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Posted: 9/20/23
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This Santa Fe salad (Southwest salad) is what dreams are made of! It’s loaded with juicy chicken, fresh vegetables, avocado, corn, and black beans, and pairs perfectly with Southwest dressing. It’s protein-rich and full of flavor!
This Santa Fe salad is hearty, delicious, and packed with all of your favorite Tex-Mex flavors. This is one of my favorite salads to make, especially on weeknights. It’s fresh and flavorful, easy to throw together, and packed with protein. It’s a complete meal in a bowl, and you can customizes the toppings depending on what you have in the fridge.
This salad pairs perfectly with Southwest Salad Dressing or Avocado Cilantro Lime Dressing. Both are creamy, flavorful, and dairy free, so they fit a variety of needs!
Looking for an easy side salad? Just split this salad into four separate bowls and leave off the chicken. If you serve salads regularly, try my Classic House Salad or Healthy Burger Bowls for variety!
Santa Fe salad is a crowd pleaser, so add it to the menu for your next family event or gathering!
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Ingredient Notes
- Romaine lettuce: You can purchase this pre-chopped, or buy a head of green leaf lettuce and chop it yourself. One head of green leaf lettuce typically produces six cups of lettuce.
- Cherry tomatoes: While you can keep these whole, I like them halved or quartered.
- Black beans: I purchase organic beans canned, then just drain and rinse them.
- Frozen sweet corn: Frozen corn is so easy to use! Just measure out a cup and let it thaw in the fridge for a few hours before assembling the salad. You can also cook the corn on the grill, slice it off the cobb, and use fresh corn in your salad! This is the recipe we use to grill corn.
- Crushed tortilla chips: While this is optional, I like to crush up Siete dip chips and sprinkle them on the salad.
- Dressing: Try my Southwest dressing, honey lime dressing, or a simple olive oil and vinegar blend.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Chicken: Most proteins taste great with Southwest flavors, including pulled chicken, sliced steak, or salmon.
- Romaine lettuce: Use a blend of romaine, green leaf, or butter lettuce for variety.
- Cherry tomatoes: You can use any type of tomato, including roma, grape, or beefsteak tomatoes. Just slice larger varieties or cut them into quarters.
- Vegetarian: Omit the chicken for a vegetarian salad, or use roasted sweet potatoes in place of it.
- Seasoning: Not into the heat? Omit the spices and just season the chicken with salt and pepper!
How to Make Santa Fe Salad
- Season: Remove the chicken from the fridge and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Combine all of the spices for the seasonings in a small bowl. Place the chicken on a plate and pat dry. Coat both sides of chicken with olive oil and rub with the seasoning.
- Grill: Preheat your grill to medium-high heat, around 400°F. The grill needs to be hot when you add chicken, allowing it to sear and cook evenly. Place the chicken on the grill and cook for 6-8 minutes. Flip and cook for an additional 6-8 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F/75°C. Remove the chicken and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Combine: Arrange the lettuce, green onions, tomatoes, black beans, corn, avocado, and tortilla chips in a large bowl or in four small bowls. Slice or cube the chicken and place it on the salad.
- Serve: Top the salad with the dressing. Enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
What is a Santa Fe Salad made of?
A Southwest or Santa Fe salad is typically made with greens like romaine lettuce or green leaf lettuce, cherry tomatoes, green onions, corn, black beans, and avocado, and topped with tortilla chips. You can add grilled chicken on top to make it a meal, and pair it with Southwest salad dressing.
What’s the difference between Southwest salad and Santa Fe salad?
A Sante Fe salad and Southwest salad are basically just different names for the same recipe. Both are hearty salads that are loaded with flavors well known to the Southwest region of the United States.
How do I store leftovers?
Store any leftover salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. It’s best to store leftover salad without salad dressing so the vegetables stay crisp. If the salad has been tossed in the dressing, it will last 1-2 days in the refrigerator.
Why is it called Santa Fe salad?
The Santa Fe salad gets its name from the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, home to some of the best Mexican and Southwestern cuisine in the country. It’s a Tex-Mex inspired salad loaded with fresh vegetables, black beans, corn, avocado, and tortilla chips, and is typically topped with grilled chicken.
