This Ranch Chicken Salad Bowl is an easy to prepare meal that is loaded with protein and vegetables.
Diced chicken is coated with ranch seasoning and then sautéed. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the rice, grate the cheese, and chop the veggies. By the time the chicken is done cooking, all of the ingredients are ready and you can assemble the salads.
These salad bowls have a funny backstory. When I came back from my trip to Oregon, I asked Charles what he ate while I was gone. This always fascinates me because the man just can't cook. He said that he wouldn't tell me because I wouldn't like it.
He went on to explain that he did eat the soups that I stored in the freezer, but that he didn't really eat vegetables while I was away. So, when I returned to town I set about returning vegetables to my husband's life.
He excitedly ate his salad, and when I asked him why he didn't eat vegetables while I was away he said that vegetables are "hard to cook". I couldn't help but to point out that he was currently eating a bowl of raw vegetables.
Instead of using salad dressing, I topped the Ranch Chicken Salad Bowls with my poblano cream sauce. This spicy creamy sauce is far better than any salad dressing, and I like to put it on almost anything. Sure, you could use salad dressing but I think the poblano cream sauce is far superior.
The poblano cream sauce does take about 30 minutes to prepare. I recommend making a batch on Friday night and putting it on everything you eat all weekend long.
Serve it over chimichangas, on a sunny side up egg, or use it to dip tater tots. This sauce is seriously delicious and worth every minute you spend making it. It is one of my favorite recipes ever.
I resisted the urge to add bacon to the salad, but if you want to, go ahead. You can never go wrong with adding a little bacon to a salad.
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How to Make a Ranch Chicken Salad Bowl:
Ranch Chicken Salad Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 pound of Boneless Chicken Breasts
- 1 packet of Dry Ranch Dressing Mix
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- Lettuce
- 1 bag of Uncle Ben's Brown Rice
- Grape Tomatoes
- Grated Cheese I used Cabot Cheddar
- Shredded Carrots I buy them shredded at my grocery store
- 1 Avocado
- Whole Kernel Corn
- Black Beans
- 1 Lime
- Poblano Cream Sauce
Instructions
- Start by dicing the chicken into 1-inch pieces. Then place the chicken in a bowl, and pour the dry ranch seasoning over, and stir to evenly coat the chicken.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken, and let cook for 2 minutes until the first side is slightly browned. Then turn the chicken over (I use a fork to flip over all the pieces) and cook for another 2 minutes. Cover the skillet, reduce heat to low, and let sit for 10 minutes while the chicken finishes cooking.
- While the chicken is cooking, grate the cheese, cook the rice, chop the tomatoes, slice the avocado, and rinse the beans.
- Once the chicken has finished cooking, assemble the salads. Fill two bowls with 2 handfuls of lettuce, and then add the tomatoes, carrots, corn, beans, and avocado on top. Add a couple scoops of rice and place the chicken on top of the rice. Drizzle the poblano cream sauce over the top, and top with cheese. Garnish with lime (I like to squeeze this all over everything). Eat right away.
Notes
