Get ready to have this Southwest Salad on repeat all summer long. It's the perfect combination of flavor and textures. This recipe is everything we want in a hearty lunch or easy dinner: crisp romaine, juicy tomatoes, sweet corn, black beans, creamy avocado, and the best homemade cilantro lime chipotle ranch dressing.
Why This Recipe is the Best
Southwest salad is fresh, colorful, high-protein, and packed with bold Southwest flavors that taste like a restaurant-style salad from Chick-fil-A, Panera, or Chipotle, but even better homemade.
We especially love how customizable to make it exactly how your family likes it.
For more southwest-inspired recipes, try our southwest soup, southwest bowls, and our southwest chicken recipes.
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Key Ingredients
Made with fresh vegetables and homemade dressing, this salad comes together quickly.
- Romaine Lettuce - Crisp romaine is the perfect fresh base for this chopped southwest salad recipe. You can also use spring mix, spinach, kale, or Little Leaf Farms lettuce blends.
- Bell Peppers - We love using red, yellow, or orange peppers for the sweetest flavor and prettiest color.
- Southwest Chicken - Adding grilled chicken or shredded southwest chicken turns this into a complete high-protein meal.
- Chipotle Ranch Dressing - This creamy homemade southwest dressing is smoky, zesty, spicy, and seriously addictive. It tastes similar to a Chick-fil-A or Panera-style southwest dressing.
How to make Southwest Salad
Use these step-by-step instructions as a guide to get the best results. You'll love this copycat recipe.
- Add all dressing ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Wash and chop the romaine lettuce, then place it in a large serving bowl.
- Drain and rinse the black beans. Slice the onion, halve the tomatoes, dice the peppers, and prep the jalapeño.
- Drizzle dressing over the salad, toss to combine, then top with avocado slices and tortilla strips before serving.
Helpful Hint: Be sure not to under-season the dressing. Lime juice, chipotle, smoked paprika, and cumin are what give this salad its bold southwest flavor, so don't skip them!
Common Mistakes
Be sure not to overdress the southwest salad too early. If the salad sits too long with dressing, the romaine loses its crunch and can become soggy. We recommend tossing with dressing right before serving for the freshest texture.
Top tip
For the best restaurant-style southwest salad, chill all of the ingredients before assembling. Cold crisp lettuce with creamy chipotle ranch dressing tastes so much fresher and more flavorful.
Recipe
Southwest Salad Recipe
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 2 heads romaine lettuce
- 15 ounce can black beans drained and rinsed
- ½ small red onion thinly sliced
- 1 ½ cups corn frozen thawed, or cut from a cooked cob
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes halved
- 2 bell peppers diced, I like to use red orange or yellow
- 1 jalapeno optional, sliced and de-seeded if desired
- 20 ounces southwest chicken optional, shredded
- avocado slices and tortilla strips, for serving
For the Chipotle Ranch Dressing:
- ⅔ cup plain Greek yogurt see note 1 below
- 1 ½ Tablespoons lime juice fresh squeezed is best
- 1 chipotle in adobo, plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
- 1 Tablespoon cilantro optional
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
For the Salad:
- Wash and roughly chop romaine and place in a large serving bowl. Drain and rinse black beans, thinly slice red onion and halve the cherry tomatoes, dice bell peppers and slice jalapeno.
- Add black beans, onion, corn, tomatoes, bell peppers, jalapeno and chicken (if using) on top of the lettuce.
For the southwest dressing:
- Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add water 1 Tablespoon at a time to thin if the dressing is too thick.
- Pour dressing over the top of the salad and toss to combine. Top with avocado and tortilla strips. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Feel free to sub all or part of the Greek yogurt with any combination of sour cream or mayonnaise.
- We love this recipe with chicken on top for a completely meal. If you don't want to go to the extra work of making southwest chicken, feel free to add plain shredded chicken.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 24 hours. To store for longer, add the dressing as needed instead of at the beginning. Store separately for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Storing
Store leftover southwest salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours if already dressed. For meal prep or longer storage, keep the dressing separate and store ingredients individually for up to 5 days.
Variations and Substitutions
This southwest salad recipe is incredibly versatile and easy to customize.
- Added Protein- Add grilled steak, shrimp, tuna, or shredded chicken for extra protein.
- Greens- Swap the romaine for spinach, kale, or a chopped cabbage blend.
- Add-ins- Add quinoa, couscous, pasta, or roasted sweet potatoes to make it heartier.
- Vegetarian-Make it vegetarian or vegan by skipping the chicken and using a dairy-free southwest dressing.
- Crunch-Add avocado, tortilla strips, pepitas, or crushed tortilla chips for crunch.
What to Serve with Southwest Salad
This salad works as a complete meal on its own, especially with southwest chicken added. It also pairs well with quesadillas, tortilla soup, grilled corn, chips and salsa, fresh fruit, or cilantro lime rice.
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