Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad

Whether it’s weeknight dinner or brought to a potluck BBQ, this southwestern chopped chicken salad is always a hit. We call it a party of flavor and texture because it’s loaded with crisp corn, fresh avocado, juicy tomatoes, crunchy tortilla chips, and a zesty taco seasoning-spiced Greek yogurt dressing.

Tell Me About This Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad

• Texture: The variety of texture in every single bite makes this salad interesting and satisfying. You’ll enjoy the crunchy romaine lettuce and tortilla chips paired with juicy tomatoes, creamy avocado, and—of course—the silky and thick Greek yogurt dressing. 
• Flavor: This salad was inspired by my days working at Chili’s restaurant. There was a dish called the Quesadilla Explosion Salad which was loaded with a lot of the favorites you see here. The flavors of the individual ingredients are obvious, but the dressing is certainly something to spotlight. The homemade jalapeño Greek yogurt dressing includes fresh lime, garlic, a little honey for sweetness, and extra taco seasoning. We pair something similar with our corn fritters.
• Time: Most of the time will be spent chopping up your ingredients and cooking the chicken. We usually grill the chicken, but you can use any cooked chicken or even store-bought rotisserie chicken. If you’re not cooking the chicken right at that moment, set aside about 15-20 minutes to throw the salad together.

Choosing the Right Ingredients

This Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad is for people who get bored with salad. Have fun switching up the add-ins and ingredients and enjoy something different in every bite. Here are additional notes on some of the salad’s ingredients.

1. Grilled Chicken or Cooked Ground Beef. You could certainly leave out the protein to make this more of a side salad. (It pairs wonderfully with our jalapeño turkey burgers.) Or feel free to skip the meat and black beans and serve alongside black bean burgers for a complete meatless meal.
2. Corn & Black Beans. We find canned corn and canned black beans the easiest. If you have cooked corn on the cob, you could easily shave off kernels and use those.
3. Red Onion. It adds color and has a mild flavor, but it’s entirely optional.
4. Cilantro. We add a handful of fresh chopped cilantro, but you can leave it out if you’re not a fan. By the way, if you love the cilantro and lime flavors in this dish, you’ll enjoy this cilantro lime chicken too.
5. Taco Seasoning. You can use a store-bought seasoning or homemade taco seasoning.
6. Romaine Lettuce. We recommend a crisp and crunchy green for this salad.
7. Cheese. Cheddar cheese is our go-to with this salad’s other flavors, but you could use any cheese you think would pair nicely.
8. Tortilla Chips. Go for the saltiest, crunchiest tortilla chips around. Crush them up and use as your croutons. What a finishing touch!
9. Dressing. This salad would be incomplete without the fresh and creamy dressing. We don’t recommend any substitutions in the dressing’s ingredient list. Try it as written; it’s been a massive hit with readers and taste testers!

This is a fantastic make-ahead recipe. Prepare this salad a day in advance and add the tortilla chips just before serving so they don’t go soggy. An excellent choice when planning out your Memorial Day recipes!

And to complete the meal, we usually serve this Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad with cornbread.

More Favorite Dinner Recipes

• Zucchini Casserole
• Sausage Stuffed Peppers
• Slow Cooker Chicken Chili & Vegetarian Pumpkin Chili
• Cilantro Lime Chicken
• Honey Chipotle Salmon
• Maryland Crab Cakes
• Creamy Chicken Pasta Salad

Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad

★★★★★ 5 from 30 reviews

• Author: Sally
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 0 minutes
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: serves 6
• Category: Salad
• Method: Cooking
• Cuisine: American

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Description

This flavor and texture-packed Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad comes together in minutes and you can get started on it the day before.

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Ingredients

• 6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 6 cups cubed cooked chicken*
• 1 and 1/2 cups corn
• 1 and 1/2 cups black beans
• 2 tomatoes, diced
• 1 avocado, diced
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup crushed tortilla chips
• handful chopped cilantro

Dressing

• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (we use nonfat)
• 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice
• 1/2 jalapeño, finely diced
• 2 heaping teaspoons taco seasoning (we use mild)
• salt, to taste and if needed

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Instructions

1. Add all of the salad ingredients to a large bowl. (If you’re not serving it right away, add the tortilla chips on last right before serving. They’ll stay crunchy that way.)
2. Whisk the dressing ingredients together, except for the salt. Taste, then add salt to your preference.
3. Spoon dressing over salad, then toss to combine. Serve cold.

Notes

1. Make ahead tip: You can prepare this salad the day before through step 3. The flavors get even better on day 2. Add the tortilla chips right before serving.
2. Special Tools (affiliate links): Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk
3. Chicken: For the grilled chicken, we drizzle 1 pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2-3 breasts) with olive oil and season with salt and pepper before grilling until cooked through. This equals about 5-6 cups of cubed chicken. You could also use store-bought rotisserie chicken or just any leftover cooked chicken you have.
4. Corn & Black Beans: You can use freshly cooked corn and beans or canned corn and beans. (Drain first. Rinse the beans if desired.) You can use thawed frozen corn as well.

Keywords: southwestern chopped salad, southwestern chicken salad