Ways to Serve
The best part about this recipe? Santa Fe salad can be served in a variety of ways! Add your favorite toppings, or keep it simple! Here are my favorite ways to serve it:
- Toppings: While tortilla chips are a classic topping for Southwest salad, you can leave them off or swap them out for pumpkin seeds! You can also add shredded cheese, sour cream, guacamole, or lime wedges on top.
- Dressing: My favorite way to serve this salad is with my Southwest Salad Dressing. However, you can also use Avocado Cilantro Lime Dressing, Honey Lime Vinaigrette, Coconut Oil Salad Dressing, or your favorite ranch dressing. Want to keep it simple? Just drizzle it with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Here are some tips for building your own salad dressing.
- Soups: For classic soup and salad, pair it with Instant Pot Chicken Stew, Easy Stovetop Chili, or Creamy Crockpot White Chicken Chili.
Make Ahead Tips
To make this salad ahead of time, just prep the vegetables up to 48 hours in advance. Store the chopped greens in one container, and the cut up vegetables in another. Thaw the corn and drain and rinse the beans the night before and store them in an airtight container in the fridge. You can also make the dressing 48 hours in advance and store it in a separate container.
When you’re ready to serve the salad, lay out a large salad bowl and follow the recipe instructions. Slice and dice the avocado and crush the tortilla chips just before assembling. Add the dressing or serve it on the side for people to add it themselves.
More Salad Recipes
- Healthy Burger Bowls
- Classic House Salad Recipe
- Easy Quinoa Cucumber Tomato Salad
- Greek Chicken Quinoa Bowl
- High Protein Chicken Salad
Santa Fe Salad
This Santa Fe salad (Southwest salad) is what dreams are made of! It’s loaded with juicy chicken, fresh vegetables, avocado, corn, and black beans, and pairs perfectly with Southwest dressing. It’s protein-rich and full of flavor!
Prep: 10Cook: 16Total: 26 minutes
Servings: 4 1x
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Salad:
- 8 cups romaine lettuce or mixed greens, chopped
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 ½ cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen sweet corn, thawed (can also use fresh corn)
- 1 avocado, seeded and diced
- 1 cup crushed tortilla chips (optional)
Dressing:
- Southwest Salad Dressing or your favorite dressing
Instructions
- Season: Remove the chicken from the fridge and let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes. Combine all of the spices for the seasonings in a small bowl. Place the chicken on a plate and pat dry. Coat both sides of chicken with olive oil and rub with the seasoning.
- Grill: Preheat your grill to medium-high heat, around 400°F. The grill needs to be hot when you add chicken, allowing it to sear and cook evenly. Place the chicken on the grill and cook for 6-8 minutes. Flip and cook for an additional 6-8 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F/75°C. Remove the chicken and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- Combine: Arrange the lettuce, green onions, tomatoes, black beans, corn, avocado, and tortilla chips in a large bowl or in four small bowls. Slice or cube the chicken and place it on the salad.
- Dressing: Blend the dressing.
- Serve: Top the salad with the dressing. Enjoy!
Notes
- Optional toppings: Add shredded cheese, sour cream, guacamole, or lime wedges.
- To cook the chicken on the stovetop: Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan. Sear the seasoned chicken for 5-7 minutes on each side until golden brown, or until the internal temperature reaches 165°F/75°C.
- Meal prep: Make the dressing ahead of time and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Cook the chicken ahead of time, or use leftover or rotisserie chicken.
- Vegetarian: You can easily omit the chicken for a vegetarian salad, or use roasted sweet potatoes in place of it.
- Serving: This entire salad fits perfectly in a shallow 11-inch serving bowl.
- Corn: Use frozen or canned corn, or grill fresh corn on the cob and slice it off for the salad.
- To crush the tortilla chips: Break them into 1-2 inch pieces as you place them on the salad. I like to use Siete dip chips.
Recipe by: Noelle Tarr / Coconuts and Kettlebells | Photography by: Casey Colodny / The Mindful Hapa
Hannah says
This recipe is fantastic! Delicious, healthy and attractive to the eye. This one is going in our regular rotation. Thank you for sharing, Noelle.
Noelle Tarr, NTP, CPT says
So glad you liked it! Love when our food looks AND tastes good! 🙂