Southwest Chicken Salad with Avocado Lime Dressing
on Mar 10, 2021, Updated Aug 25, 2024
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This Southwest Chicken Salad with Avocado Lime Dressing is an amazing main dish salad with tons of toppings! Grilled marinated chicken, crispy baked tortilla strips, fire roasted corn, tomatoes, black beans and spiced pepitas all on top of crunchy romaine lettuce.
This recipe and photos have been updated since the original post on 9/16/2016
We’ve been having the most incredible spring like weather the last few days. It’s amazing how a break from the cold weather improves my mood. I know it won’t last, but I’ve been embracing it while it’s here. Besides running in shorts and taking long walks soaking it all up, I’ve been making a lot of salads.
I eat salad all the time, but I find it particularly tasty when the weather warms up. I’m constantly making this Greek salmon salad with tahini yogurt dressing. And this California Cobb salad is another one that’s frequently in our dinner rotation. When I’m in the mood for southwest flavors, which is quite often, I love to make this southwest chicken salad with avocado lime dressing!
It has a base of crisp romaine lettuce and is topped with marinated, grilled chicken, corn, black beans, tomatoes, radishes, spiced pepitas, corn tortilla chips, queso fresco and a thick and creamy avocado lime dressing. It’s definitely what I consider a main dish salad, because there’s no way you’re leaving hungry after devouring this one!
Ingredients Needed to Make Southwest Chicken Salad
- boneless skinless chicken breasts
- limes
- cilantro
- chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder
- pepitas
- romaine lettuce
- radishes
- cherry tomatoes
- frozen corn
- black beans
- queso fresco
- plain Greek yogurt
- avocado
How to Make Southwest Chicken Salad
To make the salad start by combining the chicken with the marinade ingredients. The chicken will need at least an hour to marinade or you can do it the day before and let it go overnight. You can cooking the chicken on the grill, in the oven or on the stovetop. My preference is the grill, but anyway you cook it will taste delicious.
Toasting pepitas is the same as toasting nuts. Since these are spiced, you’ll want toss them with a touch of oil so the spices stick to them. It will take about five minutes on medium-low heat. Along with turning golden brown, the pepitas will start to crackle and pop when they’re ready.
The salad itself can be assembled on a platter or in a large serving bowl. You can add the chicken and all the topping in sections like I did, or just toss everything together. The baked tortilla strips are best served on the side so that they stay crisp.
How to Make the Avocado Lime Dressing
To make the dressing for this salad you’ll need a food processor or blender. I always use my high speed blender, but a regular blender will work too. Cut the avocado into chunks or mash it a little then add it to the blender. Add in the Greek yogurt, lime juice, cilantro and season with cumin, salt and pepper.
You’ll likely need to add a tablespoon or two of water to thin out the dressing. You can adjust the consistency to your liking, but as you can see in the photos this is a thicker dressing. It’s more of a dollop it on the salad rather than pour.
Time Saving Tips
- Bake the tortilla strips and toast the pepitas ahead of time. Both of these can be made several days in advance. Be sure to store them in an air tight container so they don’t get stale.
- Use rotisserie or leftover chicken. While the chicken has wonderful flavor thanks to the marinade, you’ll still get plenty of flavor from all of the toppings and dressing.
- Prep all of the vegetables a day or two in advance and then assemble the night you want to eat it.
Southwest Chicken Salad with Avocado Lime Dressing
Ingredients
Baked Tortilla Strips
- 4 corn tortillas cut into approximately 1/2 inch wide strips
- Cooking spray I use avocado oil spray
- Kosher salt to taste
Pepitas
- 3 tablespoons pepitas
- 1/8 teaspoon olive oil
- 1/8 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Chicken
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Salad
- 6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced radishes
- 1/2 cup halved cherry tomatoes
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 1/2 cup black beans rinsed and drained
- Crumbled queso fresco and chopped cilantro
Dressing
- 1/3 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup diced avocado
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
Baked Tortilla Strips
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
- Lay the corn tortilla strips on the foil and spray the tops with cooking spray. Sprinkle with kosher salt, toss to coat and then spread them into a single layer. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden and crisp.
Pepitas
- Heat a small non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the oil, pepitas, and spices to the skillet. Stir to coat them.
- Cook the pepitas, stirring occasionally, until they start to turn lightly brown and become fragrant. Remove from the heat and cool.
Chicken
- Combine the chicken and the remaining ingredients together in a resealable freezer bag. Press the air out of the bag, seal, and massage the marinade into the chicken. Refrigerate for an hour or overnight.
- Preheat your grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Oil the grates then place the marinated chicken on them. Grill the chicken approximately 5-7 minutes per side or until the thickest part reaches 165° F.
- Remove from the grill and let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
Dressing
- Add all of the ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. If the dressing is too thick add more water as needed to loosen it to your desired consistency, it should be a thicker/creamier type dressing.
Salad
- In a large serving bowl or platter add the chopped romaine. Top with the radishes, tomatoes, black beans, corn, chicken, pepitas, queso fresco and tortilla strips.
- Drizzle on the desired amount of dressing onto the salad or serve it on the side.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
More Main Dish Salads
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The avocado lime dressing seals the deal for me! I’d love this salad for dinner!
Gorgeous salad! That dressing sounds amazing.
I love all your salads you put in the blog! :)
I am totally with you about salad being a great dinner! And I too wonder what is up with all of that dressing restaurants put on. It is over the top sometimes. This recipe looks awesome.
This salad looks amazing, this is definitely what I want for lunch!!