Make this Chopped Southwest Chicken Salad for an easy and delicious meal prep lunch. Enjoy it on its own or use some chips to scoop it up.
Weeknight-easy
Beginner-friendly
You’ll Learn: How to make a bold, creamy southwest dressing
Worth It: It’s a satisfying, protein-forward option that actually keeps you full
Bonus: Great for meal prep and make-ahead
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Versatile recipe – You can serve this recipe so many different ways! You can serve it warm or cold. Plus it’s packed with protein and could stand alone as a lunch, or you can serve it alongside some chips for a dip.
- Great for a group – I love this dish because it’s great for parties. It’s filling and satiating, but it still feels fun and is easy to snack on as an appetizer.
- Make for meal prep – This recipe also makes for great meal prep! You can combine everything and enjoy within one to two days, or keep the dressing separate to make it last even longer.
Serving suggestions
I love eating this chicken salad on its own or with tortilla chips. You could also add some romaine lettuce to incorporate some greens. If you serve it over lettuce, add some tortilla strips to get a little crunch.
This salad is a full meal by itself, but it would also pair well with green chili cornbread. If you are serving it as a dip at a party, serve it alongside some cold crab dip or some shrimp dip.
Ingredients
- Chicken breasts – boneless skinless chicken breasts are the easiest for this recipe
- Kosher salt, chili powder, ground cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika – this spice blend gives the chopped southwest chicken salad recipe the southwestern flavor
- Oil – you can use any neutral oil you would like to cook your chicken
- Black beans – black beans are a classic addition to a southwest salad that add protein and fiber
- Corn – you can use fresh if it is in season or frozen if it is out of season
- Red bell pepper – I prefer a red bell pepper, but you could also use orange or yellow
- Jalapeno – a small jalapeno with no seeds adds a lot of flavor and the smallest kick. Feel free to omit if you would like
- Cilantro – garnish the salad with some cilantro for a bit of fresh herbs
- Greek yogurt – the plain greek yogurt is the base of the creamy dressing
- Olive oil – if you don’t have olive oil, use any neutral oil
- Lime – the lime adds a citrusy acidic flavor to the dressing
- Honey – I love the way the honey sweetens the dressing without overpowering it
- Ranch seasoning powder – I love using the packet because it makes it so quick and easy, but you can also make your own ranch dressing seasoning
Ingredient Substitutions
You can omit or add anything you would like to this salad! Grape tomatoes, red onion, or avocados would be great. A bit of cheese like a queso fresco would also be a delicious addition. If you don’t love queso fresco, cheddar cheese could work too.
To make it an even simpler recipe, use a rotisserie chicken in place of the chicken breast and cut it into small pieces. To season the chicken, I like making my own homemade taco seasoning, but store bought is a perfect quick option.
For the dressing, I love using Greek yogurt, but sour cream also works great.
How to make
Step 1: Make the Chicken and Dressing
Cut each chicken breast into 2 thinner filets. Combine salt, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika and season chicken breasts on both sides with the seasoning blend.
Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet and add chicken to the frying pan. Cook chicken 4-5 minutes on each side checking for an internal temperature of 165F before removing from pan (Image 1). Allow to cool while prepping other ingredients.
Whisk the greek yogurt, olive oil, lime juice, honey, hot sauce and ranch seasoning powder together to make a dressing (Image 2). Do not use a food processor as that will break down the yogurt too much.
Step 2: Combine all ingredients
Open, drain and rinse the cans of black beans and corn. Finely dice the bell pepper. De-seed and finely dice the jalapeno. Mince the fresh cilantro.
When the chicken is mostly cooled, dice into small pieces. Pour all of the ingredients into a large bowl (Image 3) and pour the dressing over top (Image 4). Toss everything together and add extra salt or spice to taste. Enjoy immediately or refrigerate and eat chilled.
Storage
This chopped southwest chicken salad recipe is best enjoyed within two days, but you can store it in the fridge in an airtight container for up to four days.
Check out these other Chicken Salad Recipes
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
You can find the full recipe below. If you make this recipe, please rate and review it in the comments, or share it with me on Instagram!
Email Recipe for Later
Recipe
Chopped Southwest Chicken Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 2 chicken breasts boneless skinless
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ⅛ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tbsp oil
- 1 can black beans
- 1 can corn kernels or 2 cups cooked frozen corn
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 small jalapeno optional
- 1 handful cilantro
For the Dressing
- ½ cup greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Juice from 1 lime
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp hot sauce
- 1 tbsp ranch seasoning powder
Instructions
- Cut each chicken breast into 2 thinner filets. Combine salt, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika and season chicken breasts on both sides with the seasoning blend.
- Heat oil over medium heat in a frying pan and add chicken to the frying pan. Cook chicken 4-5 minutes on each side checking for an internal temperature of 165F before removing from pan. Allow to cool while prepping other ingredients.
- Open, drain and rinse the cans of black beans and corn. Finely dice the bell pepper. De-seed and finely dice the jalapeno. Mince the fresh cilantro.
- Whisk the greek yogurt, olive oil, lime juice, honey, hot sauce and ranch seasoning powder together to make a dressing.
- When the chicken is mostly cooled, dice into small pieces. Pour all of the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and pour the dressing over top. Toss everything together. Enjoy immediately or refrigerate and eat chilled.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
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