Hamdi Saidani Pioneer Woman chicken taco salad piles seasoned chicken, grilled corn, diced avocado, and pepper jack on shredded lettuce with crushed tortilla chips. The whole platter comes together in 35 minutes with a quick ranch-salsa-cilantro dressing.
Ree Drummond shares this recipe on thepioneerwoman.com, where she builds it as a big shareable platter meant to feed eight. Her shortcut is a three-ingredient dressing that stirs bottled ranch with salsa and minced cilantro, ready in under two minutes.
Roll the shucked corn through the chicken skillet so it soaks up the seasoned butter and oil before you char it on the grill pan. Without that flavor base, the kernels taste plain and flat against the spiced chicken and tangy salsa dressing.
Pioneer Woman Chicken Taco Salad
Description
A platter-style taco salad that pan-fries seasoned chicken breasts in butter and oil, chars corn in the leftover drippings for smoky flavor, then layers everything with fresh vegetables and a fast ranch-salsa dressing.
Ingredients
Dressing
Chicken
Salad
Instructions
- Stir the ranch, salsa, and minced cilantro in a bowl until combined. Cover and refrigerate while you prep everything else.
- Season both sides of the chicken breasts generously with the taco seasoning.
- Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the butter melts and foams.
- Cook the chicken for about 4 minutes per side until deep golden brown on the outside and cooked through. Remove and rest for 10 minutes, then cut into cubes.
- Roll the shucked corn ears in the same skillet to coat them in the seasoned drippings.
- Grill the corn on a grill pan or in a separate skillet until charred with visible color, then slice the kernels off with a sharp knife.
- Pile the shredded lettuce on a large platter or in a wide bowl.
- Layer the chicken, tomatoes, pepper jack, corn, avocado, green onions, cilantro, and crushed chips over the lettuce.
- Drizzle the dressing over the top and serve extra on the side for guests to add more.
FAQs
Why mix bottled ranch with salsa instead of making a dressing from scratch?
Bottled ranch already has the creamy, tangy base this salad needs. Stirring in salsa and minced cilantro turns it into a taco-friendly dressing in under two minutes with no extra ingredients to measure.
Make the dressing first and refrigerate it while you prep the rest so the flavors have time to meld together. Adjust the heat by choosing a milder or spicier salsa, because the ranch tempers whatever spice level you pick.
Why roll the corn in the chicken skillet before grilling it?
The skillet still has seasoned butter and oil from cooking the chicken, so rolling the corn through it coats every ear with built-in flavor before the grill pan chars the outside. Plain corn tastes sweet but one-dimensional next to all the spice in this salads.
Get as much color on the corn as you can before slicing off the kernels. The charred spots add a smoky bite that pairs with the taco seasoning and keeps the corn from disappearing into the lettuce.
Why rest the chicken 10 minutes before cutting it into cubes?
Hot chicken shreds apart under a knife instead of holding clean cube shapes. Resting lets the juices settle back into the meat so each piece stays moist and firm when you toss it onto the platter.
Cut the cooled breasts into strips first, then cross-cut into cubes so the seasoning coats more surface area. Toss the cubes around so the spice mix gets on every side, giving each bite a hit of flavor on the Sausage Pinwheels Recipe.
Can you swap the pepper jack for a different cheese?
Pepper jack adds mild heat that matches the taco seasoning and salsa dressing, but cheddar, Colby, or Monterey Jack all work here. Ree encourages swapping in whichever cheese you prefer, so pick what you normally pile on Taco Casserole Recipe.
Grate the cheese fresh from a block so it softens slightly when it hits the warm chicken and corn. Pre-shredded bags have anti-caking starch that keeps the cheese dry and powdery on a salad instead of melting into the other toppings.
How do you keep this salad fresh when serving a crowd?
Prep the lettuce, tomatoes, corn, and dressing separately and store them covered in the fridge until guests arrive. Ree notes that most of the components can be made ahead and kept cold, so you only need to assemble the platter at the last minute.
Add the avocado and crushed chips right before serving because avocado browns within the hour and chips go soggy the moment dressing hits them. Set extra crushed chips on the side so everyone can pile on as much crunch as they want.
