There are few recipes that I take the time to post the night I make them for dinner. Not because the recipes I am making are not worth posting right away, more just because I get busy and forget to blog about them until I have a few minutes to sit down at my laptop and post. This recipe however was a MUST-POST-RIGHT-AWAY kind of dish for me. I found a recipe that looked delicious from my friend Jamie’s blog and knew I needed to make and try this for our ‘rice’ month here at Deals to Meals.

This recipe didn’t disappoint, it was awesome!! I did change several aspects of the salad, so I gave it a new name (a little wordy I know..but, it will do) and am so excited to share it with you. I could see this dish being one I make all of the time in the summer. It would be fabulous warm or cold (in fact, it was..I had two bowls of it tonight–one at dinner and one an hour later when I was cleaning up, delicious both ways!!). Either way, the fact you don’t have to turn on the stove and it is a one bowl wonder, it is the perfect recipe to eat on the go, on a picnic, camping, at a family gathering or for a weeknight meal. We ate this for dinner tonight and all of the kids LOVED it!! Even my 10 month old baby couldn’t get enough (that says a lot, he is a picky chap!)

Bottom line, add this to your list of meals to try before the month is through. I hope you love it as much as I did! The other great thing about this recipe is that it is a great dinner option for people who are unable to eat gluten. If you want to also cut back on your food budget, leave out the chicken. I think it would be just as good without it. A good vegetarian meal never hurt anyone, right 🙂

Cilantro Lime Chicken and Rice Salad
Ingredients
  1. Cilantro Lime Chicken & Rice Salad
  2. 1 c. long grain white rice
  3. 2 c. brown rice (or 2 more cups white rice)
  4. 2 chicken breasts, cut or shredded into small pieces
  5. 1 onion, diced
  6. 1 can rotel tomatoes (or 1 c. diced tomatoes & 1 more can diced green chilies)
  7. 2 t. chili powder
  8. 1 t. salt
  9. 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
  10. 1 1/2 c. frozen corn, thawed (much better with frozen corn, but can could work too)
  11. 1 c. cilantro, chopped
  12. 1/4 c. green onions, sliced
  13. 3 tomatoes, diced
  14. 2 avocados, peeled and diced
Dressing
  1. 1/2 c. lime juice
  2. 1/4 c. white vinegar
  3. 1/4 c. brown sugar
  4. 1/3 c. vegetable or canola oil
  5. 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced fine (if you like it more spicy add 2 or 3, or leave seeds in)
  6. 2 t. chili powder
  7. 2 t. cumin
  8. Salt, to taste
Add ingredients to shopping list
If you don’t have Buy Me a Pie! app installed you’ll see the list with ingredients right after downloading it
Instructions
  1. Cilantro Lime Chicken & Rice Salad: Cook the rice on the stove, in a rice cooker or pressure cooker until tender and fluffy, about 20-30 minutes depending which method you choose.
  2. Grill, bake or cook the chicken over the stove until cooked through and no longer pink. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and then cut into bite sized pieces. Place in a large bowl and then add the cooked rice. Dice the onion and add to a saute pan.
  3. Saute together the onions and seasonings in a pan until the onions are soft. Add the onions to the cooked rice. To the rice and chicken, add the drained black beans, frozen corn, chopped cilantro, sliced green onions, diced tomatoes and diced avocado.
  4. For the dressing, add the ingredients together and whisk until smooth. Pour the dressing over the salad. Serve the salad with extra fresh lime slices on the side and extra cilantro.
Print
Deals to Meals https://www.dealstomealsblog.com/
BROWN RICE TIP

Healthy tip: anytime I make a recipe where the rice is covered in a sauce of some kind or lots of seasonings, I always use a ratio of 2 parts brown rice to 1 part white rice. Brown rice is so much more nutritious than white rice so if it is going to be covered up anyway with sauce, use the brown rice and your family will never know. I know they are supposed to cook at different temperatures and time frames, but I have found in a rice cooker, pressure canner or on the stove they turn out just fine being cooked together.