Southwestern Chopped Salad is a party on a platter! Filling, fresh, and colorful, this entree salad recipe will liven up your dinner table.
“I made this salad tonight for a dinner party and everyone LOVED it! The ranch/salsa dressing really made the dish.”
My friends and I were regulars at all the chain restaurants in high school. TGI Fridays, Carlos o’Kelly’s, CHILI’S – nothing was safe!
I re-created Chili’s mouthwatering Chicken Tortilla Soup years ago, and am adding their Southwestern Chopped Salad (though they call theirs Sante Fe Chicken Salad) to the line up.
This salad is packed with all the same tasty ingredients as the restaurant’s, yet is quick, easy, and a fraction of the price to whip up at home.
Chili’s Copycat Salad Recipe
A base of shredded romaine lettuce is tossed with sweet corn kernels, creamy black beans and avocado, plus fresh pico de gallo and crushed blue corn tortilla chips – which not only add a fabulous color to the salad, but a salty, satisfying crunch, too.
While Chili’s drizzles their salad with ranch dressing plus a spicy santa fe sauce, to keep things simple and low-fuss, I dress my salad in Salsa-Ranch Dressing (aka salsa mixed with, you guessed it, ranch dressing)!
Savory, sweet, fresh, crunchy, creamy – this salad is SUCH a treat to eat! It’s incredibly filling on its own, though feel free to pump up each serving by adding grilled, baked, or Air Fried chicken, roast shrimp, or grilled steak.
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How to Make this Salad
Start by mixing up a batch of fresh Pico de Gallo, which calls for chopped tomatoes, white onion, jalapeno, cilantro, lime juice, and salt.
Simple ingredients – TONS of flavor!
Add your desired amount of pico de gallo to a big mixing bowl with shredded or chopped romaine lettuce, sweet corn kernels, plus canned black beans that have been rinsed and drained, then toss to combine.
Just before serving, add a diced avocado plus a handful of crushed blue corn tortilla chips then drizzle with Salsa Ranch Dressing and toss again to combine.
Scoop onto plates then dig in! I hope you enjoy this fresh and colorful summer feast!
More Plate-Busting Salads
- Italian Quinoa Salad
- Steak and Sweet Potato Bowls
- Italian Sub Salad
- Steak Salad with Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Chicken Caesar Salad Pasta
- Thai Quinoa Salad with Peanut Dressing
- Jennifer Aniston Salad
Ingredients
- 9 oz shredded or chopped romaine lettuce
- 2 ears sweet corn, kernels sliced from cobs
- 1/2 cup black beans
- 1 avocado, chopped
- Handful blue corn tortilla chips, crushed
- Ranch dressing
- Salsa
For the Pico de Gallo:
- 2 vine-ripened tomatoes, seeded and chopped
- 1/4 small white onion, minced
- 1/2 jalapeño, or more or less, seeded and minced
- 1/4 cup packed cilantro, chopped
- juice of 1/2 lime
- salt
Directions
- Combine ingredients for the Pico de Gallo in a small bowl then refrigerate until ready to serve. Can be made a day ahead of time.
- Stir together desired amounts of ranch dressing and salsa (I use ~50:50) in a small bowl to create the Salsa-Ranch Dressing then set aside.
- Add romaine, sweet corn, black beans, and desired amount of pico de gallo to a large bowl then toss to combine. Add avocado, crushed tortilla chips, and Salsa-Ranch dressing then toss again to combine. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
I love making salads and adding extra ingredients.