This Mexican Chicken Salad Dip is my new favorite appetizer to serve guests. It is creamy, savory, filling and packed with flavor! I love that I can make it and keep it chilled for up to 4 days. It also happens to be gluten and dairy free so everyone will be able to enjoy it!
My mother-in-law always buys a similar chicken salad from her local farmers market up in Pennsylvania. It's SO good. So a few weeks ago, I told myself I was finally going to replicate it and share it with you guys!!
So here is my version of her farmers market chicken salad.
It's packed with flavor and goes so well with crackers, tortilla chips, wonton chips, or veggies! Along with my Mango Guacamole, it's a strong competitor for my top appetizers to serve guests when entertaining.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Shredded chicken: You can boil and shred your own chicken or purchase a rotisserie chicken from the store and shred it.
- You can also used grilled chicken for more flavor.
- Roasted corn: Roasting your corn amps the flavor of this chicken salad. I purchase one corn on the cob and grill it quickly. You can also use canned corn if you prefer.
- Roasted red peppers: Purchase a jar from your grocery store to save time.
- Red onion: This adds a bite to your chicken salad.
- Black beans: I love adding more protein when it makes sense. Small canned black beans work perfectly.
- Mayonnaise: I use avocado oil mayo since it's healthier than those made with refined oils.
- Cilantro: This is such a common Mexican herb that adds so much brightness to this dip. You can use parsley if you hate cilantro. (I used to!!)
- Seasonings: I used chili powder and onion powder but feel free to add cumin or paprika if you like. Note* the chili powder is NOT spicy at all.
How To Make Mexican Chicken Salad
First we need to char our corn! This is optional but adds SO much flavor to the chicken salad. I like to do it over the grill outside but you can grill it on a grill pan inside OR roast it in the oven if you don't have access to a grill.
How To Grill Your Corn
It's super simple! Simple coat your corn on the cob with some oil, I like to spray the entire cob with an avocado oil spray, then wrap each with aluminum foil and place over high heat on the grill.
Rotate a few times until your corn is tender and slightly charred.
Then use a large chefs knife to shave the corn off the cob before adding it to a large bowl along with the other ingredients.
Mix well and season with salt and pepper to your liking. This is the time to add more mayo if you like your dip creamier.
Serving Tips
I recommend making this at least a few hours in advance to give the flavors time to get to know eachother. Then serve with any of the following:
- Tortilla Chips
- Almond flour crackers (to keep it GF)
- Fried Wonton Chips (how my MIL likes to serve it!)
- Frito Scoops
- Pita Triangles (grill them to add more flavor)
- Veggie sticks
Other Popular Dips To Try
📖 Recipe
Mexican Chicken Salad Dip
Ingredients
- 1 corn on the cob (*or ⅓ cup corn)
- 1 cup shredded chicken
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ⅓ cup roasted red peppers, small dice (*see note)
- ¼ cup black beans
- 3 tablespoon red onion, minced
- 2 tablespoon chopped cilantro
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Remove husks and coat your corn on the cob with oil. Rub it in well. Add to aluminum foil and grill over high rotating every few minutes until slightly charred and tender. This should take about 10 minutes.
- While grilling, chop your roasted peppers, onions, and cilantro.
- When the corn is ready and cool enough to touch, shave off the kernels using a large chefs knife.
- Add corn, peppers, onions, cilantro, beans, chicken and mayo to a large bowl and mix well.
- Add in the chili and onion powder and mix everything together. Season with salt and pepper to your liking. Add more mayo if you want your salad creamier.
- Serve cold with chips or crackers of choice.
Jeanne Craig
Aleka! this looks amazing! Haven't tried it yet, but am going to for sure. Just wanted to give you a little FYI.....not sure where you live, but I'm in SoCal and we have stores called Trader Joe's and they have a frozen roasted corn that is amazing! I always have one or two in my freezer and add it to all kinds of Mexican dishes or salads or casseroles, etc. Thank you so much for all of your wonderful recipes!
Aleka Shunk
Hi Jeanne! Oh my gosh TJ's has frozen roasted corn?! Who knew?! Thanks for letting me know. I hope you like this recipe!! 🙂