One of our favorite meals and a frequent choice for our meal plan is this absolutely delicious Mango Chicken Salad with Chipotle Dressing. The original inspiration for this came from the wonderful Sarah Fragoso at Everyday Paleo, but it has really changed and evolved so much since I first glanced at the original recipe that it has become a creation all of its own. (Have you noticed that we like mangos yet?)
One of the great things about this particular recipe is that you can do most of the preparation ahead of time, so that it can be really quick and easy to throw together on a busy weekday evening. The chicken is precooked, so I will often bake a pan of chicken breasts in the oven earlier in the week for this recipe. Then it is a matter of chopping up some peppers and onions, cooking up some bacon and assembling the salads. It is especially nice when you are having guests for dinner, since you won’t be stuck in a hot kitchen and can enjoy some fellowship and conversation.
For the kids I keep all of the elements separated (since Jonathan doesn’t like his food to touch and Aurora is allergic to pork), so Benjamin and I can enjoy this as spicy as we want.
- 1 pound cooked chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
- 1 package bacon, coarsely chopped
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped (opt)
- 1 ripe mango, peeled and chopped in bite size pieces
- 1 ripe avocado, diced
- 1 head of romaine lettuce (or other greens of choice, like spring mix)
- 1/2 C Paleo mayo (http://everydaypaleo.com/homemade-paleo-mayo-cooking-demo/)
- Chipotle chili powder, to taste
- Chop all ingredients before starting cooking and assembling.
- Preheat a deep skillet to medium and cook bacon pieces until done (about 10 min.) Remove the bacon pieces to a paper-towel lined plate to cool and get nice and crispy. Reserve the bacon grease in the skillet.
- Add the onion to the skillet and cook until they begin to get soft and translucent, about 5 min. Add the chopped bell pepper and jalapeno and cook both until cooked through. (I like to keep my peppers a bit on the crisp side.)
- Add the chicken to the pan and cook until chicken is heated through.
- Add the mango to the pan and remove from heat. (This will warm up the mango, but won't cook it so it becomes mushy.)
- On your plates, make a generous bed of lettuce. Top with the chicken mango mixture and avocado. Sprinkle the crunchy bacon pieces on top.
- For the salad dressing: Add the desired amount of chipotle chili powder to the mayo and mix thoroughly. Serve dressing on the side.
- A great meal to throw together at the last minute.
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