Southwest Grilled Chicken and Avocado Salad

This post for Southwest Grilled Chicken and Avocado Salad with Chipotle Ranch was sponsored by Better Than Bouillon as part of an Influencer Activation for Influencer Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own. 

Southwest Grilled Chicken and Avocado salad recipe – a flavorful and juicy grilled chicken breast, sliced avocado, grilled corn on the cob and black beans, grape tomatoes, cubed cheese, Romaine lettuce and baby spinach, bell pepper, red and green onions, and cilantro make for a delicious summertime salad with a punch of Tex-Mex flavor! The Southwest-style Chipotle Ranch is the perfect finishing touch.

While burgers, hot dogs, ribs and baked beans often rule the grill during summertime cookouts, I’m often craving something lighter and fresher during this season. Salads are the perfect choice for pairing grilled meats and veggies with fresh ingredients and plenty of bright colors.

The grilled chicken is the highlight of this meal, thanks to the super flavorful marinade I’ve created with Better Than Bouillon flavor bases.Typically these bases are the perfect start for soups and stews, but did you know that you could use them to marinade your favorite grilling meats? It’s a great way to transform the flavor of your summertime grilled dishes. It’s great for meal planning too, you can grill when it’s cooler in the evening or early morning and then refrigerate the meats to use in the following days’ meals.

If you’re not familiar with Better Than Bouillon, it’s a concentrated paste that’s an alternative to canned broths or bouillon cubes that can sometimes be gritty if they don’t dissolve completely. It can give a boost of flavor to a variety of grilled recipes such as sauces, rubs, marinades, etc. It’s easy to get creative with this product, and there’s a variety of flavors such as Chicken, Beef, Fish, Roasted Garlic and Seasoned Vegetables. The Chicken, Beef, and Vegetable bases are also available as reduced sodium versions as well.

I enjoy using these flavorful bases when grilling because our family is so busy, I often don’t have hours to prepare bases and sauces. We want something quick, without sacrificing the flavor that marinades are sure to add. Since we like to grill a lot of chicken breast that tends to get dry on the grill, these are ideal to use in a marinade to create juicy meats.

My personal favorite varieties would be the roasted garlic and seasoned vegetable flavors because they really compliment everything. We love the flavor of garlic, and the seasoned vegetable base is a rich color and there’s so much smoky flavor that it really enhances everything that it’s used in.

I used both of these flavors in the marinade, adding some high heat oil to help sear the meat when it’s on the grill and some apple cider vinegar to help break up the paste, with a few select seasonings and spices to really get that Southwest Tex-Mex flavor into the meat.

The marinade really makes this a flavorful and juicy grilled chicken breast, dare I say that this is my favorite grilled chicken recipe. If you don’t have an outdoor grill, this could even be made in a cast iron grill pan on the stove-top. You want to really get a good sear on the outside of the chicken to get those beautiful grill marks, then continue cooking until the chicken is cooked all the way through. Once cooked through, slice or dice the chicken and it’s ready to be the star of your salad!

The dressing is very easy to make and it really makes this salad a superstar. There is so much flavor going on here, the chicken is savory and flavor-packed with a big kick from the Southwest Chipotle Ranch.

5.0 from 2 reviews

Southwest Grilled Chicken and Avocado Salad with Chipotle Ranch

 

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Prep time

40 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

55 mins

 

Southwest Grilled Chicken and Avocado salad recipe - a flavorful and juicy grilled chicken breast, sliced avocado, grilled corn on the cob and black beans, grape tomatoes, cubed cheese, Romaine lettuce and baby spinach, bell pepper, red and green onions, and cilantro make for a delicious summertime salad with a punch of Tex-Mex flavor! The Southwest-style Chipotle Ranch is the perfect finishing touch.

Author: Mama Harris' Kitchen

Recipe type: Salad, Grilled, BBQ

Cuisine: Tex-Mex, Southwestern

Serves: 4 salads

Ingredients

Southwest Grilled Chicken marinade:

• 2 tablespoons avocado oil
• 1 tablespoon grape seed oil
• 1 tablespoon Better Than Bouillon Roasted Garlic Base
• 1½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Better Than Bouillon Seasoned Vegetable Base
• 1 teaspoon old bay
• ¼ teaspoon Himalayan sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon lemon pepper
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ⅛ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• ⅛ teaspoon onion powder

Southwest Grilled Chicken recipe:

• 2 (4 oz) boneless skinless chicken breasts
• Southwest Grilled Chicken marinade (recipe above)
• ⅛ teaspoon Garlic salt
• ⅛ teaspoon Black pepper
• ⅛ teaspoon Smoked paprika

Southwest Chipotle Ranch Recipe:

• 2 tablespoons Chipotle mayonnaise
• 1½ tablespoon lime juice
• ½ teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon freeze dried dill
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

To build the Southwest Grilled Chicken and Avocado Salad:

• Sliced Southwest Grilled Chicken (recipe above)
• 2 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped
• 2 cups romaine lettuce, roughly chopped
• ¾ medium orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1½ cup cubed Monterey Jack and Sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 cup cooked and rinsed black beans
• 1 cup corn, sliced off grilled corn on the cob
• ¾ medium avocado, sliced
• 20 grape tomatoes, halved
• thinly sliced red onion
• 2 stalk green onion, chopped
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• ½ cup Southwest tortilla strips
• Southwest chipotle ranch (recipe above)
• lime wedges (optional)

Instructions

1. Begin by combining the ingredients for the marinade together in a medium bowl.
2. Stir the ingredients together until smooth.
3. Trim the fat off chicken breast, season with garlic salt, black pepper and smoked paprika, then add to a gallon sized resealable storage bag. Pour the prepared marinade over the top and seal the bag carefully, removing any air.
4. Once bag is sealed, massage the marinade so that it really get into the meat, then place in a glass dish in case of leaks. Allow chicken to marinade for at least 30 minutes in the fridge. (Chicken isn't a meat that needs to marinade overnight, 30 minutes to a few hours is sufficient).
5. Remove chicken from the bag, and discard bag and remaining marinade.
6. Prepare the grill by brushing avocado oil or grapeseed oil on a clean grill.
7. Get the heat up to medium, then place the marinaded chicken on the grill with tongs.
8. Cover and let chicken cook for 5-7 minutes, then use the tongs to flip the chicken over.
9. Grill for 5-7 minutes longer, or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.
10. Remove chicken from grill and cover with foil to let the chicken rest.
11. Prepare the Southwest Chipotle ranch by combining all of the ingredients together in a small bowl, then whisk together to combine.
12. Once the meat is cooked and cooled, slice into bite sized strips.
13. Build the salad by adding each ingredient evenly among the 4 bowls, then topping with the chipotle ranch.
14. Enjoy!

Notes

If you would rather not use an outdoor grill, you can also use a cast iron grill pan on the stove-top.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: 1 salad Calories: 501 Fat: 28.8 g Saturated fat: 4.2 g Carbohydrates: 29.6 g Sugar: 2.8 g Fiber: 5.6 g Protein: 19.6 g

3.5.3251

Have you tried grilling with better than bouillon bases?

Visit Better Than Bouillon to check out all of the flavor varieties and get some more recipe inspiration for your summer grilling needs.

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