Chipotle Chicken and Blood Orange Salad with Honey Lime Dressing is my winter salad of choice. It's great for meal prep or an easy, healthy weeknight dinner. This salad is packed with lots of greens, veggies, protein and immune-boosting citrus fruit!
This past week things have been a little crazy for the Riesgraf family. One week, two surgeries. One was a human, and one was a dog. But, if you’re a dog lover like me, you understand.
First, my poor one-year-old nephew (the one with all the allergies in the world – read this post) had surgery last week Wednesday (without getting into too much detail). And, unfortunately, his healing process hasn't been the smoothest. Over the weekend he developed an infection in one of his incisions, so he was put on antibiotics. Hopefully, that gets rid of the problem. The little guy has been through so much in just a short time. We’re hoping after he heals from this surgery he will be on a healthy track. He deserves it.
The second surgery was on my niece (aka my brother’s dog), Khloe. It was actually emergency surgery. She wasn’t feeling well for a couple days, then on Thursday we noticed she couldn’t get comfortable lying down, she was having trouble breathing and she was shaking. So, we immediately took her to the vet. Sure enough, she swallowed a bone that she found outside on the farm, and it got lodged in her stomach. They did surgery that day to remove it. She has an incision from top to bottom.
I’m just over here hoping and praying for a good recovery for both my babies.
Enough sad stuff for now. Let us talk food – healthy and yummy food. This chicken is seasoned to perfection in a homemade chipotle marinade, then honey, lime, and chipotle sauce come together to make the most amazing, homemade dressing. And, let us not forget about the blood oranges - they are the perfect winter fruit to add a pop of color and sweetness.
Random-ish question. Do you like your chicken served warm or cold on salads? Or do you not have a preference? Let me know in the comments! I’m definitely a warm chicken kind of gal. Cold chicken just isn’t my jam.
Anyways, hope you’re off to a great 2018 and aren’t freezing your butt off too much! I’m ready for some warmer days here in Minnesota – even the 20s or 30s would make me happy. Who’s with me?
More healthy(ish) & tasty recipes:
- Five Pepper Beer Chili
- Creamy Smoked Ham and Bean Soup
- Cheesy Vegetable Bake
- Honey Lime Cilantro Chicken Sheet Pan Dinner
- Sweet Chili Salmon and Broccolini Foil Packs
Chipotle Chicken and Blood Orange Salad with Honey Lime Dressing
Ingredients
Chipotle chicken:
- 1 lb chicken breasts 2-3 breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lime juice half of 1 lime
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon chipotle powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
Honey Lime Dressing:
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon lime juice half of 1 lime
- 3 cloves garlic pressed
- 2 ½ tablespoons chipotle pepper adobo sauce*
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped (optional)
Salad:
- 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 1 bell pepper diced
- 1 jalapeno sliced (optional)
- ½ red onion sliced
- 2 blood oranges peeled
- 1 avocado thinly sliced
- ½ cup Monterrey Jack cheese of your favorite, shredded
- 6-8 cups romaine lettuce and mixed greens
- Fresh cilantro and toasted pumpkin seeds for serving
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in a shallow dish. In a small bowl, whisk together remaining chipotle chicken ingredients, and rub evenly over both sides of the chicken breasts. If time permits, let chicken sit for 30 minutes at room temperature or overnight. If refrigerated, let chicken sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes before cooking.
- Add oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-high. Once hot, add chicken and cook for 4-5 minutes until browned. Reduce heat to medium. Flip chicken, cover and cook for an additional 6-7 minutes until chicken is fully cooked through. Once done, let rest for 5-7 minutes then slice.
- While the chicken cooks, you can make the dressing. Add all ingredients to a small bowl, and whisk until combined. Adjust to taste: add more adobo sauce for more heat, more honey to make it sweeter, or more lime to make it tangier.
- In a large serving bowl, toss together salad ingredients, sliced chicken and dressing. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro and pumpkin seeds. Serve!
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