Chopped Salad Recipe + Southwest Chipotle Dressing
This Chopped Salad Recipe is a cinch to make and packed full of big bold flavors, especially when topped with homemade Southwest Chipotle Dressing!
Finding delicious dinner ideas sometimes feels like a full time job in itself. (I guess as a food blogger, it is kind of my job!) I made this Chopped Salad Recipe the other day for Mr. Juggling Act and it was a huge hit. It doesn’t matter what kind and long as they are loaded with lots of tasty toppings.
(Although it should be said that he’s not a big fan of what he calls “frou-frou lettuce.”) This easy salad has all the great flavors he loves in one delicious bowl. When he came home from work and saw this on the table, his eyes lit up!
Ingredients
- chicken breasts
- fajita seasoning mix
- greens
- green, red, yellow and orange bell peppers
- cucumber
- red and orange grape tomatoes
- ripe avocado
- black beans
- corn kernels
Dressing
- mayonnaise
- lime
- fresh cilantro (optional)
From the pantry: granulated sugar, paprika, white vinegar, garlic powder, ground cumin, ground chipotle chile.
You can also try this NEW southwest salad dressing recipe.
For a list of some of my favorite items to use when cooking, please visit my Kitchen Resource page.
If you’re a salad lover, you’ll adore the bold flavors in this chopped salad recipe. It’s hearty enough to eat as a meal, and you won’t be snooping around the kitchen for a snack a half hour later! I hope you’ll give it a try soon!
Recipe Variations
Because we test all our recipes, we recommend that you make them once just as it is without substitutions or changes. Sometimes variations can go awry. Making slow cooker beef and broccoli recipe as we have tested it will yield the best results. If you really want to get creative, here are some ideas for variations that might work well. (Please note, we have not tested these variations).
- For an Italian Chopped Salad Recipe:
- Use our Italian seasoning on the chicken breasts before grilling
- Swap out thinly sliced red onions and black olives for the beans, corn and avocado
- Add a drizzle of balsamic dressing and extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
There’s so many great flavors here with the cucumbers, tomatoes, avocado, corn and black beans. It is topped with grilled chicken and my Southwest Chipotle Dressing. And it is so very good. Sure it’s just a salad, but it’s a salad that eats like a hearty meal. It’s loaded up with protein so it will keep you full longer.
Related: Caesar Salad Dressing without Anchovies
Similar Recipes
Next time, try one of these delicious recipes:
Southwest Chopped Chicken Salad
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 3 tablespoons fajita seasoning mix
- 4 cups of your favorite greens
- 1/2 each of a green, red, yellow and orange bell peppers, chopped
- 1/2 European cucumber chopped
- 1 cup red and orange grape tomatoes halved
- 1 avocado
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 cup black beans rinsed and drained
- 1 cup corn kernels
Southwest Dressing
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- juice of 1 lime
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon water
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh cilantro optional
Instructions
- Season the chicken breast with the fajita seasoning mix and grill 5-6 minutes per side. Set aside while you assemble the salad.
- In a large bowl, combine the greens, bell peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes.
- In a small bowl, add the flesh of the avocado. Squeeze the lime juice over all of the avocado and toss to coat.
- Add the avocado to the salad. Chop the chicken and add that to the salad. Serve immediately with Southwest Chipotle Dressing.
For the Dressing
- In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients until combined. Store left overs in the refrigerator in a mason jar.
- If you enjoy cilantro, you can add it to the dressing (or the salad).
Meal Planning
Want to add this recipe to your meal plan? Download our free printable meal plan here.
This recipe is included in Meal Plan 11 along with:
- Italian chicken meatballs
- cowboy burger
- sesame chicken
- cowboy corn casserole
- crockpot sausage stew
- chicken noodle casserole
- meatball casserole
… and more!
Be sure to check out all our meal plan ideas here.
Looks good! But the link isn’t working for me.
Hi Gene! We have updated this post with the recipe here. Enjoy!