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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
Made fresh daily with our signature lettuce blend, cheddar cheese, diced tomatoes, cool, creamy avocado, Applewood smoked bacon, and grilled chicken breast hot off the grill, all topped with a Southwest Ranch Dressing.
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.
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.
Chicken Salad Chicken released Southwest Senorita, which it calls a fiesta of flavor with the perfect combination of chipotle and bell peppers, roasted corn, and sun-dried tomatoes. Customers can order the flavor at 220 restaurants in 17 states.
This hefty amount of protein comes from a rich blend of ingredients, like the juicy grilled chicken, avocado, and other vegetables incorporated in this flavorful and nutritious salad. This makes it a satisfying meal choice for those focusing on a high protein diet or anyone who wants a filling, protein-packed meal.
The romaine lettuce used on Wendy's burgers is a romaine and iceberg lettuce hybrid that is smaller than regular romaine heads and is not the same type of lettuce used in Wendy's salads.
The "winner" of the unhealthiest meal in America is Red Robin, whose "Monster" double burger, combined with a milkshake and bottomless fries, clocks in at a whopping 3,540 calories.
McDonald's Southwest Salad only contains 280 calories and 490 milligrams of sodium, which includes a creamy southwest dressing. And, for the truly health-conscious eater, a side salad without dressing is only 15 calories and 10 milligrams of sodium. Read the full report from CBC News here.
For a limited time, avocado lovers can grab the perfect on-the go meal with Wendy's full-size Southwest Avocado Chicken Salad at $6.69 , or squeeze in a snack with the half-size option for $4.69 .
Zaxby's Southwest Zalads include crisp mixed greens, topped with freshly sliced Roma tomatoes, cheddar and jack cheeses, fire-roasted corn, crunchy Santa Fe tortilla strips and Texas Toast.
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.
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!
Enter the Southwest Avocado Chicken Salad, a delightfully fresh and delicious entree for only $8.99 ($5.39 for the half entree) that offers a base of hand-cut lettuce topped with freshly grilled chicken coupled with a sprinkle of one or two strips of Applewood smoked bacon, a handful of shredded Pepper Monterey Jack ...
My original go to meal from Wendy's was either the classic chicken nuggets with fries or their Southwest Avocado Salad. After the avocado salad was discontinued, I was forced to try something new. I saw the cobb salad where the avocado salad used to be, read its contents, and decided to give it a go.
On the Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad, customers will enjoy our fresh-cooked Applewood Smoked Bacon, chopped tomatoes, grilled chicken, crispy fried onions, diced egg and creamy ranch dressing, all on top of Wendy's signature lettuce blend.
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