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In this Southwest Chicken Salad, fresh veggies, black beans, and shredded chicken are combined with flavorful spices in a creamy chipotle lime dressing for a hearty, protein-packed, 15-minute recipe.
Enjoy this southwest chicken salad as a sandwich or with tortilla chips and veggie sticks (like celery, carrots, or cucumbers). You can also scoop it into lettuce wraps or just dig in with a spoon!
If you are a huge fan of chicken salad recipes, you have got to also try my BLT Chicken Salad, Dill Pickle Chicken Salad, Italian Grinder Chicken Salad, or Thai Cucumber Salad with Chicken.
Why You’ll Love Southwest Chicken Salad
Fiber & Protein Packed – from the black beans to the shredded chicken breasts, this chicken salad recipe is very wholesome and filling.
Lightened Up – the dressing is a combination of greek yogurt and just a small amount of mayonnaise making it much lighter than most chicken salads.
Fresh & Crunchy – bell peppers, jalapenos, corn, and onions add lots of freshness and texture that make this chicken salad so enjoyable to eat.
Meal-Prep Friendly – chicken salad is one of my easiest meals to throw together at the beginning of the week. It takes just 15 minutes to prepare and makes for a quick snack or easy work lunch.
Chipotle Lime Dressing – chipotle adobo sauce, a touch of honey and fresh squeezed lime juice is the base of this addictively delicious dressing.
Key Ingredients
Add these items to your shopping list to add this southwest chicken salad into your meal rotation. You’ll find precise measurements in the recipe card below:
Rotisserie Chicken – or poach your own chicken at home if you prefer.
Black Beans – canned black beans add plenty of filling fiber and protein and great flavor.
Corn – you can choose either frozen and thawed or canned sweet corn.
Peppers – red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and jalapenos.
Dressing – greek yogurt, mayonnaise, lime, chipotle adobo sauce, chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper.
Onions – you can use either red onion or green onion, they both work so whichever you prefer. Red onions are a bit more potent than green onions.
Cilantro – the cilantro adds lots of vibrant flavor.
How to Make Southwest Chicken Salad
- Start by making the dressing. Combine green yogurt, mayonnaise, seasonings, lime juice, chipotle adobo sauce, and honey. Mix well, taste and adjust if needed.
- In a large mixing bowl add in the remaining ingredients; shredded chicken, beans, corn, peppers, onions, and cilantro.
- Pour over the dressing and toss all the ingredients until they are well coated.
How to Serve
Some of my favorite ways to enjoy this southwest chicken salad:
- Tortilla chips – the southwest flavors pair perfectly with tortilla chips. If you really want to go wild, they are even better with Nacho Dorito’s.
- Lettuce – either serve scoops of chicken salad over a bed of lettuce or you can scoop it into romaine lettuce boats.
- Make it a sandwich – I love to put chicken salad in between two toasted slices of bread or a croissaint (just like how Chicken Salad Chick does it).
- Veggies – cucumber spears or rounds, celery, carrots or zucchini spears.
- Just dig in – sometimes just grabbing a spoon and eating it straight up is one of my favorites ways to enjoy chicken salad.
How to Store
Place the chicken salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. I do not recommend freezing.
Some of my favorite meal prep containers are these cups with lids that comes with a spoon. Or, these dual-compartment containers perfect for storing your salad on one side and the dippers on the other side.
Looking for More Chicken Salad Recipes?
BLT Chicken Salad
Dill Pickle Chicken Salad
Italian Grinder Chicken Salad
Thai Cucumber Salad with Chicken
Street Corn Chicken Salad
Buffalo Chicken Salad
I hope you enjoyed this recipe for my Southwest Chicken Salad. Be sure to comment below with any questions or feedback!
If you make these or any other recipes, don’t forget to tag me on IG @BadBatchBaking to be featured on my story. Seeing your recreations makes my day!
Southwest Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 can sweet corn drained (frozen thawed corn can be used instead)
- 1 small red bell pepper
- 1 small green bell pepper
- 1 jalapeño seeded and diced
- 4 green onions diced green and white parts
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
Chipotle Honey Lime Dressing
- 1/2 cup greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 1 lime, juice and zest of
- 2 tablespoons chipotle adobo sauce the sauce that comes in jars of chipotle peppers
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp each salt and freshly cracked pepper
Instructions
- Start by making the dressing. Combine green yogurt, mayonnaise, seasonings, lime juice, chipotle adobo sauce, and honey. Mix well, taste and adjust if needed.
- In a large mixing bowl add in the remaining ingredients; shredded chicken, beans, corn, peppers, onions, and cilantro.
- Pour over the dressing and toss all the ingredients until they are well coated. Cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
