Name: Chopped Southwestern Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 8
Ingredients: 8 cups coleslaw; 4 cups cooked chicken (chopped); 5 green onions (chopped); 1 cup cilantro roughly chopped; 1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes; 1 1/2 cups sweet corn (cooked); 14 ounce can black beans (rinsed and drained); 1/2 jalapeno pepper (seeded and coarsely chopped); 2 teaspoons minced garlic; 3/4 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root; 1/4 cup lime juice; 1/3 cup honey; 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar; 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste); 1/4 cup packed cilantro leaves

Chopped Southwestern Salad – shredded green cabbage, black beans, corn, green onion, tomatoes, cilantro, tortilla strips, and the best cilantro lime dressing. Full of flavor and easy to prepare in less than 20 minutes; get ready to devour my favorite summer salad.

I love those chopped salads, you know the ones I am talking about in the produce section at the grocery store? They are typically cabbage based, some with kale and come with dressings and garnishes. They are a quick easy meal when the kids and I head to the pool. The only downside is that they usually are only enough for Jake and I. Nothing for the kiddos, so we pack them up sandwiches or something else. When our boys were into baseball, these salads were also a huge hit for the night time games, making an easy & delicious picnic.

The only other thing about these bagged salads are the dressings. Not all of them are good? So there is really only one salad that we use the dressing and that’s the Chopped Asian Salad, the rest of the salads, we usually will make our own dressing or just not have any dressing at all, which is obviously a desperate move.

This summer I decided to make my own homemade versions of these salads and they have been a huge hit. My Chopped Asian Salad has been one of my most popular summer recipes. But this Chopped Southwestern Salad is my favorite and it is all because of the dressing. It is simply divine.

I love adding tortilla strips to this salad, along with some diced avocado. But if I am taking this somewhere, I leave those two ingredients out as the chips get soggy and well the avocado turns brown.

My one tip when making this salad is to not add the dressing until you are going to eat it. If you want to have leftovers, only add the dressing to your serving, not the whole salad. Otherwise the next day you will have a soggy salad and no one wants that, right?

I would love to know what your summer to-go-to meals are, share them below in the comments. But looking for some other summer salad inspirations check these out: Easy Almond Apple Quinoa Salad, Simple Salami Salad, Simple Cucumber Salad and Traditional Greek Salad. Enjoy! XOXO San

How do you make Southwestern Salad?

Cut up chicken into cubes.
I grilled mine, but a store-bought rotisserie chicken works well too.
Cut up all the vegetables.
In a large mixing bowl add coleslaw mix, chicken, black beans, corn, green onions, tomatoes, and cilantro.
Make the dressing.

Cilantro Lime Dressing

Finely chopped 1/2 jalapeno pepper, garlic clove, cilantro, and ginger; add to a small mason jar.
Add in the lime juice, honey, balsamic vinegar, and salt.
Twist on lid to mason jar and vigorously shake until well combined.
And shake up again right before serving.
Drizzle dressing over the salad and toss to combine.
Add tortillas strips and toss again.
Serve immediately.

Don’t forget to pin this to your favorite Pinterest board for later.

Print Recipe

0 from 0 votes