Mexican Street Corn Kale Salad

This Mexican street corn kale salad combines esquites with grilled chicken, avocado, greens, and tortilla chips to create a meal-sized salad!  

After sharing my recipe for Mexican street corn salad, I'd like to discuss how I like to make it into a whole meal. Mexican kale salad with street corn. It is bursting with vegetables, protein, and flavor.

If you've been reading the EBF blog for a time, you probably already know how much I loathe bland salads. I try to add a variety of textures, temps, and flavors to my salads to keep them interesting. This kale salad recipe originated when I first prepared this Mexican street corn salad since I basically wanted it on everything (even salads)!

I only needed one bite of this dish, which had Mexican street corn, grilled chicken, and avocado over massaged greens, to become addicted. It actually makes me think of a salad you might order from a fast food restaurant like Chopt or Sweetgreen.

Street Corn Kale Salad Ingredients

• 4 cups shredded/chopped kale
• 1 avocado, chopped into chunks and divided
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 grilled chicken breasts, sliced or chopped into bite-size pieces
• 1 1/2 cups Mexican street corn salad
• 1/3 cup crushed/chopped tortilla chips
• cotija cheese, for topping*
• sriracha, optional

How to Grill Chicken Breasts for Salad

Chicken breasts can be cooked on the grill if they are raw and basic, but I prefer to season mine a little. If you have the time, this salad would be ideal with the chicken marinated in apple cider vinegar. A delicious, moist chicken breast is the ultimate product.

Prior to grilling, I also enjoy giving my chicken a dry rub. It requires almost no preparation time and yields a delicious grilled protein! To play off the seasonings in the street corn salad, you could use my blackened seasoning recipe or just a combination of chili powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. Before grilling, simply rub the chicken breast with the spice mixture.

Preheat the grill when you're ready to start cooking. Place the chicken on the grill when it reaches around 400 degrees, and cook for about 10 minutes, flipping once. After cooking, use a meat thermometer to check the chicken; the breast should be at least 165°F inside.

After cooking, let the chicken cool completely before slicing and using it in the salad recipe. Up to three days before grilling, the chicken can be prepared.

How to Assemble the Salad

I prefer to cut the avocado in half and massage the kale with lime juice, salt, and the other half for this kale salad. This essentially functions as a salad dressing and softens the kale.

Simply combine all the chopped ingredients in a large bowl after massaging the kale. You might even utilize a salad-chopper bowl! One of the kitchen tools I use the most is this chopper/bowl set. Simply massage the kale, add the additional ingredients to the bowl, and prepare the salad using the salad chopper. Use the rolling knife (which resembles a pizza cutter) to chop the ingredients and combine everything.