Southwest Chicken Salad

Chicken salad with southwest flavors and ingredients

Southwest Chicken Salad is fresh, flavorful, loaded with crisp veggies, shredded chicken, beans, and southwest flavors in a creamy dressing. Perfect for meal prep, a quick lunch, or an easy no-oven summertime dinner for the family or gatherings. Scoop it up with crunchy tortilla chips, veggies, crackers, or serve it inside pita bread, a large tortilla for a wrap, or in a buttery croissant or toasted bread.

Course Dinner, Lunch, Salad

Cuisine American, Mexican

Keyword southwest chicken salad

Prep Time 10

Optional Chill Time 1

Total Time 1 10

Servings

Calories 373kcal

Author Jessica - Together as Family

Equipment

Ingredients

Southwest Dressing

½ cup plain greek yogurt
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 2-3 limes)
2 tablespoons taco seasoning

Southwest Chicken Salad

3 cups shredded or chunked chicken
1 can (15 oz) black beans drained & rinsed
1 can (15 oz) gold n' white corn drained
1 small red onion finely chopped
1 red bell pepper finely chopped
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

In a large bowl, or the serving bowl, whisk together the plain greek yogurt, mayonnaise, fresh lime juice, and taco seasoning until well combined.
½ cup plain greek yogurt, ¼ cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice, 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
Add in the shredded chicken, black beans, corn, red onion, red bell pepper, halved cherry tomatoes, and chopped cilantro. Stir with a wooden spoon or spatula, until everything is well combined and all the ingredients are coated in the creamy dressing.
3 cups shredded or chunked chicken, 1 can (15 oz) black beans, 1 can (15 oz) gold n' white corn, 1 small red onion, 1 red bell pepper, 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes, ¼ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
The southwest chicken salad can be served right OR refrigerated for up to 1-4 hours for a chilled salad. Serve with tortilla chips, crackers, veggie sticks, in a tortilla wrap or pita, on a croissant, or on your favorite sandwich bread (toasted or untoasted).
^{*You can adding toppings to the chicken salad sandwich such as green leaf lettuce, sliced cheese of choice, and avocado slices.}

Notes

Use a good quality and good tasting plain Greek yogurt - they are not all the same. I love the Greek Gods brand and it's the only brand I use when it comes to plain Greek yogurt.
Sour cream can be used instead of plain greek yogurt if wanted.
For a creamier salad increase the mayonnaise to ⅓ cup.
Use any canned corn you prefer; yellow, white, gold n' white (this is what I use), southwestern, Mexican-style, fire-roasted, etc. No need to rinse the corn but rather make sure it's drained well.
Make this as spicy as you want by using a spicy or medium heat level taco seasoning, or adding some diced fresh jalapeño peppers into the chicken salad or for serving.
I prefer the mild taco seasoning but you can use any variety of taco seasoning that you love.
The chicken salad can be served right away, or if you prefer a chilled chicken salad - which allows time for the flavors to marinate and the salad to chill - cover the bowl with a lid, and refrigerate for up to 1-4 hours before serving. I don't recommend making the chicken salad too far in advance, because the longer it sits in the fridge, the more all the ingredients will soak up that creamy sauce, which means the salad won't be as creamy. But you could always add some additional mayo and/or fresh lime juice to get it creamy again for serving.
Serving options include eating it as a dip with tortilla chips, crackers, or veggies. Serve the chicken salad inside croissants with green leaf lettuce and sliced cheese if wanted. Serve between some toasted bread (or untoasted) for a sandwich with your favorite toppings such as lettuce, sliced cheese of choice, and some ripe avocados that have been sliced. You could also serve the chicken inside a pita or large tortilla for a wrap, or eat it as is with a spoon.

Nutrition