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This Southwest Chicken Salad is a crunchy, fresh, salty, sweet, and creamy salad perfect for dinner, parties, or by itself!
Southwest Salad Recipe
The other day I thought I’d experiment with some leftover black beans and roasted chicken I had in my fridge. Best decision ever. The results are a tasty Southwest Salad with a little something for everyone! Plus, there was no cooking involved! BONUS.
Main Ingredients Needed
You should expect 20 minutes of work time, I’d say. Besides that, you should be good to go. This is a really straight forward Southwest Salad recipe and superly awesomely amazing tasting. Here’s what you’ll need:
Corn, Avocado, Tomatoes, Green Peppers, and Romaine Lettuce –all of this fresh produce makes up the filling of this salad and helps make it southwestern.
Chicken and Black Beans –IF you’re vegetarian or just don’t have chicken on hand, don’t worry about it and just add in the black beans.
Scallions and Cilantro – these make the salad so much more flavorful!
Tortillas Chips – pick your favorite brand and add them in. They give the most wonderful crunch to this chopped salad.
Southwest Salad Dressing – This is made from ranch mix, taco seasoning, sour cream, and mayo. It’s beyond delicious, I promise.
If you’re looking for other salads, don’t look far, here are a couple of favorites: macaroni salad,cucumber salad,classic coleslaw,chicken salad with grapes or broccoli salad.
How to Make Southwest Chicken Salad
Prepare or chop the chicken, green pepper, black beans, corn, tomatoes, scallions, lettuce, and cilantro.
In a large bowl, stir all ingredients together, excluding the tortilla chips and avocado.
Make Southwest Salad Dressing (outlined below).
When ready to serve, toss the salad with dressing then gently stir in avocado and tortilla chips.
Southwest Salad Dressing
For the dressing, take equal parts of mayo and sour cream and stir together with some taco seasonings, ranch dip mix, and pepper and salt to taste.
Stir it up and voila! Creamy Southwest Salad Dressing.
Note: Pour just enough dressing over the salad to moisten everything and toss.
Make-Ahead
To make this recipe ahead of time, simply chop and combine everything except the avocados, tortilla chips, and dressing. Refrigerate the dressing and salad separately, then when ready to serve, top with the dressing andstir in some crushed tortilla chips with that ripe avocados.
If you let the salad, tortilla chips, and dressing mingle too long together in the fridge things tend to get soggy, that’s why it’s best to wait until you’re ready to devour this salad.
Leftovers
Any leftover Southwest Chicken Salad can be refrigerated, in an airtight container, for up to 2 days. After that things tend to get soggy and gross.
More Salads To Try!
BLT Chopped Salad with Basil Green Goddess Dressing
Super Greens Southwest Kale Salad
California Club Blue Cheese Chop Salad
Epic Chicken Salad
Once you stir it all together you can see how yummy and colorful this Southwest Salad looks! Mmmm…
I hope you like this one, guys! Have a great day!
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5 from 49 votes
Southwest Salad Recipe with Chicken
This Southwest Salad Recipe is a crunchy, fresh, salty, sweet, and creamy salad perfect for dinner, parties or by itself!
servings 4servings
Prep Time 20 minutesmins
Total Time 20 minutesmins
Ingredients
2cupsrotisserie chickendiced
1green pepperdiced
1cupblack beans
1cupsweet yellow corn canned or frozen and defrosted
2roma tomatoesdiced
4scallionswashed and sliced, white and green parts
Today's southwestern salad is so super simple and classic – just spicy golden roasted sweet potatoes tossed with sweet corn (fresh or grilled? – you choose), black beans, chopped romaine lettuce, and a cool n' creamy avocado dressing that is packed with cilantro, lime, and other good things.
Slices of grilled spicy chicken breast served on a fresh bed of mixed greens, topped with grape tomatoes, a blend of Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheeses, and a zesty combination of roasted corn, black beans, poblano chiles, and red bell peppers.
Ancho-grilled chicken breast, black beans, avocado, fried jalapeño coins, tomato, corn, shredded cheddar, fresh lime and tortilla strips. Served on a bed of mixed greens with a side of salsa-ranch dressing.
Is the Spicy Southwest Salad Healthy? While the Chick-Fil-A Spicy Southwest Salad is healthy in that it is full of nutrient-loaded vegetables and ingredients, it's definitely one of the higher-calorie salads on their menu.
What's On It. Made fresh daily with Wendy's signature lettuce blend, pepper jack cheese, diced tomatoes, cool, creamy avocado, Applewood smoked bacon, and grilled chicken breast hot off the grill, all topped with Marzetti® Simply Dressed® Southwest Ranch Dressing. It's zesty and Southwesty!
"The salad brings together fire-roasted corn, crunchy tortilla strips, freshly sliced Roma tomatoes and Cheddar Jack cheese nestled on crisp mixed greens, topped with Zaxby's grilled or hand-breaded chicken."
The Market Salad has fruits, veggies, and protein.
With a combination of greens, fresh fruit, nuts, and grilled chicken, the Market Salad is one of the most nutritionally balanced options at Chick-fil-A, according to Amer.
The Market Salad is Chick-fil-A's go-to salad option. This superfood-rich salad will satisfy your taste buds and keep you full. The lean protein of chilled grilled chicken breast, antioxidant-rich blueberries, strawberries, and green apples sit on top of a fresh bed of mixed greens.
As for items leaving Wendy's menu, the document stated that the Southwest Avocado Chicken Salad, Sunburst Melon Natural Lemonade, and Grilled Chicken Sandwiches would no longer be available once the new items are introduced. The leaked announcement on Reddit received some mixed reactions from Wendy's fans.
The three salad options at Chick-fil-A come in standard fast food style. While salads can be a nutritious meal, larger portions topped with fried chicken, crunchy extras like croutons, and heavy salad dressing can make these options high in calories and fat.
Chick-fil-A® Nuggets, freshly breaded and pressure-cooked, sliced and served on a fresh bed of mixed greens, topped with roasted corn kernels, a blend of shredded Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheeses, crumbled bacon, sliced hard-boiled egg and grape tomatoes. Prepared fresh daily.
Does Chick-fil-A offer salads on the menu? Our salads are made with vegetables and fruit that are delivered fresh to the restaurant up to six times a week. We offer the Cobb Salad, Spicy Southwest Salad, Market Salad and some seasonal salads for customers looking to add variety to their mealtime routine.
In a medium bowl, measure and add 3/4 cup mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons sriracha, 1 teaspoon ketchup, 2 tablespoon ranch seasoning, 1 tablespoon southwest seasoning, 1 tablespoon adobo seasoning and 1 teaspoon chili powder. Pour in 1/2 cup milk. And stir until combined. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours before using.
This Southwest Salad Dressing is perfect for taking any type of salad to the next level! With flavors of smoked paprika and ancho chili powder, this salad dressing is creamy, savory, and has just the right amount of kick to it.
Introduction: My name is Melvina Ondricka, I am a helpful, fancy, friendly, innocent, outstanding, courageous, thoughtful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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