Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Creamy Chipotle Dressing

Almost too pretty to eat. Nah, never! I took the classic Southwest salad and adorned it with caramelized Brussels sprouts and a homemade creamy dressing of yogurt, cilantro, lime, and chipotle chilies. Talk about a bowlful of joy! And, the dressing isn’t just great on this jam-packed salad, it makes a great dip and topping for grilled and roasted meat, poultry, seafood, and vegetables!

How colorful is this salad? That's why I served that amazing dressing the side - I wanted you to see all the flavor and love that was piled on top of the romaine lettuce.

So why add Brussels sprouts? Because it's clear we all LOVE them (or most of us anyway) and they shouldn't be relegated to side dishes with bacon. I love nestling the nutty roasted sprouts on top of this salad with all the other ingredients. Intensely flavorful on so many levels.

About the dressing: The creaming chipotle dressing is a healthy blend of yogurt, cilantro, lime, and chipotle chilies. I'll reiterate what I said above (because it's so dang true), if you have extra, save it to serve as a dip with mixed vegetables or as a topping for grilled meat, fish and poultry. It also makes a terrific sandwich spread.

Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Creamy Chipotle Dressing

For the salad:
1 pound Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed and halved through the core
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Cooking spray
4 cups chopped romaine
16 cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes
1 cup canned seasoned black beans
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion
For the Creamy Chipotle Dressing:
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons minced chipotle chilies in adobo

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
To prepare the Brussels sprouts, in a large bowl, combine the Brussels sprouts and olive oil. Toss to coat. Transfer the sprouts to the prepared pan and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until browned on all sides, turning halfway through cooking.
To prepare the chicken, in a small bowl, combine chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and mix well. Pat the chicken dry. Rub the mixture all over both sides of the chicken.
Coat a stovetop grill pan or skillet with cooking spray and preheat to medium-high. Add the chicken to the hot pan and cook for 5 to 7 minutes per side, until cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and, when cool enough to handle, chop into bite-size pieces.
To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a blender and process until blended.
To serve, arrange the romaine lettuce on individual plates or in shallow serving bowls. Top with the Brussels sprouts, chicken, tomatoes, black beans, corn, and red onion. Spoon the dressing over top and serve.

Serves 4