This Chipotle Green Goddess Chopped Salad is deliciously crispy, crunchy, and spicy, with all the textures you’d ever want in a salad.
When I lived in New York, I frequented a quick-service salad chain called Chop’t. Have you heard of it? You can choose a salad of their design, or make your own, similar to Sweetgreen. Then they would chop up all the ingredients and toss them with the salad dressing of your choice. Well, I got the same salad every single time with the same dressing combo. Yes, I combined two salad dressings because each one individually just wasn’t doing it for me. I’d get the Mexican Caesar and Mexican Goddess. While I don’t know how to make their salad dressings exactly, this Chipotle Green Goddess Chopped Salad comes pretty damn close to my favorite Chop’t salad ever.
It has tons of mix-ins, like any good chopped salad should have. We’re talking roasted broccoli, chicken, pepper jack cheese, hearts of palm, edamame beans, and crushed tortilla chips. All mixed with two different greens, because I just love the romaine and arugula combo.
The dressing is spicy. Just need to warn you. BUT – when tossed with the salad it’s not nearly as spicy as when you’ll taste it on its own. If you’re afraid of spice, don’t include the extra sauce from the chipotles in adobo can.
I love this chopped salad so much, I’ll prep double the ingredients. This way, I can use the other half for my salad the next day! I just keep each ingredient in separate containers or bowls in the fridge, and toss it all with the lettuce and dressing when ready to eat.
Ingredient Notes:
- Broccoli Florets – This may seem like a lot for the amount of servings, but they shrink a lot when cooked.
- Garlic Powder – Burlap & Barrel makes my absolute favorite garlic powder. You can really smell and taste and difference. Buy it here!
- Edamame Beans – Buy the frozen ones that are already de-shelled.
- Tomatillo – Most grocery stores carry these, especially Whole Foods. They have a loose peel, which you can very easily remove. Usually, they will be sticky and will have black specks on them. Rinse them well under water to remove and dry with a paper towel. They should no longer be sticky.
- Chipotle Peppers in Adobo (and sauce) – This can be found in most grocery stores in the canned food aisle or Latin food aisle. But you can also order it online, here.
- Cilantro – if you hate cilantro, add the same amount of scallion greens or parsley. The herbs add a really nice freshness to the dressing.
Chipotle Green Goddess Chopped Salad
Equipment
- 1 Grill Pan or regular Large Pan
- 1 Food Processor (I used a mini one)
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 4 cups broccoli florets cut into 1 inch florets
- Avocado oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 chicken breasts about 1 lb., cut in half into cutlets, at room temperature
- 6 oz. romaine lettuce chopped (not sliced or shredded)
- 2.5 oz. arugula chopped
- 4 oz. pepper jack cheese chopped
- 4 stalks hearts of palm chopped
- ¾ cup edamame beans
- Chipotle Green Goddess Dressing recipe below
- Tortilla chips crushed, to taste
For the Chipotle Green Goddess Dressing (makes 2 cups):
- 1 tomatillo peeled and washed clean
- ½ jalapeno seeded and roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo
- 2 teaspoons sauce from chipotles in adobo
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 ½ teaspoons Dijon
- 1 lime juiced
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons water
- 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves and thin stems packed
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
For the Salad:
- Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 425°F.
- On a sheet pan, toss the broccoli florets with a large drizzle of avocado oil, a third of the garlic powder, and a big pinch of Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast on the top rack for 12-15 minutes, until tender. Let cool, then roughly chop.
- Meanwhile, season chicken breast cutlets well with Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and remaining garlic powder.
- Heat avocado oil in a grill pan or a large regular pan over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook for 4 minutes per side. If using a grill pan, rotate chicken every 2 minutes to form a crosshatch pattern. Set aside on a plate to cool completely. Chop into small cubes.
- In a large bowl, combine the romaine, arugula, roasted broccoli, chicken, pepper jack cheese, hearts of palm, edamame, and as much of the salad dressing as you’d like (you will have extra). Season with a sprinkle of Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and toss to combine until evenly coated. Add as many crushed tortilla chips as you’d like and toss to combine again. Serve and enjoy!
For the Chipotle Green Goddess Dressing:
- Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add the tomatillo and cook for 5 minutes. Remove and let cool completely. Cut into quarters.
- In the bowl of a food processor (I used a mini one), combine the tomatillo, jalapeno, garlic, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, mayonnaise, Dijon, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, water, Parmesan, cilantro, ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt (double this amount if doubling the recipe), and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Puree to combine for at least 30 seconds. If consistency is too thick, add another teaspoon or two of water, as needed. Taste and season with more Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, if desired.
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