This Southwest Chopped Salad is satisfying, flavorful, and made to be perfectly scoop-able alongside crunchy tortilla chips! Loaded with chicken, beans, corn, tomatoes, onion, romaine, cilantro, cheese, avocado, and the yummiest homemade salad dressing, it’s delicious enjoyed as a light dinner or meal prepped for a week’s worth of lunches.
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There’s something about a chopped salad that just hits the spot and takes the idea of a salad to a whole new, even yummier level. Chopped salads guarantee a delicious, hit-the-spot bite every single time (after all, the “chopped” nature of them means that a bunch of salad components can fit on your fork at once!), and this recipe is no exception. With ingredients like black beans, corn, cilantro, cheese, and avocado, this salad is robust and flavorful, plus, the homemade dressing (made extra creamy and protein dense with cottage cheese) is really special!
Looking for more filling, delicious salad recipes? We’ve got a bunch! You can’t go wrong with our balsamic steak salad, Mediterranean steak bowls, or Thai-inspired beef salad bowls.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s scoop-able – it is perfectly acceptable (and actually advised!) to enjoy this salad alongside tortilla chips, scooping all of the yummy ingredients up chip by chip.
- It’s delicious and satisfying – salads can often fall short on both flavor and satisfaction, but this one does not. It’s loaded to the nines with yummy, filling ingredients!
- It’s meal prep-friendly – if meal prep is your thing, this is a great recipe to get ahead on. Just store the dressing separate from the salad ingredients to keep the salad from getting soggy.
Southwestern Chopped Salad Recipe Ingredients
Though the list may look long, keep in mind that a handful of it is for the creamy, homemade dressing. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Black beans – a can of black beans will work just fine here! Simply drain and rinse them, then throw them in the salad.
- Corn – feel free to use canned corn (again, just drain and rinse) or frozen corn (let thaw, first, of course) here.
- Chipotle peppers – grab a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce for the dressing. You’ll use 2 of the chipotles.
- Cottage cheese – you’ll need cottage cheese for the homemade dressing. Feel free to use whole milk or low/non-fat.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Make it dairy-free – to make this recipe dairy-free, nix the shredded cheese (or use dairy-free shredded cheese) and swap the cottage cheese for either lactose-free cottage cheese (if you can tolerate it, there are several brands that make lactose-free versions) or full-fat coconut milk.
- Make it grain-free – swap regular tortilla chips for a grain-free option (Siete makes delicious grain-free tortilla chips).
- Make it gluten-free – this dish is gluten-free as-is, so no swaps or modifications needed!
How to Make Southwestern Chopped Salad
This recipe is incredibly easy to make – you’ll cook the chicken, make the dressing, then chop and toss. Follow along below for the full how-to!
Step 1: Season the chicken breasts with the taco seasoning.
Step 2: Brush a grill or grill pan with olive oil, then cook over medium/high heat for 5-6 minutes on each side, until the inner-most portion of the chicken reaches 165°F. Let it rest for 10 minutes, then chop it into bite-sized pieces.
Step 3: Add the cottage cheese, chipotle peppers, garlic, lime juice, salt, and honey to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Once smooth, stir in the dried dill.
Step 4: If they aren’t already, chop the romaine, onion, avocado, and tomato into small, bite-sized pieces.
Step 5: Add the cubed chicken, beans, corn, chopped tomato, onion, romaine, avocado, and shredded cheese to a large bowl or serving dish, and top with the dressing.
Step 6: Toss everything together until well combined, top with the cilantro, and then serve with tortilla chips. Enjoy!
Recipe Tips
Use a meat thermometer – this handy meat thermometer is going to quickly become your new best friend! It’s so easy to use, way more reliable than depending on an amount of time, and ensures juicy, perfectly cooked proteins every single time.
How to Serve
Serve this loaded chopped chicken salad alongside tortilla chips for a delicious, scoop-able lunch or dinner!
How to Store
Store any leftover salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
If you plan on preparing this salad for the week ahead, we recommend waiting to dress it until the day-of. So, make and assemble the salad, but rather than tossing it with the dressing right away, store the dressing in a separate container in the fridge.
Frequently Asked Questions
This Southwest salad is loaded with black beans, corn, cilantro, onion, tomatoes, cheese, taco-blend seasoned chicken breasts, avocado, and the yummiest creamy chipotle dressing.
Each serving of this chopped Southwest salad includes about 890 calories (50 grams of carbohydrates, 75 grams of protein, and 42 grams of fat).
More Favorite Salad Recipes
If you tried this Southwestern Chopped Salad or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Southwestern Chopped Salad
Ingredients
For the Dressing
- ½ cup cottage cheese
- 2 chipotles in adobo
- 1 clove garlic
- ¼ cup lime juice
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon dried dill
For the Salad
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- taco seasoning, store-bought or homemade taco seasoning
- 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup corn, canned (drained and rinsed) or frozen (thawed)
- 4 tomatoes, chopped
- ½ large red onion, chopped
- 1 head romaine, chopped
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 avocados, cubed
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
- Tortilla chips, for serving, optional
Instructions
- Season the chicken breasts with the taco seasoning.
- Brush a grill or grill pan with olive oil, then cook over medium/high heat for 5-6 minutes on each side, until the inner-most portion of the chicken reaches 165°F. Let it rest for 10 minutes, then chop it into bite-sized pieces.
- Add the cottage cheese, chipotle peppers, garlic, lime juice, salt, and honey to a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Once smooth, stir in the dried dill.
- If they aren't already, chop the romaine, onion, avocado, and tomato into small, bite-sized pieces.
- Add the cubed chicken, beans, corn, chopped tomato, onion, romaine, avocado, and shredded cheese to a large bowl or serving dish, and top with the dressing.
- Toss everything together until well combined, top with the cilantro, and then serve with tortilla chips. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Make it dairy-free – to make this recipe dairy-free, nix the shredded cheese (or use dairy-free shredded cheese) and swap the cottage cheese for either lactose-free cottage cheese (if you can tolerate it, there are several brands that make lactose-free versions) or full-fat coconut milk.
- Make it grain-free – swap regular tortilla chips for a grain-free option (Siete makes delicious grain-free tortilla chips).
- Make it gluten-free – this dish is gluten-free as-is, so no swaps or modifications needed!
Nutrition
Delicious! It was a little on the spicy side for me, but next time I will only use 1 pepper.
Aww yay! So so happy you enjoyed it, Kristin!
We loved this!! And I adored that you used cottage cheese for extra protein in the dressing…how smart is that??
I used leftover roasted chicken and added some taco seasoning. 2 Chipotles were too spicy for us but we are a bit wimpy with spice. I feel like we got so many veggies in this meal, love that!!
Awww thank you, Jenny! Cottage cheese is like a secret super power or something lol! We are so happy y’all enjoyed it!
Can’t wait to make this! We’ve been loving the Italian chopped salad on your site, and I’m not gonna lie, I’m a sucker for the southwestern style bagged salads at the grocery store (love Mex food), but sometimes the dressings are questionable, so I can’t wait to try this version!! I’ll come back and comment after we actually have it!
NO shame there!!!…They really are amazing haha! We hope you love our version just as much… if not better 😉