Southwest Chicken Salad has chicken, 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, my favorite summer salad is ready for you to devour.
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’re a quick, easy meal.
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I decided to make homemade versions of these salads, which 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 and some diced avocado to this salad. But if I am taking this somewhere, I leave those two ingredients out as the chips get soggy and the avocado turns brown.
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Chopped Southwestern Salad
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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
Cilantro Lime Dressing
- 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
Instructions
- 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 chop 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. Shake up again right before serving.
- Drizzle dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Add tortilla strips and toss again. Serve immediately.
- If you’re not serving immediately – you can add everything in a large bowl except the tortilla strips and dressing and then add those right before you are to serve. This is a great salad to make ahead.
I know right now it’s time for breakfast, but I want this so bad I don’t want to wait until lunch/dinner! This looks soooooooooooooo good!
Wait is this really 2041 calories per serving?
My boys gave this recipe a 13 out of 10! We ate it as a side with chicken tortilla soup, so omitted the chicken from the salad. They asked me to keep this recipe, so that means it’s a keeper in our home.
This is our absolute favorite recipe this year. I’ve given out the recipe three times this week!! Thank you!!
I’m always looking for salads to level up to a full meal by adding chicken. This recipe did not disappoint! I used some leftover pre-cooked chicken & it made the perfect meal prep for lunch. The cilantro lime dressing is to die for! I keep some in my fridge all the time now. Thanks for this!
Great inspiration for salads for lunch.
Is possible to use lettuce instead of coleslaw? I have stomach problems with coleslaw.
Yes, I would use some crispy greens with kale.
Where’s the actual list of ingredients with measurements? It’s not here.
Thanks for letting me know, the recipe card was deleted for some reason, it is now back. Thank you!
This recipe is so good! All of the flavors meld together so well. The tortilla chips really make it for me.
Looks beyond delicious! I would love to make this!
This salad has everything I need for my lunch! It’s so rich and nutrient!
I loved everybody the salad, and I’m so happy that it’s healthy!
I make this salad frequently in the spring and summer. It is so fresh and delicious. All the flavors come together beautifully. Definitely my favorite Pinterest recipe!
So happy to hear this, we love it too!