Mexican Chopped Salad
This refreshing Mexican Chopped Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette is a marvelous summer entree with fresh corn, jicama, avocados, tomatoes, and more! Add some chicken or shrimp for a hearty meal!
This Mexican Salad is full of cool, fresh ingredients and is the perfect side salad when serving enchiladas, tacos, or any Tex-Mex entree.
Why You Must Make
- This is a delightful salad for the sultry days of summer.
- It’s full of cool, fresh, colorful vegetables, black beans, and Mexican cheese, and dressed in a cilantro, lime vinaigrette with a slight kick!
- This is one of my go-to dishes to take to friends who need a meal, especially when the weather has been hot and miserably humid.
Recipe Tips
- If you’re not going to eat this salad in one sitting, just put the dressing on what you plan to eat. The greens will get soggy sitting in the salad dressing so the leftovers will taste better if freshly dressed.
- If you don’t like cilantro, there are other herbs you can use instead. See the Frequently Asked Questions below for suggestions.
- Feel free to add, remove or substitute any ingredients. You can use cubes of Monterey Jack or Sharp Cheddar instead of the Queso Fresco or Iceberg lettuce instead of Romaine.
- PRO-Tip: Mix the salad dressings right in a liquid measuring cup. From there, it’s easy to pour into a container or right onto the salad.
- When making the dressing, slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking continuously. This will help to emulsify the salad dressing, making it creamy and homogenous and less likely to separate into two layers.
Frequently Asked Questions
A chopped salad is a side dish in which all the components are cut into bite-sized pieces. The ingredients often consist of greens, vegetables, and even cheese, fruit, and nuts. It can be served mixed in a bowl or composed (components separated) or on a platter, board or tray.
By adding some more protein, you can make this salad into a main dish. There is already cheese, but adding grilled chicken, salmon, shrimp or even leftover beef would make this a dinner-worthy salad.
If you are someone who gets tastes a soapy flavor when eating cilantro, try using another herb instead. Parsley, Thai Basil, Dill, or even Mexican Oregano are good replacements for cilantro. Go light on the oregano if using, taste, then add more if needed.
You can store your chopped salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It’s best not to toss all the salad with the dressing as the leftovers will get soggy. Store the salad ingredients and dressing in separate containers. Add a paper towel to the bottom of the salad container to absorb any excess moisture.
Light dressings like a vinaigrette or Italian dressing seem to be the norm. But if your family loves Ranch dressing, for example, feel free to serve it with Ranch!
You May Also Like
- Grilled Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce (Gluten-Free) from The Heritage Cook
- Italian Chopped Salad with Parmesan Vinaigrette
- Kitchen Sink Chopped Salad
- Fresh Corn and Black Bean Salad
- Plus, all my Best Salad Recipes
Mexican Chopped Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette
A marvelous summer salad adapted from Self Magazine
Ingredients
Salad:
- 2 ½ cups shredded (or chopped) romaine lettuce
- 1 can black beans (12.5 ounces), drained and rinsed
- 1 cup diced tomatoes, or grape tomatoes, halved
- ¾ cup chopped, peeled jicama
- ¾ cup frozen corn kernels, thawed (or fresh sweet corn taken off the cob)
- Whole ripe avocado, diced
- 1 red or yellow bell pepper, chopped
- ¼-½ cup queso fresco, crumbled
Dressing::
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons, chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon minced jalapeno
- Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Mix all salad ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Mix dressing ingredients in a glass jar or measuring cup, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour dressing over salad, mix, and serve.
Notes
If you don't like cilantro, you can use chopped parsley, Thai basil or half as much oregano.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 310Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 379mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 9gSugar: 9gProtein: 9g
66 Comments on “Mexican Chopped Salad”
What a fabulous salad, and you already know that you had inspired me to make your other chopped salad at the cottage for some vegetarian friends so this one will also be on my to do list! One of my favourite salads at our “Mexican place” is a jicama, avocado and mango salad, it is soooo good, your chopped salad takes it up a notch! Loving the colours too. How nice that you made it for new parents, they must have loved it.
This looks healthy and delicious. Salads are always good for hot summer days!
oh wow! looks delicious! and love the colours. ! like summer on a plate 🙂
This plate is so gorgeous, looks like a mexican Niçoise! And I am really curious to make the cilantro vinaigrette, I am a huge cilantro fan!
What a perfect summer salad. Thanks for joining this month’s Progressive Eats.
Composed salads are such a nice visual. Love the sounds of the cilantro vinaigrette.
This is so pretty! And makes wonderful use of summer’s bounty. Really good recipe — thanks.
What lovely summer flavours in such a beautiful salad.
I’m all about light and fresh summer salads these days!! We love Mexican and this looks just so perfect!!
Great presentation, Liz and it looks delicious! My family would love it! thanks for sharing!
Fantastic ingredient combination, Liz, and that vinaigrette sounds wonderful!
I love Mexican flavors and this is the perfect salad for hot summer days and nights! Perfect accompaniment for our #ProgressiveEats dinner and it could easily be my entire meal. Love this beautiful, healthy dish!!
Mmm…I love a good summer salad! I love how versatile this is and how easy to customize according to personal taste. I bet your neighbors and friends were delighted to get a yummy meal like this one!
I love Mexican flavors, and this salad sounds fantastic. Such an easy peasy and delicious salad. That Cilantro Vinaigrette sounds wonderful. I am sure this is so full of fantastic flavors.
A terrific summer salad recipe indeed! I must try that dressing too – this is my favorite way to eat in the summer. Thanks for sharing!
This is a long time fav of mine havent done this in a long time but looks like I need to do this again asap!
beautiful colourful salad thank you for linking it to the food palette series rainbow colours
What a beautiful, colorful salad, Lizzy! I love the addition of jicama too. Great presentation!
This is a beautiful salad and I LOVE your presentation! Yum!
I am happy with a good salad. It used to be pasta but not it is a healthy choice. this sounds filling enough to make a really good lunch.