Bring the taste of grilled tacos to your salad with the Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill! Chef Tom shows how to craft these marinated grilled chicken and load them up on honey chipotle dressed greens, all served in a crispy fried flour tortilla bowl.
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE
- A fried tortilla bowl turns the salad into its own edible container. Shaping a flour tortilla around a hollowed-out can and frying it until golden creates a crisp, sturdy shell that holds every ingredient without going soggy.
- The honey chipotle vinaigrette blends heat, sweetness, and spice in one dressing. Combining chile oil, honey, and a smoked hot sauce gives the greens a complex flavor that goes well beyond a standard vinaigrette.
- Grilling the corn alongside the chicken adds char without extra steps. Cooking both on the same GrillGrates at once means the corn picks up smoky flavor while the chicken finishes, with no separate cooking phase needed.
- Fresh guacamole and pico de gallo are built from the same base ingredients. Reserving some pico de gallo to fold into the guacamole ties the two toppings together with a consistent flavor thread.
Taco Salad with Grilled Chicken
Tom Jackson
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Category
Entree
Cuisine
Mexican
Servings
4-6
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
16 minutes
Calories
865
Chef Tom fires up the Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill for Taco Salad with Grilled Chicken! All the goodness of a grilled chicken taco in a fried flour tortilla bowl with a boatload of honey chipotle dressed greens!
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts, pounded thin
-
1 cup Sweetwater Spice Lime Jalapeño Fajita Bath
- 1 cup water
-
Cattleman’s Grill Mexicano Seasoning
- 1 ear corn
- 8 cups romaine lettuce, diced
- 1/2 cup black beans
- 1/2 cup sharp cheddar, grated
- 1/4 cup cotija cheese, crumbled
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- Pickled jalapeños
-
Heat Maverick’s Where Did the Mango ManEater Hot Sauce
- 4-6 burrito sized flour tortillas
- Vegetable oil, for frying
-
3 tbsp Colonial Chile Oil
-
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
-
1 1/2 tbsp Reida Farm Kansas Wildflower Honey
-
1-2 tsp Hoff & Pepper Smoken Ghost Hot Sauce
-
1/2 tsp Jacobsen Salt Co. Habanero Sea Salt
- 1/4 tsp Mexican oregano
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 clove garlic, chop
- 1/2 cup tomato, small dice
- 1/2 cup red onion, small dice
- 2 tbsp jalapeno, minced
- 2 tbsp cilantro, minced
- 1 tbsp lime juice
-
Jacobsen Salt Co. Habanero Infused Salt, to taste
- 1 small avocado, flesh only
- 2 tbsp pico de gallo
- Lemon juice, to taste
-
Jacobsen Salt Co. Habanero Infused Salt, to taste
Honey Chipotle Vinaigrette:
Pico de Gallo:
Guacamole:
Directions
- Place the thin pounded chicken breasts in a vacuum seal or zip top bag. Add equal parts Sweetwater Spice Lime Jalapeño Fajita Bath and water. Let soak for 30-45 minutes.
- Preheat your Yoder Smokers YS640s Pellet Grill to 450ºF, set up for direct grilling, with GrillGrate grilling panels in place over the fire box.
- To make the Honey Chipotle Vinaigrette, combine all ingredients in a pitcher, food processor or blender. Process until emulsified and smooth. Store in the refrigerator.
- To make the pico de gallo, combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Mix well. Taste and adjust salt and lemon, as needed.
- To make the guacamole, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mash with a hand masher to desired consistency.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade. Dab excess liquid from the surface. Season with Cattleman’s Grill Mexicano Taco Seasoning.
- Increase the grill temperature to 500ºF.
- Grill the chicken on the GrillGrates over direct flame. Also grill the corn on the cob. Leave the door of the grill open, so as not to trap the heat inside.
- When the bottom is lightly charred, flip the chicken and continue cooking until the internal temperature reaches 155ºF.
- Remove the corn when lightly charred and the corn kernels look plump and not yet burst.
- To make the fried taco salad shell, fill a small pot half full (or less) with vegetable oil. Bring the oil temperature up to 350ºF. You’ll need a 28 oz can of tomatoes, but just the can. Remove the top and bottom lids. You will use the cylinder to form the shape of the shell. Place a large flour tortilla over the top of the pot. Using a Kamado Joe Grate Tool or pliers, press the hollowed out can down in the center of the tortilla. Press until the tortilla is flush with the bottom of the pot and the sides have folded up forming a bowl shape. Carefully ladle some hot oil into the center of the can and press the ladle down in the center to keep the tortilla from ballooning up. Keep the tortilla submerged until golden brown in color about 1-2 minutes, then removed using tongs and transfer to paper towels to drain.
- Dice the chicken breasts. Slice the corn kernels from the cob.
- Place your diced Romaine lettuce in a bowl and dress with the Honey Chipotle Vinaigrette.
- Transfer the dressed romaine to the fried tortilla shell. Top with shredded sharp cheddar, black beans, diced chicken and grilled corn. Top with sour cream, pico de Gallo and guacamole. Sprinkle crumbled cotija cheese over everything. Finish with Heat Maverick’s Where Did the Mango ManEater Hot Sauce and pickled jalapeños.
Recipe Note
Recipe FAQ
Why use a hollowed-out can to shape the tortilla bowl?
Pressing the tortilla around the can while it's submerged in hot oil forms it into a sturdy bowl shape, giving the salad its own crisp, edible container instead of a flat, floppy shell.
Why grill the corn at the same time as the chicken?
Cooking both on the same GrillGrates lets the corn pick up smoky char alongside the chicken, without needing a separate grilling phase.
Why fold some pico de gallo into the guacamole?
Using the same diced tomato, onion, and jalapeño mixture in both toppings ties their flavors together, rather than treating them as two completely separate components.
What internal temperature should the chicken breast actually reach?
This recipe lists 155°F, but USDA's minimum safe internal temperature for poultry is 165°F, including the breast. Cook to at least 165°F to make sure the chicken is fully safe before dicing and serving.
Why leave the grill door open while cooking the chicken and corn?
Keeping the door open prevents heat from building up too intensely inside the grill, giving you more control over char without overcooking either ingredient.
How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
3 out of 5 — the dressing, salsas, and fried tortilla shell can all be made indoors; a stovetop grill pan or broiler can approximate the char on the chicken and corn, though live fire gets you closer to the intended flavor.
Recipe Highlights
The fried tortilla bowl: Shaping it around a hollowed-out can creates a sturdy, crisp container for the whole salad.
Simultaneous grilling of chicken and corn: Cooking both together on the same grates saves time and adds char to each.
A honey chipotle vinaigrette: Combining chile oil, honey, and smoked hot sauce builds a dressing with real complexity.
Shared components between pico de gallo and guacamole: Folding one into the other ties the toppings together with a consistent flavor.
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Nutrition
Nutrition
- Nutrition Serving Size
- 17.55 oz
- per serving
- Calories
- 865
- Carbs
- 76 grams
- Protein
- 28 grams
- Fat
- 52 grams
- Sodium
- 1621 milligrams
