Chipotle-Mango BBQ Chicken Salad

This chipotle-mango BBQ chicken salad seems like a pretty perfect summer meal to me.  We LOVED the chipotle-mango BBQ sauce - it's a little sweet, a little smoky, and so delicious.  Half of it is used as the marinade for the chicken and the other half becomes the dressing for the salad.

When we had this for dinner, I realized about halfway through the meal that I had been almost completely silent because I was so focused on eating! Silence at the dinner table is usually a very, very good sign.

I served this with some homemade biscuits.  The chicken was great but I think you could also substitute salmon or even shrimp.  And the leftovers are excellent!  I have a feeling this dish will show up at our table more than once over the next few months.

Chipotle-Mango BBQ Chicken Salad
Adapted from: Iowa Girl Eats
Serves about 4 (makes about 2 cups BBQ sauce)

• 1 mango, chopped (use about 2/3 mango in the BBQ sauce, 1/3 of it directly in the salad)
• 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, plus 2 teaspoons adobo sauce (I scraped out the seeds for less heat)
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 cup tomato sauce
• 1/4 onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast
• lettuce of choice (I used a combination of romaine and baby spinach)
• 2 ears sweet corn, shucked (if grilling corn, keep the corn on the cob but if baking, cut kernels off the cob; you could also use about a cup of frozen corn)
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• Additional toppings: chopped tomato, chopped red bell pepper, chopped red onion, sliced avocado

1. Combine 2/3 of the chopped mango, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, ketchup, onion, garlic, vinegar, brown sugar, butter, paprika, salt and pepper into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring often. Let cool then transfer to a food processor or blender (I used my hand blender directly in the saucepan), and process until smooth.
2. Marinate chicken breasts in half of the chipotle-mango BBQ sauce for at least 15 minutes, or up to 3 hours. Keep the remaining half to use as the dressing for the salad.
3. If grilling: Grill over medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes per side until no longer pink in the middle (using a meat thermometer, chicken should register at 165 degrees). Allow to rest for 5 minutes off the grill before slicing. Grill corn alongside the chicken, rotating every few minutes until charred on all sides. Let cool for a few minutes, then cut kernels off the cob.
4. If baking: Preheat oven to 400.  Lightly oil or spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray.  Place marinated chicken in baking pan and bake 10 minutes.  Then add the corn kernels to the baking pan, and keep cooking 10-20 more minutes until chicken registers at 165 and is no longer pink.
5. Divide lettuce between four plates, then top with chicken, corn, mango, cilantro, and any additional toppings of your choice (I recommend them all!). Drizzle with remaining sauce.