t salt
2 large chicken breasts cut into cutlets
Avocado Mint Dressing
1 bunch of fresh mint, leaves only
1/4 x fresh cilantro (optional)
2 ripe avocados
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 T olive oil
3 T lime juice
salt to taste
2/3 c water
Other
lettuce (I used a bibb lettuce mix)
fresh corn, grilled and cut off the cob
black beans
pico de gallo (see notes)
additional mint leaves and lime wedges to serves
Directions
Make the marinade by mixing all the ingredients. Coat the chicken in the marinade and let it sit for at least 2 hours. I let mine for about 24 hours.
Heat your grill to medium to medium high heat. Grill chicken for 3-4 minutes each side (this will depend on how thin or thick your cutlets are). At this time you can also grill your corn which will take about the same amount of time.
Meanwhile make the dressing by mixing all ingredients together in a food processor or blender. START BY USING ONLY A 1/2 C of water and add more if you’d like to thin it out more. You can also prepare your pico de gallo at this time as well if you are making your own.
Serve chicken sliced over lettuce with other additional toppings. Drizzle your dressing overtop.
Notes
Gluten-free: This recipe is gluten-free as is.
Dairy-free: This recipe is dairy-free as is.
Heat Level: I would rate the heat level as mild as someone who enjoys spice. If I were to rate it like a grocery product would, I might say medium. Decrease the amount of chipotle powder if you want less heat.
Chipotle Powder: Use chipotle powder over chipotle seasoning.
Fresh Mint: I used a loose bunch of mint. if you buy the mint that comes in the plastic containers, I would buy at least two. You can always substitute the mint for cilantro as an option.
Corn: Instead of grilling corn on the cob and having to cut it, you can also use frozen corn as-is or toast it in a pan on medium high heat to give the same effect.
Toppings: Get create with toppings! Use what you like and what you have!
Pico de Gallo: 2 tomatos - diced, 1/4 red onion - diced, 1/2 jalapeno - diced (I added the other half to my dressing because I like heat) , 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 T fresh finely chopped cilantro, salt & pepper to taste
Meal Prep: Keep dressing in an air tight container with plastic wrap overtop the dressing until ready to use (storing it like you would guacamole). Everything else can be stored together for easy meal prep.