The best salads are the ones that fill you up and make you come back for more! Now I’ve said a million times that the best salads are also the ones that play with texture. You want something slightly sweet, crunchy, but most of all flavorful! Today’s salad is a Cilantro Lime Quinoa Chicken Salad that puts all other chicken salads to shame!Â
To start, we’ll be making Cilantro Lime Chicken, which is an automatic win! It’s simple and easy to make. Best of all, it’s light on the waistline (we all know how much I love that!). Then we’re going to brown the chicken and pair it will with an Arugula Quinoa Salad that’s tasty on its own. Nonetheless, before we begin making this amazing dish, I want to share a few tips on making a Tasty Light Latin Chicken
Tip #1: Use fresh ingredients. Fresh garlic, cilantro, and lime will be your life saver! Their flavors are so bold and clean that you’ll be hooked on using them each and every single time. If you’re in a pinch, the dry stuff will also work, but trust me when I say that fresh is better
Tip #2: If you want to cut back on salt, increase the amount of acids (lime, lemon, or fresh oranges) that you use. Your tastebuds will still be satisfied. Trust me, what I lack in a sweet tooth I make up in my love for salty fried food. Over the years, I’ve learned to play around with spices to help me cut back on salt.
Tip #3: Cook on medium to high heat. When you brown any meat on medium to high heat, it will lock in flavor. Whenever you’re cutting back and making a lighter dish, you want to maximize on every bit of seasoning you have. Your heat setting will do this. Whenever you brown something, the outer layer will crisp up and caramelize resulting in… FLAVOR OVERLOAD!
And now for the recipe…
Ingredients
- 2 Large Chicken Breasts
- 1 Cup Cooked Quinoa
- 16 oz Arugula
- 5 Garlic Cloves
- 1 1/2 tsp Adobo
- 1 1/2 tsp Dominican Oregano
- 1 Fresh Lime
- 1/4 Chopped Cilantro
- 1/4 Fire Roasted Corn
- 1 Plum Tomato
- 1/4 Red Onion
- Olive Oil
- 1/4 Cup Sour Orange Vinaigrette or any of your choosing
Instructions
- Mash garlic with a pinch of salt in a mortar & pestle
- Season chicken with garlic, adobo, oregano, lime, and olive oil
- Mix until well combined
- Heat up oil in a medium to large skillet
- Add chicken one by one being careful not to over crowd the pot
- After 7 minutes, flip chicken and cook the other side for another 7 minutes
- Remove chicken and let rest for 5-10 mins
- Combine fire roasted corn, tomato, and onions in a bowl. Set aside
- In another bowl, combine arugula and quinoa
- Now add corn-tomato salsa
- Add chicken over top and add the Sour Orange Vinaigrette or any of your choosing
Notes
You can enjoy this salad with any protein of your choice. You can also opt to have this as a vegan salad with no meat.