• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Cafe Delites

for good food lovers

  • Recipe Index
  • About Me
    • BOOKS
  • Contact Me
    • Policies
      • Disclaimer
      • Copyright
    • MEDIA
You are here: Home / Recipes / Southwestern Chicken Salad With A Low Fat Creamy Dressing

By Karina 12 Comments Filed Under: Chicken

Southwestern Chicken Salad With A Low Fat Creamy Dressing

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Put a spin on a Southwestern Salad with this Chili Lime Southwestern Chicken Salad with a low fat and CREAMY Cilantro Chili Lime Dressing that doubles as your marinade!

Southwestern Chicken Salad with a Low Fat Creamy Dressing… I can hear the angels singing!

A Chili Lime Southwestern Chicken Salad with a low fat and CREAMY Cilantro Chili Lime Dressing that doubles as a marinade! | https://cafedelites.com

It’s safe to say that with THIS salad, you won’t miss a heavy amount of fat in a usual creamy dressing made up of mayo or heavy creams. The dressing is SO creamy and RICH without needing ANY mayo! Plus, all of the flavours in the salad dressing are marinaded right into the chicken with ONLY one ingredient you’re going to add in to the marinade to make this dressing ??? complete!

Southwestern Chicken Salad With A Low Fat Creamy Dressing | https://cafedelites.com

Since school holidays have finished over here, I’m finally able to get into a ‘healthy eating’ rhythm. Monday marked the first day of better eating (I know my ass is thanking me), dropping two kilos already (or 4 pounds)! This is the salad that kicked it off!

To make life easier, I cheated and used my magic bullet (small cup) to make up this dressing / marinade first. Hooray for no chopping needed! If you don’t have a small food processor or magic bullet though, you can simply chop the cilantro leaves before adding them into the dressing, as written in the recipe. It just so happens that I like cheating.

Southwestern Chicken Salad With A Low Fat Creamy Dressing | https://cafedelites.com

Then, fry your marinaded chicken thighs until crispy and golden…..

Easy Grilled Cilantro Lime Chicken Salad With A Mango Salsa! | https://cafedelites.com

And assemble your salad!

Southwestern Chicken Salad With A Low Fat Creamy Dressing | https://cafedelites.com

Pour the creamy dressing over the top! DONE!

Southwestern Chicken Salad With A Low Fat Creamy Dressing | https://cafedelites.com

REMEMBER TO SUBSCRIBE TO CAFE DELITES NEWSLETTER FOR FREE AND RECEIVE FRESH RECIPE NOTIFICATIONS DELIVERED INTO YOUR INBOX!

If you try a recipe, please use the hashtag #cafedelites on INSTAGRAM for a chance to be featured!
FOLLOW CAFE DELITES ON FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | PINTEREST | TWITTER FOR ALL OF THE LATEST CONTENT, RECIPES AND UPDATES.

Chili Lime Southwestern Chicken Salad

A Chili Lime Southwestern Chicken Salad with a low fat and CREAMY Cilantro Chili Lime Dressing that doubles as a marinade!
Weight Watchers Smart Points: 10 per serve
PRINT SAVE go to your favorites
Serves: 4

Ingredients

  • Marinade/Dressing:
  • 4 skinless , boneless chicken thigh fillets
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 4 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro (or flat-leaf parsley)
  • 2 cloves garlic , crushed
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  • 1/2-3/4 teaspoon red chilli flakes (adjust to your preference of spice)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground Cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup plain greek yogurt (or sour cream) -- FOR DRESSING ONLY

Salad:

  • 4 cups romaine (cos) lettuce leaves, washed and dried
  • 1 cup grape / cherry tomatoes , halved
  • 1 ripe avocado , sliced
  • 1 cup black beans , washed and rinsed
  • 1 cup corn , washed and rinsed

Instructions

  • Whisk marinade ingredients together to combine, or pulse in a magic bullet using a small cup OR a small food processor until blended (all except for the greek yogurt). Pour half the marinade into a shallow dish to marinade the chicken fillets for two hours if time allows. Refrigerate the reserved untouched marinade to use as the dressing.
  • Heat about one teaspoon of oil in a grill pan or skillet over medium-high heat and grill chicken fillets on each side until golden, crispy and cooked through. (Grill in batches to prevent excess water being released.) Once chicken is cooked, set aside and allow to rest.
  • Slice chicken into strips and prepare salad with leaves, tomatoes, avocado slices, black beans, corn and chicken.
  • Prepare dressing with remaining marinade/dressing with the 1/4 cup greek yogurt; mix well to combine OR pulse in a small food processor or magic bullet small cup.
  • Drizzle the creamy dressing over the salad; divide into 4 bowls and serve.

