Chipotle-Mango BBQ Sauce Chicken Salads

We typically eat salads as a side most nights of the week. It's an easy & quick way to add vegetables to a meal. Plus, that allows me to be lazy with my sides. I really would like to start experimenting with different sides so that will have to change soon though. Often in the summer I like to eat large salads as my main course. Once I saw this recipe I knew that I would need to make it soon because it combines some of my favorite things. I thought this salad was really good, but I would add more vegetables to it next time, especially to add some additional color. I'm sure that will be easy to do as more produce starts popping up at the farmers' market! I also forgot to add some cheese to it, which I love on salads. However, I just saved myself some calories so it's up to you whether you want to add some to it. Honestly you can add anything you want and I'm sure it will be great. The main star is the BBQ sauce.

Just a couple notes: 1.) The sauce is pretty spicy. I would recommend leaving out the seeds of the chipotle pepper if you don't like that much heat and that will tone it down for you. I happen to like heat though so it was perfect for me. 2.) You will have some leftover sauce to use in other meals. I'm excited to come up with ways to use it! 3.) If you don't like Greek yogurt like my husband, you can either use sour cream instead of the Greek yogurt in the dressing or just put some ranch on it like he did.

Chipotle-Mango BBQ Sauce Chicken Salads
Source: Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats, who adapted the sauce from Tofu-N-Sprouts
Ingredients:

For the sauce

1 mango, chopped
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, plus 2 teaspoons adobo sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup apple juice
1/4 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
Juice from 1/2 lemon
2 Tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

For the dressing

2 Tablespoons prepared Chipotle-Mango BBQ Sauce2 Tablespoons plain Greek yogurt1-2 teaspoons lime juice (maybe more, maybe less)salt & pepper

For the salad

2 chicken breasts1 cup of frozen corn, thawed & heated through or fresh ears of corn
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
CroutonsSpinach leaves

Directions:

1. For the Chipotle-Mango BBQ Sauce: Combine all ingredients for the sauce into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring often. Blend with an immersion blender (or cool and blend in a regular blender or food processor).

2. For the dressing: Whisk together BBQ sauce, Greek yogurt, and lime juice in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. For the salad: Marinate chicken breasts in just enough of the prepared Chipotle-Mango BBQ sauce to cover the breasts. I marinated mine for about 2 hours. Grill over medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes per side until no longer pink in the middle. Or if you don't have an outdoor area like me, use a grill pan or a George Foreman. If you want to use fresh corn, you can grill it at the same time for about the same amount of time.

4. Put spinach on plates, then top with grilled chicken, corn, cilantro, and croutons. Drizzle with prepared dressing.

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