Mexican chicken salad, or ensalada de pollo, is tender shredded chicken folded with soft potatoes, carrots, peas and corn in a cool, tangy dressing of mayonnaise, sour cream and fresh lime. It’s creamy, a little zesty from the jalapeño brine, and best piled high on a crisp tostada for an easy lunch or a party platter.
How to make Mexican chicken salad: boil cubed potatoes for about 8 minutes and simmer carrots, peas and corn for 3, stir a dressing of mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, mustard and jalapeño brine, toss in 4 cups of shredded chicken and the vegetables, then chill for 1 to 2 hours.
Why You’ll Love It
- 15 minutes of hands-on time, then the fridge does the rest.
- Uses cooked chicken: leftovers or a rotisserie chicken both work.
- Creamy, cool and tangy, with soft potatoes and sweet corn and peas in every bite.
- Feeds 8 as a tostada topping or sandwich filling.
Ingredient Notes
Chicken. Four cups of cooked shredded chicken, about 1 pound. Rotisserie chicken works, and so does any grilled, baked or boiled chicken, as long as it has no seasoning or sauce on it.
Vegetables. Two medium yellow potatoes cut into 1/2-inch cubes, 3/4 cup diced carrots, 3/4 cup frozen peas and 1/2 cup frozen corn. The potatoes cook in one pot and the rest in another.
Dressing. Equal parts mayonnaise and full-fat sour cream, 3/4 cup each, brightened with 2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice and 1 1/2 teaspoons of yellow mustard.
Jalapeño brine. One tablespoon of the liquid from a jar of pickled jalapeños. It’s optional, but it adds a little tangy heat without any chopping.
Ingredients
- 2 medium yellow potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 3/4 cup carrots, peeled and diced
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 3/4 cup full-fat sour cream
- 2 tablespoons lime juice, freshly squeezed, the juice of about 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon jalapeño brine, from pickled jalapeños; optional
- 1 1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard
- 4 cups cooked shredded chicken, about 1 pound
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
How to Make Mexican Chicken Salad
1. Boil the potatoes. Place the potato cubes in a pot of salted boiling water and boil until they are just fork tender, about 8 minutes.
2. Cook the other vegetables. In a separate medium pot, simmer the carrots, peas and corn together until just cooked through, about 3 minutes.
3. Mix the dressing. In a large bowl, mix the mayonnaise, sour cream, yellow mustard, lime juice and jalapeño brine.
4. Add the chicken and vegetables. Add the cooked shredded chicken (cooked to 165°F), the salt, the potatoes and the other vegetables, and toss to coat. Taste and adjust the salt.
5. Chill. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours before serving.
How to Serve Ensalada de Pollo
This isn’t a lettuce salad. Ensalada de pollo is a creamy chicken and vegetable salad, closer to a potato salad with chicken in it, and it’s eaten cold on something crunchy or in bread.
| Serve it | How |
|---|---|
| On tostadas | Pile it on a crisp tostada and add a few drops of hot sauce |
| With saltines | Scoop it onto saltine crackers |
| As a sandwich | Fill a split bolillo roll or your favorite bread |
| With chips | Set it out with corn chips for dipping |
Keep it cold. Chicken salad is a cold perishable food, so it belongs at 40°F or below. Take it out of the fridge right before you serve it.
At a party, put it on ice. Nest the serving bowl inside a larger bowl of ice, or set out a small dish and refill it from the fridge as it empties.
Watch the clock. Don’t let it sit out longer than 2 hours, or 1 hour if it’s above 90°F, like at an outdoor picnic. After that, throw out what’s left in the serving dish.
Tips for Success
Why are my potatoes falling apart?
They boiled too long. Start checking at about 8 minutes and drain them as soon as a fork slides in; they should be just tender, not soft.
Why does my salad taste flat?
It needs salt and a little time. Taste it after you toss everything together and add more salt if it needs it, then give it the full 1 to 2 hours in the fridge before serving.
Variations
- Shortcut vegetables: use a 15-ounce can of mixed vegetables, drained, in place of the carrots, peas and corn.
- More crunch: stir in 1/4 cup each of finely diced onion and celery, or some diced red or yellow bell pepper.
- Spicier: add a finely diced jalapeño, with most of the seeds and white ribs removed, or chopped pickled jalapeños.
- Greek yogurt: nonfat plain Greek yogurt can stand in for the mayonnaise or the sour cream.
Storage & Reheating
Store the salad covered in shallow containers in the fridge at 40°F or below. It doesn’t need reheating; it’s served cold. Don’t freeze it: USDA FSIS lists mayonnaise among foods that don’t freeze well, because it separates and looks curdled after thawing.
What to Serve With It
For a bigger Mexican-style spread, add a pot of quick and easy taco soup or 8-can chicken taco soup, or a pan of one-pot Mexican rice casserole or Mexican tortilla casserole. For a picnic table of cold salads, put it next to a big bowl of pasta salad, and if you like chicken salads, try Asian chicken cranberry salad too.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Mexican chicken salad keep?
Refrigerate it within 2 hours of making it and eat it within 3 to 4 days. Keep it covered and cold the whole time.
What kind of chicken should I use?
Any plain cooked chicken: rotisserie, grilled, baked, boiled or leftovers. Two cooked chicken breasts give about 3 cups shredded, so you’ll want a little more than that for the full 4 cups.
Is it a main dish or a side?
With about 1/2 cup of chicken per serving, it’s best as a tostada topping, a sandwich filling or a light lunch, rather than a big dinner plate.
Final Notes
Make it in the morning so it has plenty of time to chill before lunch or a party. Tell me in the comments whether you ate yours on tostadas or saltines.
Mexican Chicken Salad (Ensalada de Pollo)
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Ingredients
- 2 medium yellow potatoes cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- 3/4 cup carrots peeled and diced
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 3/4 cup full-fat sour cream
- 2 tablespoons lime juice freshly squeezed, the juice of about 1 lime
- 1 tablespoon jalapeno brine from pickled jalapeños; optional
- 1 1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard
- 4 cups cooked shredded chicken about 1 pound
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
Instructions
- Place the potato cubes in a pot of salted boiling water and boil until they are just fork tender, about 8 minutes.
- In a separate medium pot, simmer the carrots, peas and corn together until just cooked through, about 3 minutes.
- In a large bowl, mix the mayonnaise, sour cream, yellow mustard, lime juice and jalapeño brine.
- Add the cooked shredded chicken (cooked to 165°F), the salt, the potatoes and the other vegetables, and toss to coat. Taste and adjust the salt.
- Chill in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
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