Baja Cabbage Taco Salad
This baja cabbage salad is a twist on a regular taco salad. Instead of lettuce that often wilts in a taco salad, I used crunchy cabbage as the base. I swapped ground beef for grilled chicken. The fresh orange, veggies and cilantro add vibrant flavor. At home, baked tortilla strips add a salty crunch. It’s fresh, it’s healthy, it feels good.
The dressing uses a taco seasoning packet and brown sugar so it tastes a little bit spicy and a little bit sweet. The recipe will make more than you need, but store the extra in the refrigerator. You can also use it as a marinade for chicken to use in tacos or fajitas.
This dish is great for a quick dinner, and it also packs well for lunch. Prepare extra of each of the ingredients so you have them on hand to throw together during the week. Keep the dressing separate until is time to eat.
Baja Cabbage Taco Salad Recipe
Makes 2 salads.
Ingredients
Baja Dressing
- 1 taco seasoning packet (reserve 1/2 tsp separately)
- 1 Tbsp brown sugar
- 1/2 cup olive or canola oil
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
Salad
- 1 and 1/2 cup green cabbage, thinly sliced
- 1/2 jalapeno, diced
- 1 orange bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 scallion, green portion, diced
- 2 Tbsp cilantro leaves, chopped
- 1 small orange, peeled (Substitute 2 clementines or mandarin oranges (canned works fine)).
- 1 avocado, cubed
- 1 fresh lime
- 1/2 cup corn kernels (canned or frozen)
- 2 corn tortilla shells
- 3 chicken tenders or 1 chicken breast
Directions
- In a bowl, add all but 1/2 tsp of the taco seasoning mix. (The extra 1/2 tsp will be for seasoning the chicken.) To the seasoning, add 1 Tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 cup olive or canola oil, and 1/2 cup vinegar. Whisk and set aside.
- Prepare and set aside the following ingredients:
- Remove the outer layer from the cabbage. Cut off the stem end and cut the head in half. Cut a triangle in the middle of the cabbage half to remove the inner core. Cut the head again so the cabbage is now in fourths with the inner core removed.
- Using your knife, very thinly shave the edge of the cabbage into thin strips. Cut the strips in half so they are bite-size. Do this until you have about 1 and 1/2 cup.
- Remove the seeds and mince half of a jalapeno.
- Cut off and discard the white part of the scallion and dice the green part.
- Remove the cilantro leaves from the stems and roughly chop into about 2 Tbsp.
- Peel an orange into segments and remove the white membrane.
- Remove the top and seeds from an orange bell pepper. Slice the pepper into thin strips.
- Cut an avocado in half and remove the pit. Run a knife lengthwise and crosswise to make cubes without piercing the skin. Use a spoon to scoop out the avocado.
- Cut a lime into quarters.
- Open and drain a can of corn or defrost frozen corn for 1/2 cup.
- Season the chicken with the extra 1/2 tsp of taco seasoning. Cook it on a grill pan, grill, or in a skillet until thoroughly cooked. Set it aside to cool and dice into bite size pieces.
- Stack two tortilla shells on a cutting board. Use a knife to cut them into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch strips. Place the strips in a single layer on a foil or parchment lined baking sheet. Spray them lightly with cooking spray and a sprinkle of salt. Broil them in an oven or toaster oven until crispy on each side (about 2-3 minutes per side). (If you don’t want to use the oven you can toast them one each side in a skillet with a little bit of oil.)
- In a bowl, combine the cabbage, orange slices, bell pepper, scallion, jalapeno, avocado, cilantro and chicken.
- Drizzle with the salad dressing, lime juice, and the tortilla strips.
Adjust the portions of the ingredients to your liking. I’m not a big fan of spicy, but if you are, use the entire jalapeno. Shrimp is a tasty substitute for the chicken or you could make it vegetarian and add black beans.
Use the Extra Ingredients
I always have leftover cabbage when I make this salad. If you do have leftovers, plan to make a batch of coleslaw, add the cabbage to a stir-fry, or use as a slaw on fish tacos. Check out my Rainbow Cabbage Salad Recipe.
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June 17, 2016 @ 8:33 pm
Love all the recipes and the instructions are so thoroughly written, easy to follow. Great job!
June 18, 2016 @ 8:38 am
Thank you! Let me know how it turns out!