A hearty and flavorful main dish Southwest Chicken Salad with black beans, red onions, bell peppers, shredded cheese, and avocado – all spritzed with fresh lime juice and topped with a quick southwest ranch dressing and cilantro!
This salad happens all. the. time. in my house. It is quite literally a go-to when it comes down to a last minute, minimal prep, no time to run to the grocery store kind of evening and we are hungry now. So basically this salad happens at least once a week.
It is so easy and delicious that I even made this salad when we were out of town before Christmas. We were staying down in St. George for two weeks and really didn’t want to eat out 14 nights in a row so I made a trip to the grocery store and tried to keep things as simple and inexpensive as possible. This salad was the first thing I thought of.
Even men who won’t eat “chick food” (<— my brother thinks soup and salad is chick food. I think he’s cray) will love this salad because it’s hearty and full of flavor. It feels like a full meal even though it’s on the lighter side and the bottom half consists of green things. My husband loves it allllllmost as much as I do.
Southwest Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts - sliced in half lengthwise
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning - OR similar equivalent of similar spices (cumin, chili powder, onion powder, etc)
- 6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1 15-ounce can yellow corn - drained and rinsed
- 1 15-ounce can black beans - drained and rinsed
- 1 red bell pepper - diced
- ½ red onion - sliced or chopped
- ½ cup shredded Mexican blend cheese - (I have also subbed feta cheese crumbles)
- 1 avocado - sliced
- chopped cilantro and limes for squeezing
Dressing
- ½ cup prepared ranch dressing
- 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
Instructions
- Season chicken with salt and pepper to taste and taco seasoning. Cook in a large skillet over medium heat 4-6 minutes on each side until cooked through.
- Top your chopped romaine with the corn, black beans, red bell peppers, onions, cheese, and avocado. Drizzle with fresh lime juice and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.
- Whisk together ranch dressing, chili powder, and cumin. Toss with salad or serve on the side for drizzling. Enjoy!
We made this tonight and it was absolutely delicious! We will definitely make it again. 🙂
This is fantastic. It’s so quick, easy and yet delicious. I must have made it about ten times in the last couple of months.
Salad was awesome! Just wish it had MentioneD tortilla strips! Id DEFINITELY make this salad again. With TORTILLA strips.
Happy to hear you enjoyed this salad!
This dish is amazing! Great flavors and so easy to make.
Thanks for your feedback, Laura! So glad you enjoyed this recipe.
This recipe was easy and very tasty..healthy option as a side dish for any occassion