This Tex Mex inspired Chicken Salad is packed with bell peppers, cilantro, and lime for a bright, fresh flavor.
Tis the season, my friends.
No, not Christmas. I’m not that out of it, you guys.
I’m talking about wedding season. I don’t know about you, but our fridge is already filling up with invitations and Save the Dates. In fact, with all the baby announcements and pictures of couples kissing, our fridge could easily become a part of the sex education classes for middle schoolers.
But we’re not here to talk about how awkward that was.
We’re here to talk weddings, and weddings can only mean one thing.
Gifts!
I mean…Wedding Showers! You know the drill. Sundresses and champagne. Adorable mini pink cupcakes. Silvery bows. And at least one shower game that will embarrass the bride. Because it’s her special day, and that’s what friends do.
Not surprisingly, my favorite part of any shower is the food. What can I say? I’m a sucker for bite sized quiche and cheese cubes on a stick.
But my favorite dish to try at wedding showers is the chicken salad. I loooove chicken salad. I love it with grapes. I love it with apples. I love it with walnuts or celery. I love it on slider buns or in lettuce leaves and I’ll love it times a trillion if it’s sandwiched between a buttery croissant.
I don’t discriminate when it comes to chicken salad (unless it’s gray in color and scooped out of a non-descript tub. No thank you). But until now, I’ve never really branched out of the traditional chicken/fruit/nut combos.
Not anymore, my friends. Chicken Salad just went Tex Mex, and it’s all kinds of crazy good.
The premise here is simple: replace some of the mayo with sour cream. Add bell pepper, jalapeno, and red onion for crunch, cumin and chili powder for spice, and cilantro and lime because they’re the best flavor duo ever.
The resulting chicken salad is light, fresh, and flavorful. I scooped it into halved mini bell peppers (seriously, I don’t know why I’m on a mini kick all of the sudden), and we enjoyed them for a light dinner. Then I enjoyed the chicken salad for a late night snack…and lunch the next day. Trust me, this isn’t a dish you’ll tire of easily.
Tex Mex Chicken Salad Stuffed Bell Peppers
Ingredients
- 2 cups chopped chicken
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced (or leave the seeds in for extra heat!)
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup diced red onion
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- Squeeze lime
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 4 mini bell peppers, sliced in half lengthwise (I used Baloian Farms)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except the salt and pepper and halved bell peppers. Stir well until everything is evenly distributed. Taste. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Scoop the mixture into the halved bell peppers, mounding it on top. Sprinkle with extra cilantro, if desired. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
by Courtney
Recipe by Neighborfood
A fiesta chicken salad! I’m all over these flavors. They would definitely add a little bit of spice to any shower!
Totally! Fiesta in your mouth!
I’m cracking up over your comment about your fridge. Too funny. This looks like the perfect warm weather recipe. Pinned!
Haha! Thanks Jennie. It just seemed fitting…all those wedding invitations smashed in around photos of adorable babies. 🙂
I need to see a photo of this fridge. How frisky were the couples getting in their “save the date” postcards?! I love weddings but am super glad that I’m not going to any this year (every year for the past 10 years the Husband and I have gone to a minimum of 3 weddings per year. That adds up to major cheddah, yo. The record was the year we went to 6 weddings. SIX!!!!) I agree with you – the food at all the events is the best part (unless the food was terrible, then I’ll spend eternity griping about how terrible it was!). This cilantro lime salad would be welcome in my mouth at any time! It looks and sounds delicious! I’m gonna print it so that I can try your recipe asap.
Hahah…okay, not terribly frisky, but they definitely look like they like each other. We actually had a little break from weddings the past two year, but this year we have four already! At least now we have a little more cash than we did right after college. Pretty sure the friends who got married right after college got macaroni necklaces as a wedding gift.
OH wedding season. I think this is the first year of the past three that we have less than 12 in a year. Hope you have some comfy dancing shoes!
That’s the truth! I should just make going to weddings my workout plan for the summer. 🙂
Springtime does bring about changes, usually great ones that’s for sure. This salad sounds wonderful, love the flavor combo
Thanks Cheri!