Real Recipes From Real Home Cooks ®

southwest grilled chicken salad

(2 ratings)
Blue Ribbon Recipe by
Sharyn Melting
Fargo, ND

One of my favorite salads for entertaining with family and friends at the lake. Even though it's healthy, everyone loves it! Serve it tossed in a bowl or layered on a platter. Choice of two dressings will spice it up to your liking!

Blue Ribbon Recipe

A delicious dinner salad that's easy to prepare. Perfect meal in the summer when you don't want to heat up the kitchen. There's a lot of prep, but once you put the chicken on the grill it comes together quickly. We rubbed the chicken with olive oil and taco seasoning. Once grilled, the chicken breasts are nice and juicy. Get creative with the toppings, but we love the traditional Southwest ones - especially the sweet corn and black beans. We prepared both dressings and loved both of them. But, if you really like ranch go for that one first. It was our favorite.

— The Test Kitchen @kitchencrew
(2 ratings)
yield 8 serving(s)
prep time 20 Min
cook time 10 Min
method Grill

Ingredients For southwest grilled chicken salad

  • 3-4
    chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
  • drizzle of olive oil
  • 2 - 3 Tbsp
    taco seasoning or Southwest seasoning
  • 1 pkg
    romaine lettuce head (3 from the package)
  • 1 can
    black beans, drained and rinsed well (10.5 oz)
  • 1/2 - 3/4 c
    frozen corn, thawed
  • 1/2 - 3/4 c
    pitted black olives, sliced
  • 1 lg
    pepper, red or orange
  • 1 - 2
    avocados (optional)
  • SIMPLE 2 INGREDIENT DRESSING
  • 1 c
    mayonnaise
  • 1/2 c
    salsa, chunky
  • DRESSING INGREDIENTS
  • 1 c
    ranch dressing
  • 2-3 tsp
    taco seasoning mix or other Tex-Mex/Southwest seasoning
  • 1
    jalapeno peppers, seeded & finely chopped
  • 1 Tbsp
    lime juice

How To Make southwest grilled chicken salad

  • Preparing the dressing ingredients.
    1
    For the Dressing: I love both of these dressings with this salad and couldn't decide which one to post - you decide which one to make. Combine ingredients with a whisk until blended and refrigerate until serving.
  • Chicken brushed with oil and seasoned.
    2
    For the Salad Prep: Prep all the veggies. Twist off core on the romaine heads. Rinse leaves and spin dry with a salad spinner & tear or cut into pieces (can also use packaged torn romaine). Slice olives and dice bell pepper. Remove the pit from the avocado. Slice or dice for serving. For the Chicken: Brush chicken with canola/olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with Southwestern seasoning or taco seasoning.
  • Chicken placed on the grill.
    3
    Prepare grill and place chicken on the grates.
  • Continuing to cook the chicken.
    4
    Grill for 4-5 minutes on each side or until the thermometer reads 165 degrees. Remove from grill to cutting board and slice or chop depending on serving style (bowl or platter)
  • Salad assembled in a bowl.
    5
    Serving the salad: Bowl or Platter In a large serving bowl, combine all salad ingredients. Pour your choice of dressing over to coat or serve the dressing on the side. PLATTER: Layer the avocado, beans, corn, chicken, bell pepper, avocado over the chopped romaine. Serve your choice of dressing on the side.
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