This vibrant Southwest chicken salad can brighten your table with bold flavors and hearty ingredients.
Perfect for any season, this recipe brings a colorful blend of nutrition and taste that the whole family will love. This makes a great lunch or lighter dinner.
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This Southwest chicken salad is not just delicious but also packs a punch of southwestern flavors and fresh, crunchy textures from a variety of vegetables. Perfect alongside some crispy tortilla chips or over a bed of fluffy quinoa for a complete meal.
How to Make Southwest Chicken Salad
First, gather your ingredients.
Ingredients
For best taste, always use the highest quality ingredients you have access to.
To make this Southwest chicken salad recipe, you will need the following ingredients:
- Boneless skinless chicken breast
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Ground black pepper
- Lime juice
- Honey
- Plain Greek yogurt
- Olive oil
- Salsa
- Fresh cilantro
- Lime juice
- Taco seasoning
- Black pepper
- Romaine lettuce
- Cherry tomatoes
- English cucumber
- Black beans
- Avocados
- Sweet corn
- Mexican cheese blend (optional)
- Red bell pepper (optional)
Making Southwest Chicken Salad
Creating your Southwest chicken salad is a simple, enjoyable process. Here is how to make it!
Bake the Chicken
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Place chicken breasts in a bowl and add the oil, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, lime and honey. Use your hands to mix the chicken with the oil and spices.
Transfer seasoned chicken to the baking pan.
Bake the chicken for 25-30 minutes, or until an instant-read meat thermometer reaches at least 165°F . Remove chicken from the oven and let cool for 15-20 minutes.
Cut chicken into 1” cubes and place back in the baking dish.
Make the Dressing
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk all the dressing ingredients together. Taste and adjust lime juice or salt to your liking.
Assemble the Salad
Place all salad ingredients into a large serving bowl.
Top the salad with the sliced/ cubed chicken and drizzle with the dressing.
I like to leave the salad as is, but feel free to toss all of the ingredients together, if you prefer.
Leftovers
This recipe is definitely best served fresh. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
If you want to make this make ahead or meal-prep style, store the dressing in a separate container, and dress the salad just prior to eating.
Always use common sense and good judgement when it comes to leftovers, though! If something looks or smells funky, don’t eat it.
This recipe encapsulates the essence of the TexMex cuisine with every bite, making it the perfect meal to share with friends and family or to savor by yourself on a quiet evening.
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Southwest Chicken Salad
This vibrant Southwest chicken salad can brighten your table with bold flavors and hearty ingredients. Veggies, protein, homemade dressing.
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1 pound raw boneless skinless chicken breast approx. 2-3 pieces
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon honey
For the Dressing
- ½ cup plain Greek Yogurt full fat
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup chunky salsa of choice medium heat
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice
- 1 Tablespoons taco seasoning homemade, or store bought
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
For the Salad
- 3 stalks romaine lettuce chopped
- pint cherry tomatoes halved
- ½ English cucumber chopped (or 1 medium cucumber, seeded & chopped)
- 1, 15- ounce can black beans rinsed and drained
- 2 medium Haas avocados chopped
- 1 cup canned sweet corn rinsed and drained
- ½ cup shredded Mexican cheese blend optional
- 1 red bell pepper chopped, optional
Instructions
Bake the Chicken
-
Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper
-
Place chicken breasts in a bowl and add the oil, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, lime and honey. Use your hands to mix the chicken with the oil and spices.
-
Transfer seasoned chicken to the baking pan.
-
Bake the chicken for 25-30 minutes, or until an instant-read meat thermometer reaches at least 165°F . Remove chicken from the oven and let cool for 15-20 minutes.
-
Cut chicken into 1” cubes and place back in
Make the Dressing
-
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk all the dressing ingredients together. T aste and adjust lime juice or salt to your liking!
Assemble the Salad
-
Place all salad ingredients into a large serving bowl.
-
Top the salad with the cubed/ sliced chicken and toss with the dressing.
Recipe Notes
Nutritional information is approximate and was calculated using a recipe nutrition label generator.
When serving this salad to a crowd, you can add almost all the ingredients to the bowl during the salad assembly, and save some to garnish the top of the salad
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