A Chili Lime Southwestern Chicken Salad with a low fat and CREAMY Cilantro Chili Lime Dressing that doubles as a marinade! | https://cafedelites.com

Southwestern Chicken Salad With A Low Fat Creamy Dressing | https://cafedelites.com

A Chili Lime Southwestern Chicken Salad with a low fat and CREAMY Cilantro Chili Lime Dressing that doubles as a marinade! | https://cafedelites.com
« Cheesecake Stuffed Chocolate Chip Skillet Cookie
Creamy Champagne Chicken »

Subscribe to Cafe Delites FOR FREE and Receive Recipes Straight Into Your Inbox!

Image of a white plate with Chili Garlic Butter Shrimp in a buttery sauce
Artisan Bread in a dutch oven pot | cafedelites.com
Sautéed Green Beans | cafedelites.com
The best, juicy roast Beef Tenderloin slathered with garlic butter that melts in your mouth with every bite! Even better when served with a rich and rustic, easy to make red wine sauce (or jus) | cafedelites.com
Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken | cafedelites.com

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Hopper says

    July 12, 2020 at 7:45 am

    5 stars
    This salad is amazing, the dressing is dynamite!
    I added just a bit more brown sugar to the dressing part and doubled it cause that’s how delicious it is.

    Reply
  2. Amanda says

    July 01, 2020 at 1:03 am

    5 stars
    I made this for dinner tonight, exactly as written (doubled recipe for growing boys)…and a crumble of bacon on top. OMG! So delicious. Hubby asked me to make it again tomorrow. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
  3. Julie says

    January 06, 2020 at 1:07 pm

    4 stars
    This was delicious! I’m not a tomato person so I should perhaps have added some red/orange pepper for some colour for my salad. I also will make a bit more marinade/dressing for next time as I really wanted more of that – it’s so yummy!!!

    Reply
  4. Toni says

    October 20, 2019 at 12:36 am

    Can someone please help me this the second time I made the dressing and it comes out yellow can someone please explain to me what am I doing wrong ?

    Reply
  5. Ani says

    September 29, 2019 at 9:56 pm

    This sounds wonderful, is it possible to separate the salad dressing nutrition facts to be able to duplicate this salad but with salmon? Thx so mch

    Reply
  6. Lisa says

    November 05, 2018 at 12:44 pm

    5 stars
    Made this tonight and loved it! Especially that tangy delicious dressing!

    Reply
  7. Joe Smith says

    February 18, 2018 at 7:46 am

    Yea there’s no ingredients/directions for the dressing…

    Reply
    • Karina says

      February 18, 2018 at 9:26 am

      The dressing is under the marinade/dressing ingredients. It begins after the chicken. Hope that helps answer your questions.

      Reply
  8. ariana says

    September 08, 2017 at 11:12 am

    I haven’t attempted this yet. I found you on pinterest.. anyways I have a question. When did you use the greek yogurt/ sour cream? we whisk together all the ingredients for the marinade, except for the sour cream. When does it come into play?

    Reply
  9. Brad says

    March 12, 2017 at 8:37 am

    What are the ingredients for the dressing.

    Reply
  10. Yve says

    January 19, 2017 at 5:43 am

    5 stars
    Hi Karina, had to drop a few lines.
    I am now eating *for the second time* 😉 a salad with this awesome dressing.
    LOVE IT !!! Tried it with Parsley and Cilantro – both variations work fantastic. I also mixed in a pureed tomato that I still had. Made a double batch, so will be having another salad tomorrow 😉

    Much love from Spain and please don´t stop creating recipes for all the food lovers out there.

    Saludos Yve

    Reply
  11. Patricia says

    August 04, 2016 at 8:22 pm

    5 stars
    I thought your Honey Mustard Chicken Salad was the queen of the Nile but OMGeeeeeee…..this puts that one to shame.
    Not a huge fan of chicken thighs but figured I’d give it a try anyways. Wanted to make exactly and give a fair review. So glad I did. EXCELLENT! I don’t think the breast would be aso juicy or flavorful if I substituted them.
    I LOVE your recipes. Only complaint I have is I didn’t find you sooner.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

LOOKING FOR A RECIPE? SEARCH HERE!

HEY Good Food Lovers! It’s nice to see you!

Karina Carrel Profile Picture IMAGE77

Welcome! My name is Karina and this is my internet kitchen hang-out. A self-confessed balanced foodie sharing some waistline friendly recipes that are full of flavour. Life is too short for bland and boring. …

Read More

Connect with Karina – Cafe Delites

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Footer

Subscribe to Cafe Delites FOR FREE and Receive Recipes Straight Into Your Inbox!

CONNECT WITH KARINA – CAFE DELITES

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Archives

Categories

COPYRIGHT © 2023 CAFE DELITES. All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy