Grilled Chicken Fajita Salad
on May 05, 2021, Updated Jul 05, 2024
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Grilled Chicken Fajita Salad is a delicious way to enjoy chicken fajitas! Crisp romaine lettuce topped with marinated and grilled chicken, peppers and onions. Finish the salad with sliced avocado and a cilantro lime vinaigrette for a hearty Southwest inspired salad!
It’s about that time of year where grilling and salads are the main things I’m cooking. When the weather warms up I try to limit how much I use my oven because we all know how hot the house gets with it on.
I also find myself craving salads more. They’re fresh, crunchy, cold and don’t leave me in a food coma after eating them. That’s not to say that I’m hungry after eating one of my salads. When I make a salad for dinner I make sure that it’s one that will act as a main dish and fill me up.
This Grilled Chicken Fajita Salad is a riff on one of my favorite recipes on the blog, skillet chicken fajitas. I used the same marinade I did with chicken fajitas for the chicken in this salad. The marinade is what really makes the salad. It gives the chicken, peppers and onion so much flavor.
Ingredients Needed for Grilled Chicken Fajita Salad
- chicken breasts
- red and yellow bell pepper
- red onion
- cilantro
- dried oregano, chili powder, ground cumin, garlic powder
- hot sauce (optional)
- lime
- maple syrup or honey
- rice vinegar
- avocado
- romaine lettuce
How to Make Grilled Chicken Fajita Salad
Start by combining the spices, cilantro, hot sauce, lime juice and olive oil. Put the chicken breasts in a resealable bag along with most of the marinade and massage the marinade into the chicken. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
In a separate bag combine the quartered onion, large slices of peppers and remaining marinade. Coat the vegetables in the marinade and either refrigerate or you can leave on the counter if you’re only marinating for an hour.
Heat the grill to 400° F. and oil the grates. Grill the chicken and vegetables until the vegetables are tender and slightly charred and the chicken is cooked through. Let everything cool for 10 minutes before slicing into bite sized pieces.
While the chicken and vegetable cool, combine all of the ingredients for the vinaigrette in a blender. Blend until the cilantro is pulverized and everything is combined.
On a serving platter or in a large bowl add the lettuce. Top it with the chicken, peppers, onions, sliced avocado and extra cilantro. Top the salad with some of the vinaigrette or serve it on the side.
Tips for Grilling Vegetables
- Don’t cut the vegetables too small or they’ll be falling through the grill grates. Cut them into smaller pieces after you’ve removed them from the grill.
- Cook heartier vegetables such as potatoes and carrots over indirect heat so that they get tender all the way through instead of black on the outside and raw on the inside.
- When grilling onions either cut them in half or in quarters and leave the root intact. This will keep the onion from falling apart and make it easier to flip on the grill.
- Grill baskets and skewering vegetables work great if you are working with smaller pieces.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you don’t have a grill a grill pan will work great. You can also use the skillet method that I used with my recipe for skillet chicken fajitas. You won’t have the char or grill flavor, but it will still be delicious!
For those of you who aren’t fans of cilantro, omit it from the marinade. As far as an alternative vinaigrette try the honey lime vinaigrette that I used in this Mexican Quinoa Salad.
Yes. Cut the onion and peppers into approximately 1 1/2 – 2 inch pieces and put them on metal or soaked wooden skewers. Similar to what I did with these Steak Fajita Skewers with Cilantro Cimichurri.
More Southwest and Mexican Inspired Salad Recipes
- Southwest Chicken Salad with Avocado Lime Dressing
- Fiesta Ranch Salad with Salsa Verde Chicken
- Creamy Southwest Vegetarian Pasta Salad
- Taco Salad
- Mexican Salad
- Southwest Sweet Potato, Black Bean, Wild Rice Salad
Grilled Chicken Fajita Salad
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
Peppers and Onion
- 1 red bell pepper quartered core and seeds removed
- 1 yellow bell pepper quartered core and seeds removed
- 1 red onion peeled and quartered
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Vinaigrette
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 1/3 cup packed cilantro chopped
Salad
- 6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1 avocado peeled and sliced
- Cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Add the chicken to a resealable bag. Add all of the chicken marinade ingredients to the bag, seal it and massage into the chicken. Refrigerate for an hour or overnight.
- Add the peppers and onions to a separate resealable bag with the olive oil, chili powder, salt and pepper. Seal the bag and massage into the vegetables. Refrigerate or set aside.
- Put all of the vinaigrette ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Pour the vinaigrette into a jar or bowl and set aside.
- Preheat the grill to 400° F. Oil the grates and put the chicken, peppers and onions on them. Grill the chicken for 5-7 minutes before flipping and then another 5-7 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165° F. Grill the peppers and onions for 5 minutes then flip them over and grill until they’ve softened and are lightly charred.
- Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing it. Slice the peppers and onions into bites sized strips. Place the chopped romaine lettuce on a serving platter or in a bowl. Top with the sliced chicken, peppers, onion and avocado. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve the salad topped with some of the vinaigrette or serve it on the side.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
