A grilled southwest chicken salad your taste buds will love! This full meal big salad is packed with southwestern flavor from the cilantro lime chicken and chipotle ranch dressing. Loads of fresh veggies, including juicy tomatoes, crunchy lettuce, fiber-rich black beans, and roasted corn are what make this a healthy salad. This easy recipe will become one of your favorite salads to meal prep, or serve to a crowd!
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The Best Grilled Southwest Chicken Salad Recipe
Creating a colorful salad is not only beautiful, but it’s also so good for the body.
The more color and variety we add in, the more variety of nutrients we’ll be consuming.
Southwest flavors plus all the green, red, yellow, orange, and black mean we’re getting so much nourishment in a delicious salad.
What makes this southwest grilled chicken salad so good for you?
This salad has it all! It’s balanced, healthy, delicious, and easy to make.
We’ve got veggie-loaded goodness in the form of crunchy romaine, sweet tomatoes, and herby cilantro.
Healthy protein from our chicken and beans.
Fibrous carbohydrates from beans and corn.
Nourishing fats from the avocado and dressing.
This salad checks all the boxes – carbs, protein, fat, fiber, and flavor! Get ready for a massive hit!
What you need for this southwest salad with grilled chicken
For the full ingredients list, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions, scroll down to view the recipe card below.
- Organic Sangria® Medley Tomatoes
- boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- extra virgin olive oil
- lime
- cilantro
- sea salt
- chili powder
- frozen sweet corn
- avocado oil mayonnaise
- plain kefir
- chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
- coconut aminos
- garlic granules
- romaine lettuce
- black beans
- avocado
- green onions (or red onion)
How to make this southwestern chicken salad recipe
Step 1: Combine 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, fresh lime juice, fresh cilantro, sea salt, and chili powder in a large bowl. Add the chicken to the marinade ingredients for 30 minutes, or in an airtight container in the fridge overnight.
Step 2: To grill the chicken, heat a barbeque to medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook on the first side for 10 minutes, flip, and cook another 10 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked through to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Set aside to cool, and then dice into bite-size pieces.
Step 3: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Add the corn to a rimmed baking sheet, and drizzle ½ tbsp olive oil on it, along with a pinch of sea salt. Stir and roast for 15-20 minutes, until the corn is beginning to get a little golden color on it. Set aside to cool.
Step 4: To make the chipotle ranch dressing combine the dressing ingredients in a blender or a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour into a small bowl and aside until ready to use.
Step 5: In individual bowls or a large serving bowl, add the romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, black beans, diced chicken, roasted corn, sliced avocado, green onion, and cilantro. Drizzle with the creamy dressing and toss to combine. Enjoy this great recipe!
Note – Want to swap the Chipotle dressing? My cilantro lime dressing would be just as delicious paired with the southwestern flavors!
Don’t want to grill your chicken? Try these other methods for cooked chicken:
Grilled chicken leaves you with such juicy chicken, but there are other ways to cook your chicken for this hearty salad.
Use a grill pan inside to get a similar effect.
You can also bake the chicken in the oven, or use an instant pot to cook it.
When you’re super rushed on time, pick up a rotisserie chicken to use!
Customize this grilled chicken salad
Some extra additions that would go well with this salad that can be easily added in are these:
- tortilla strips or tortilla chips
- sour cream or plain greek yogurt
- shredded cheddar cheese
- diced sweet bell peppers
How to pack a mason jar salad with chicken
Mason jar salads are not only cute, but they’re also functional! Here’s how I love to pack salads to go all in one container.
- Start with your dressing on the base of the mason jar.
- Next, add the protein and beans.
- After that add the corn.
- Lastly come the veggies – the tomatoes, lettuce, green onion, and cilantro.
The avocado can be packed into the mason jar before the vegetables.
If you choose to add it in, toss the avocado in lime juice first to reduce the browning.
You can always bring an avocado along and add it in right before shaking the jar!
Packing your mason jar salad with chicken this way will ensure that your vegetables don’t get soggy, and then all you have to do is give it a good shake and you’re ready to enjoy it!
A tip to not forget – don’t overstuff your mason jar!
You want to leave a little breathing room so that there is space for the salad to move around when you shake it.
I love using a wide-mouth quart mason jar for mason jar salads!
Substitutions for this grilled southwest chicken salad recipe
Below you’ll find a list of substitutions that will work well in this grilled southwest chicken salad recipe.
If you try something different out, please leave a comment below letting us all know how it turned out!
Chicken breast –Chicken thighs or steak are great alternatives here! You can also use Traeger grilled chicken for this recipe!
Extra virgin olive oil – Avocado oil or another neutral oil works as a substitute.
Kefir – To make the dressing dairy-free, you can omit the kefir and increase the mayo used. An alternative to kefir would be plain yogurt.
Chipotle in adobo sauce – If you don’t want to use chipotle in adobo sauce, simply add 1 teaspoon of chili powder into the dressing ingredients instead of the chipotle. This will give you a medium-heat salad dressing.
Black beans – Pinto beans are a great substitute!
Looking for more recipes? Here are a lot of salads to try!
- Healthy classic taco salad recipe
- Asian chicken chop salad
- Buffalo chicken salad
- Antipasto salad with creamy italian dressing
- Healthy turkey salad recipe
- Chicken, bacon and egg Caesar salad
Grilled Southwest Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb chicken breast
- 1.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil divided
- 1 lime juiced
- 1/2 cup cilantro minced
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 2 cups frozen corn
Dressing Ingredients
- 1/2 cup avocado oil mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup plain kefir
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 tsp garlic granules
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Salad Ingredients
- 1 romaine lettuce head chopped
- 2 pints Organic Sangria® Medley Tomatoes halved
- 1 can black beans rinsed and drained
- 1 avocado sliced
- 1/4 cup green onions chopped
- 1/4 cup cilantro minced
Instructions
- Combine 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, fresh lime juice, fresh cilantro, sea salt, and chili powder in a large bowl. Add the chicken into the marinade ingredients for 30 minutes, or in an airtight container in the fridge overnight.
- To grill the chicken, heat a barbeque to medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook on the first side for 10 minutes, flip, and cook another 10 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked through to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F. Set aside to cool, and then dice into bite-size pieces.
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Add the corn to a rimmed baking sheet, and drizzle 1/2 tbsp olive oil on it, along with a pinch of sea salt. Stir and roast for 15-20 minutes, until the corn is beginning to get a little golden color on it. Set aside to cool.
- To make the chipotle ranch dressing combine the dressing ingredients into a blender or a food processor and blend until smooth. Pour into a small bowl and aside until ready to use.
- In individual bowls or a large serving bowl, add the romaine lettuce, tomatoes, black beans, diced chicken, roasted corn, sliced avocado, green onion, and cilantro. Drizzle with the creamy dressing and toss to combine. Enjoy this great recipe!
Nutrition
If you try this Grilled Southwest Chicken Salad recipe, I’d love it if you left a star rating and comment below letting me know how it turned out!
XO
Heather
Originally published May 2022. Updated April 2024.
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