Alberto’s Southwest Salad

What You’ll Need

For the Chicken

• 1½–2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp kosher salt

• ½ tsp black pepper

• 1 tsp Tajín Clásico Seasoning

• Juice of ½ lime

For the Salad

• 6–8 cups mixed greens + thinly sliced green cabbage (about 50/50 mix)

• 1 large avocado, diced

• 1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained

• ½–1 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

• 1 cup pico de gallo

• 1 cup tortilla strips

For the Honey–Tajín–Lime Vinaigrette

• ¼ cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)

• ½ cup good olive oil

• 1–2 tsp Tajín

• 1 tsp honey

• 1 small garlic clove, finely grated

How to Make

Preheat oven to 400°F.

• First, time to make your chicken.

  • Place chicken on a sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, and Tajín. Roast 18–25 minutes (depending on thickness) until internal temp reaches 165°F.

  • Let chicken rest 5–10 minutes. Squeeze fresh lime juice over the top, then shred with two forks. Toss in the pan juices for extra flavor. Then shred. For easiest shredding with two forks, look at the direction of the muscle fibers and pull along the grain to break the chicken into larger sections. Then rotate and gently pull across the grain for finer, tender shreds.

• Now, let’s make our dressing.

  • Whisk lime juice, honey, and garlic in a small bowl. Slowly stream in olive oil while whisking until emulsified. Stir in Tajín and let sit 10 minutes to deepen flavor.

• Time to prep the salad base.

  • In a large bowl, toss mixed greens and cabbage with about half of the dressing.

• Build salads.

  • Divide dressed greens into 4 bowls. Top each with shredded chicken, avocado, black beans, pico de gallo, cilantro, and tortilla strips.

• Finish and enjoy!

  • Drizzle additional dressing over the top and serve immediately.