You can make chicken taco salad at home.
A Mexican-style chicken taco salad brings a taste of the Southwest to your dinner table, and it's easy to make at home. The seasonings used to make a chicken taco salad are readily available at most grocery stores and you can mix and match your favorites in the amounts you prefer to create a dish that is truly your own.
Chicken Taco Salad
A chicken taco salad typically involves a combination of spices mixed together to season strips of chicken breast. In some cases, the chicken is marinated in the seasonings before cooking while other recipes don't introduce the seasonings until the chicken has already begun to cook. The cooked chicken is served over a bed of shredded lettuce topped with a variety of vegetables such as tomatoes, corn, black olives, bell peppers, red onions and tomatillos. Jalapeno peppers, salsa, sour cream, tortilla chips and guacamole are other common toppings.
Seasoning Blends
You can buy seasoning blends with the ingredients pre-mixed, but they often contain fillers and preservatives that you might not want to ingest. Blending the ingredients together yourself allows you to make your chicken taco salad taste exactly the way you want it to. A dry seasoning blend can be stored for up to six months in an airtight container at room temperature, while wet seasoning blends can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days.
Common Seasonings
Chili powder is the base seasoning for a chicken taco salad. Other powders that can be used include onion powder and garlic powder. Crushed red pepper flakes, dried oregano, paprika and cumin can also be added to a chicken taco salad to give it an authentic Mexican flavor. Most home cooks also add salt and black pepper to taste when seasoning a chicken taco salad. Sometimes, a small amount of brown sugar can add a slight bit of sweetness to your meal. A wet seasoning blend that can be used as a marinade or dressing can be made by mixing lime juice and water into the dry ingredients. A small amount of corn starch can thicken a mixture that is too thin. Some cooks also add tomato paste to a wet taco seasoning blend.
Alternatives
You can use your chicken taco salad seasoning mix for other Mexican dishes as well. The same spices can be used to make chicken or beef tacos, tostadas, burritos or fajitas. For a change of pace, try using the mixture to cook fish or seafood and make some fish tacos or shrimp enchiladas.
Tags: chicken taco, taco salad, chicken taco salad, chicken taco salad, make chicken
