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This southwest crispy rice salad is a hearty salad packed with chicken, black beans, corn, peppers, cucumbers, crispy rice, and a bright and tangy honey lime vinaigrette! It’s a nutritious and and satisfying lunch or dinner, and a great way to use leftover cooked rice!
Crispy rice salad was made popular by social media. The original salad doesn’t have chicken in it and the flavors are Asian inspired. I decided to put my own spin on the popular salad and incorporate southwest ingredients and flavors like black beans, corn, jalapeno, cilantro, chili powder, and cumin. Seasoned chicken breasts make this southwest crispy rice salad extra hearty too!
This is a great main dish salad that holds up well for several days in the fridge. You can meal prep it for lunch or dinner and I love using tortilla chips to scoop it up. The zesty honey lime vinaigrette that ties the whole salad together and gives it a pop of citrus flavor, is the same one that I use for this Mexican quinoa salad and honey lime shrimp salad.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
Chicken – I use chicken breasts for the salad, but you can also used chicken thighs. Rotisserie chicken is another great option and time saver.
Spices – The spices used for the chicken, rice and vinaigrette are chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and garlic. It’s earthy and smoky. I use this spice blend for many of my southwest recipes including, ground turkey sweet potato skillet, ground beef tacos, and Mexican chicken and potatoes.
Rice – Cooked rice needs to be used for the salad. I recommend using leftover rice or making it ahead of time. It needs to cold so that it sheds any excess moisture before baking it in the oven . Jasmine rice or basmati rice work best. You can use white or brown rice.
Veggies – I’m using corn, red bell pepper, green onions, jalapeno, and cucumbers. They’re crunchy, sweet, fresh, spicy, and the perfect combination of flavors for this southwest salad. Alternatively, you can use green bell pepper, sweet potatoes, zucchini, poblano pepper,
Black beans – Black beans add extra fiber and protein to the rice salad making it more hearty and satiating. You can also use pinto beans or kidney beans and if you need more iron, try using canned lentils.
Pepitas – Pepitas add a nice crunch and “nutty” flavor to the rice salad. Toasting them in a dry pan on the stove like you would nuts, gives them even better flavor and crunch. You could replace them with chopped almonds or cashews if you prefer or use sunflower seeds.
Lime – Both the lime zest and juice are used to make the vinaigrette. The zest has more of the intense lime flavor, while the juice provides the bright citrusy flavor.
Tips for Making Crispy Rice Salad
- Cook the rice ahead of time or use leftover rice. It needs to be cold. If you’re like me and always have rice in the fridge for rice bowls, like these southwest chicken bowls, it’s perfect to use for crispy rice salad.
- Chop the veggies evenly. When you chop the veggies and dice the chicken into similar size chunks it ensures that you get all of the ingredients in every bite.
- Make it vegetarian. Skip the chicken if you want the salad to be vegetarian or are serving it as a side dish. I make it this way and then serve it with southwest chicken. You might also try making this southwest sweet potato, black bean, wild rice salad.
- Use different protein. Grilled steak or salmon are delicious alternatives to chicken.
- Make ahead. Make the vinaigrette 3-4 days ahead of time and prep the veggies a day ahead of time. This will eliminate most of the prep time on the day you plan to serve the salad.
- Add cheese. Crumbled cotija or queso fresco cheese tastes amazing in the salad. I recommend using a 1/2 cup.
What to Serve with Southwest Crispy Rice Salad
You can serve this salad as a main dish, but if you’re wanting to add additional carbs to the meal I recommend making cornbread muffins or cheddar and green chile cornbread.
Storage
Store the crispy rice salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. For meal prepping I recommend storing the vinaigrette separate from the salad so it stays fresh longer.
More Salad Recipes
If you love hearty salads I think you’ll also enjoy my Chinese chicken salad, sesame noodle salad, southwest chicken salad, and chicken Caesar pasta salad.
Southwest Crispy Rice Salad with Chicken
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
- 2 chicken breasts (1 pound)
For the Crispy Rice
- 2 cups cooked jasmine or basmati rice cooled, leftover rice works great
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
For the Honey Lime Vinaigrette
- Zest of a lime
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon fine kosher salt
For the Salad
- 15 ounce can black bean drained and rinsed
- 1 cup corn
- 3 green onions sliced thin
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 1 jalapeno seeds removed and finely chopped
- 1 English cucumber diced
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
- 1/3 cup pepitas
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Combine the dried spices and salt for the chicken in a small bowl then season the chicken breasts evenly with them. Place them on one of the prepared baking sheets.
- In a mixing bowl combine the ingredients for the crispy rice. Use your hands or a rubber spatula to toss everything together until the rice is completely coated.
- Dump the rice out onto the other baking sheet and spread it out into a single layer.
- Place both the chicken and rice into the preheated oven.
- Bake the chicken until the internal temperature reaches 165° F. (25-30 minutes depending on the thickness). Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes before cutting it into cubes.
- For the rice, bake for 25 minutes, tossing halfway through the baking time. Remove from the oven and let it cool slightly.
- While the rice and chicken bake prep the salad ingredients and add them to a large salad bowl.
- Combine all of the ingredients for the honey lime vinaigrette in a jar, cover with the lid and shake until well combined.
- Add the rice and chicken into the salad bowl and toss everything together with the vinaigrette. Taste for seasoning and serve or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If you make this Southwest Crispy Rice Salad, please leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I love hearing from you and do my best to respond to your comments. And if you’re on Instagram tag @reciperunner so I can see your beautiful creations!
