Summer Chipotle Chicken Cobb Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette

The name of this dish seems like a tongue twister; preparing this salad is also a bit complicated just as its name sounds. However, your effort will be worth it. Once you have it you will ask for more. It's such a delightful summer salad for the whole family! The salad only has a few ingredients that create a flavorful magic. It's a combination of sweet strawberries and tangy vinaigrette with your choice of meat. It takes a bit longer to cook than the normal salad. But if you are someone who prefers salad as the main dish then you won't mind this cooking time.

Ingredients Explained

Before looking at the list of ingredients, let's understand what 'chipotle', 'cobb', and 'vinaigrette' mean. It will help you to learn the recipe well.

Chipotle Chicken

It is commonly found in Mexican cuisine. It's basically a smoke-dried jalapeno chili pepper that is dry. It is used for seasoning purposes. It has a medium hot and smoky sweet flavor. So, chipotle chicken is one that is marinated or cooked with chipotle.

Cobb salad

It's an American garden salad made with chicken breast, tomato, lettuce, chives, blue cheese, chives, and hard-boiled eggs. You can pick the tomato and lettuce from your garden.

Cilantro Vinaigrette

It's a sauce made with cilantro, vinegar, garlic, salt, pepper and olive oil. Simply mix them in a blender and you will get a smooth green sauce to pour over your salad.

So, you can see that to make the Summer Chipotle Chicken Cobb salad, you actually need to prepare three separate small dishes before. Let's move on to the main ingredients now.

Ingredients

Chipotle chicken marinade

• Olive oil – ¼ cup
• Skinless chicken breasts – 1 lb
• Chipotle chilies in adobo – 2 pieces finely chopped
• Granulated garlic – 1 teaspoon
• Ground cumin – 1 teaspoon
• Oregano – ½ teaspoon
• Salt and pepper to taste

Cilantro vinaigrette sauce

• Fresh cilantro – 2 cups
• Olive oil – ½ cup
• Garlic – 2 cloves
• White vinegar – 2 tablespoons
• Red pepper flakes – ¼ teaspoons
• Granulated garlic – ½ teaspoon
• Salt – to taste

Main salad

• Spinach – 5 to 6 cups
• Cooked bacon - 6 strips, chopped
• Strawberries – ¾ cup, quartered
• Ripe avocados – 2, cut in half
• Ears corn on the cob – 2, kernels removed

Cooking instructions

Step 1

Prepare the chicken marinade. Put all the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Mix them well with a spoon or fork. Then toss the chicken to coat it properly with the marinade. It is better to refrigerate it overnight. But if you don't have the time, you can keep it for an hour. Make sure to cover the marinated chicken.

Step 2

Make the cilantro vinaigrette sauce. Put all the ingredients in a food processor or blender. Make a smooth paste and refrigerate it.

Step 3

When the chicken is marinated, put it inside a preheated grill. Cook the chicken thoroughly by tilting it to both sides ensuring even cooking throughout. It might take about 15 minutes. If you don't have a grill at home, you can always use a grill pan. After the chicken is done, let it cool and then cut them into small pieces.

Step 3

Take a few pieces of bacon and cook with salt and pepper seasoning. This will go into the main salad to complement the grilled chicken breasts.

Step 4

Now prepare the salad. Take a large bowl and layer up with spinach, cooked bacon, strawberries, avocado, chicken, and corn. Toss the salad with the cilantro vinaigrette sauce you prepared. You can make the salad more spicy by increasing the amount of red pepper flakes. To get the best taste and flavor, serve the salad right away. You can serve up to 7 guests with the amount of salad you prepared.

Health factors

It is one of the healthiest salads you can find. What doesn't it contain? It has chicken, bacon, garden fresh vegetables, sweet strawberries, cilantro, corn, and more. So, your body will get all sorts of nutrients to keep you healthy.

Even if you are not that much into a salad, this amazing salad recipe will turn you into a salad lover. Just make sure you have all the ingredients in hand before preparing the salad. You will be delighted with the final look of the salad. If you can grill the chicken properly, then the grill marks will be evident on the chicken pieces. You will find the chicken and bacon pieces tender. The cilantro vinaigrette gives the final touch to this such a satiating salad.