This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Ensalada de Pollo (or Mexican Chicken Salad) is an easy-to-make meal that’s always a crowd pleaser! Filling and satisfying, this chicken salad is loaded with veggies and chicken and is mixed with a creamy dressing.
Clean out your fridge and use up your leftovers with this creamy recipe for Ensalada de Pollo (or Mexican chicken salad). It uses flexible ingredients your whole family can enjoy or make it a day ahead of time and bring it to your next get-together.
Feel free to head to the store or use what you already have in your fridge. Mexican chicken salad is easy to make, inexpensive, and has a zing in every bite. Serve it on its own, on a tostada shell, in a sandwich, or with saltine crackers!
What is Ensalada de Pollo?
Ensalada de Pollo is an easy and creamy Mexican chicken salad dish made with simple ingredients like carrots, green beans, peas, corn, potatoes, shredded chicken, and mayonnaise.
What makes this version unique is the addition of tangy lime juice and mild or hot pickled jalapeno brine (not pictured below).
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Potatoes: I find that yellow/gold potatoes provide the best flavor, but you can use any kind you have at home.
- Frozen mixed vegetables: A bag of frozen mixed vegetables usually includes a mix of green beans, carrots, corn, and peas. Feel free to add in a mix of freshly chopped veggies for more variety.
- Shredded chicken: Use any leftover shredded chicken you have in the fridge. If you don’t have any, here’s an easy recipe for shredded chicken that you can make right at home. If you don’t have time to make your own, I recommend buying a cooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and shredding it yourself.
- Mayonnaise: This makes the chicken salad creamy and delicious. You could use plain Greek yogurt or mashed avocado for a lighter option.
- Sour cream: For a hint of tang.
- Mexican crema: (not pictured above) Adds a richer and creamier flavor than only using sour cream alone.
- Lime juice: Adds brightness and zest to the salad. Feel free to swap this with lemon juice if that’s all you have.
- Pickled jalapeño brine: (not pictured above) The pickled jalapeño brine adds a nice tangy and vinegary flavor that compliments the mayonnaise and sour cream. You can use mild or hot pickled jalapeño brine depending on whether you like spicy food or not.
- Kosher salt: To balance the flavors.
How to make Ensalada de Pollo
- Cook the potatoes: Add your potatoes to a small saucepan and cover them with water. Cover with a lid and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to simmer and cook until you can pierce the potatoes with a fork. Carefully drain the water and set aside.
- Cook the vegetables: Add the frozen vegetables to a medium microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring halfway through until fully thawed. Set aside.
- Make the dressing: Whisk the mayonnaise, sour cream, Mexican crema, lime juice, pickled jalapeño brine, and salt together in a small bowl until they’re well combined.
- Toss the salad together: In a large bowl, add the cooked potatoes, thawed mixed vegetables, shredded chicken, and dressing. Toss together to combine, then taste and season with more salt or pickled jalapeno brine to your liking.
- Chill: Refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours or until chilled. Serve with saltine crackers, on tostada shells, with homemade tortilla chips, or in a sandwich.
Variations and Substitutions
- Use fresh vegetables if you prefer. My Mom grew up making this salad using frozen veggies because it made everything easy and quick, but feel free to use whatever you have in the fridge!
- To make it low carb, leave out the potatoes.
- Swap the shredded chicken for turkey if you like, or feel free to use a mix of both. This would be a perfect way to use up any leftover Thanksgiving turkey!
- Want it extra spicy? Serve the salad with pickled jalapeño slices to add heat to each bite.
- Top it off with fresh herbs like cilantro or parsley.
- For a deep and smokey flavor, grill fresh corn instead. Throw one or two ears of corn on the grill and slice off the kernels with a knife right into the salad.
- Serve on the side of avocado salad for a hint of freshness.
Storing
This is a great meal to make well ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to dig in. Make your salad and keep it covered in the fridge for up to 2 days. The flavors will get to know each other and taste even better!
Don’t let the dish sit at room temperature for hours at a time. This could invite unwanted bacteria and potentially make people sick.
Keep leftovers sealed in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Ensalada de Pollo
Ingredients
- 2 small-medium gold potatoes, diced (about 2 cups)
- 1 16-ounce bag frozen mixed vegetables*
- 4 cups cooked shredded chicken* (about 1 lb cooked)
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup Mexican crema*
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 lime)
- 1 tablespoon brine from pickled jalapeños, mild or hot (optional)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, add the potatoes and enough water to cover them completely. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 8 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through. Carefully drain the water and set aside.
- Add the frozen mixed vegetables to a medium microwave-safe bowl and heat them in the microwave on high for 4-6 minutes, stirring halfway through, until fully thawed. Set aside.
- Whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, Mexican crema, lime juice, pickled jalapeño brine, and salt in a small bowl.
- Add the cooked potatoes, thawed mixed vegetables, shredded chicken, and mayonnaise mixture in a large bowl. Toss them together to combine.
- Taste and season the ensalada with more salt or pickled jalapeño brine if desired. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours or until chilled.
- Serve with saltine crackers, on tostada shells, with tortilla chips, or in a sandwich.
Notes
- Veggies: A bag of frozen mixed vegetables usually includes a mix of green beans, carrots, corn, and peas.
- Chicken: You can use any leftover shredded chicken you have in the fridge. If you don’t have any, here’s an easy recipe for shredded chicken that you can make right at home. If you don’t have time to make your own, I recommend buying a cooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and shredding it at home.
- Mexican crema: Adding a bit of crema Mexicana gives the ensalada a thicker, richer, and creamier flavor than only using sour cream. However, you can use more sour cream if you can’t find any near you.
- Pickled jalapeño: The pickled jalapeño brine adds a nice tangy and vinegary flavor that compliments the mayonnaise and sour cream. You can use mild or hot pickled jalapeño brine, depending on whether you like spicy food or not.
- To make it extra creamy, mix in more mayonnaise to your liking.
- To make it spicy, serve the salad with pickled jalapeño slices to add heat to each bite.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This reminds me of childhood! I subbed plain Greek yogurt for half of the mayo and all of the sour cream, and added a bit of the chopped pickled jalapeños. So so tasty!
Same here, Joy! And I love that you used Greek yogurt and some pickled jalapeños. Great idea!
This is the way i learned from my boss Victor while working at waist management, we zinged it up with a few dashes of tapitio and fresh pico de gallo. A great base dish to add to and make it your own.
I made the chicken Mexican style salad and it was delicious , all the vegetables were fresh since I was out of frozen vegetables , and everyone love it.
Thank you for sharing.
I’ll give this a try. I often use the pickling brine from jalapenos and carrots to add zip to my chicken tortilla soup. It’s a great “secret” ingredient, but I never thought to add it to chicken salad.
I also shred 1/2 a head of lettuce, my sister uses cabbage. instead of potatoes I sometimes use elbow macaroni. When the men are working hard this is a great lunch meal for them and I can make it the night before.
Hi Adele! Yes this is a great recipe for prepping, we’re glad you enjoyed it!
Made this for my family and literally everyone loved it. I ran out so quick I wish I would have made more.
Thank you for the recipe!!
I’ve been making this for years for my family. I make it almost the same. I add Tajin, cilantro and green onions mixed in to the salad. Then we top off our tostada shells with salad and Tapatio hot sauce. So good.
I actually had no idea what compelled me to make this recipe beyond the heat of summer because I had no clue what it would taste like, but I’m so happy I did. I probably should have halved the recipe because you get so much and I’m not sure it would freeze well, but I will definitely make again and also keep it as a dish to bring to parties. Notes: I added in some of the jalepenos and used greek yogurt instead of mayonnaise