Rustic Ranch Chicken Upside-Down Taco Salad
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Anyone can order a taco salad from quick-serve or chain restaurants, but this Rustic Ranch Chicken Upside-Down Taco Salad is a modern twist you can make at home. Instead of placing the salad into a taco bowl and topping it with chicken, this recipe flips the script.
Making the Chicken
One of my favorite dishes is chicken paillard, where you butterfly the chicken breast and pound it down to flatten it. It inspired me to make this paillard-style taco salad where the flattened chicken would serve as the base. The salad is placed on top and then sprinkled with crunchy tortilla strips.
To add another twist, instead of using ranch seasoning as a dressing alone, I use it to season and marinate the chicken. In this case, the chicken is sprinkled with ranch seasoning and is pan-seared. Then it gets a quick dip in the marinade and is tossed in the oven to bake for a few minutes.
Chopping the Salad Veggies
The vegetables that top the chicken can be anything you want. I use traditional taco salad ingredients, which offer great texture and color to the dish.
To prepare the red cabbage, cut it in half, then quarters, and cut out the core. Slice it crosswise to shred, using a 7-3/4″ Petite Slicer.
The shredded cabbage is marinated in a taco vinaigrette that features my P.S. Flavor!™ Texy Taco seasoning, along with balsamic vinegar, orange and lime juice, Dijon mustard, honey and olive oil.
To shred the romaine, reach again for the 7-3/4" Petite Slicer. Wash and dry the lettuce first and then slice crosswise into shreds.
Add more crunch and color to the taco salad with jicama and red and yellow peppers. Cut them all into julienne strips using a 7″ Santoku knife.
Black beans and cheese also go into the mix.
Taco Strip Toppers
What would a taco salad be without crunchy tortillas? Because this is an upside-down salad, the strips are placed on top. To make them, roll up two burrito-size tortillas one at a time and cut the rolls with Super Shears every half-inch.
Take each strip and cut every one to two inches to make long, thin tortilla strips. Toss them with some olive oil and taco seasoning and toast in the oven.
Putting It Together
Mix all the salad ingredients together with the taco vinaigrette. Place the paillard-style chicken on a plate and pile the salad on top.
Garnish with slices of avocado. A 4″ Paring Knife is a good avocado slicing knife.
Place the avocado slices over top, add some quartered grape tomatoes and the crunchy tortilla strips, and you have a taco salad unlike anything you’ve had before.
Turn your taco Tuesday upside-down with this Rustic Ranch Chicken Upside-Down Taco Salad!
Ingredients
For the Rustic Ranch dressing:
- 1/2 cup 1% milk
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ranch seasoning
- 1/4 cup olive oil mayonnaise or mayonnaise of choice
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
For the Texy Taco vinaigrette:
- 2/3 cup white balsamic vinegar
- 1/3 cup fresh orange juice
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tablespoon honey
- 1 1/2 teaspoons P.S. Flavor!™ Texy Taco seasoning or taco seasoning of choice
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
For the salad:
- Rustic Ranch dressing
- 4 (5-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 1/2 tablespoons ranch seasoning, divided
- 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 whole-grain, burrito-size tortillas
- 2 teaspoons P.S. Flavor!™ Texy Taco seasoning, or taco seasoning of choice
- 1/4 cup light sour cream
- 1/2 cup Texy Taco vinaigrette, divided
- 1 cup shredded red cabbage
- 3 cups shredded romaine lettuce
- 1/2 cup julienne-cut jicama
- 1 red pepper, julienne cut
- 1 yellow pepper, julienne cut
- 1 cup cooked black beans, drained
- 8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese or crumbled Mexican queso fresco
- 1 Hass avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced
- 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, quartered
- Cilantro microgreens or leaves, for garnish
Directions
Make the Rustic Ranch dressing:
- Whisk together all ingredients and set aside.
Make the Texy Taco vinaigrette:
- Whisk together vinegar, orange juice, lime juice, mustard, honey and taco seasoning together, and then slowly drizzle in olive oil, whisking until emulsified.
Make the salad:
- Place two sheet pans in oven and heat to 400 F.
- Pour Rustic Ranch dressing into a shallow dish or pie plate.
- Butterfly and pound (with meat mallet) or roll (with rolling pin) chicken till very flat, less than 1/4-inch thick.
- Season each flattened chicken breast with 1/2 tablespoon ranch seasoning. Heat pan over medium high until hot, add 1 teaspoon of olive oil, and then add the seasoned chicken. Pan sear chicken on each side for 45 seconds, until golden brown. Remove the chicken from pan, dip into the Rustic Ranch dressing and then place directly onto the heated sheet. Repeat for each chicken breast. Bake for 4-5 minutes until cooked through.
- Meanwhile, prepare the tortilla strips by rolling burritos one at a time and cutting the roll with Super Shears every 1/2-inch. Take each strip and cut every 1-2 inches to make long, thin tortilla strips. Toss tortilla strips together with the remaining extra-virgin olive oil and taco seasoning. Spread tortilla strips in a single layer on the remaining heated sheet pan. Bake until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Whisk 1/2 tablespoon ranch seasoning into 1/4 cup light sour cream to make a ranch sour cream.
- Add 2 tablespoons Texy Taco vinaigrette into shredded red cabbage to marinate; massage to soften.
- When ready to plate, toss marinated red cabbage, chopped romaine lettuce, jicama, peppers and black beans with Texy Taco vinaigrette. Place flattened chicken breast on each of 4 plates and top with one-fourth of salad mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and tortilla strips, and top with a dollop of ranch sour cream.
- Garnish with avocado, tomato quarters and fresh cilantro.
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