This Skinny Southwest Chicken Salad recipe is absolutely bursting with flavor, and packed with healthy and filling protein to keep you full, but the best part about it is that you can make it in just minutes!
I kinda love salad. I know some people don’t, but I really think those people just don’t know how to make salad right. Â When you make salad right, it is good. Â Really, really good!
Now these really, really good salads don’t just happen on accident. Â They are filled with crisp flavorful greens, loaded with great veggies with complimentary flavors, topped with some tender, flavor packed meat, and of course drizzled with rich and flavorful dressing. Â You get bonus points if you can add in something with an addicting crunch too!
This Southwest salad is all of those things and since summer is coming up, it is made to be light and calorie conscious so you can have something you really love to eat and feel good about it too!
As long as the salad is really tasty, I can eat it day after day and not tire of it, so you can make this salad in a big bowl to feed a crowd or use it for meal prep so you will have a delicious meal on hand 4+ times while only prepping once. Â All of the ingredients are easy and store well so it is perfect for making ahead like I did here on my Instagram post!
One of the best parts of this recipe is how quickly it all comes together, even though everything is fresh and wholesome!  One of the keys to making this so quickly is the pre-cooked Johnsonville Flame Grilled Chicken.  As someone who is very picky about meats and a self-proclaimed chickentarian, I am going to tell you that this stuff is amazing.  You can find it in 5 flavors in the refrigerator section of grocery stores nation-wide.  This chicken isn’t your normal pre-packaged meat, it is seared over an open flame to lock in the juices, and packed with flavor from the dry rub seasonings.  The chicken is free of fillers, and has no added MSG, artificial preservatives, flavors and colors.  It is real fully cooked, whole-muscle, chicken breast with no rib meat.  In short, it is everything I ever wanted in a chicken breast, but I have never found this quality pre-cooked before!
Let’s get cooking with it!
Skinny Southwest Salad Recipe – Step by Step
This salad is 3 mini recipes all wrapped up into one! Â Don’t worry though, it is super quick and easy, especially using the precooked chicken, I just broke down the recipes to make it easier to follow along. Â I am talking about the salad here first, then the dressing and chips, but if you are prepping this meal, I would make the dressing first so it can chill while you are prepping the salad and chips.
This is a large salad so it will easily feed 4 people a meal sized portion or 6+ side sized portions. Â You can make it as a big salad, or divide it for meal prep and get 4 meals made. Â Also, feel free to add or subtract according to your tasted and dietary needs! Â You can add more of one ingredient or add a special treat like a scoop of guacamole! Â Top this salad with whatever YOU love!
Skinny Southwest Salad- Ingredients
- 2 hearts romaine lettuce, washed
- 1/2 cup low-fat cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 package (3- 3 oz chicken breasts) Johnsonville Flame Grilled Southwestern Seasoned Chicken Breast
- 1/2 cup canned corn, drained
- 1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
- 1/4 cup cilantro, finely diced (optional)
- 12 baked & seasoned tortilla chips
- 8 oz (one recipe) Skinny Salsa Ranch
Instructions:
We will keep this super simple with just a few directions!
- Chop the romaine into bite-sized pieces and layer into the bottom of a wide bowl, or if you are meal prepping use 4 air tight containers. Prep veggies, and chop chicken breast into 1/2″-1″ pieces. Â Each of the chicken breasts are 3 oz, so there should be plenty to top a large salad like this! Â I like my chicken cold on salads, but if you prefer yours hot, you can pop it in the microwave for about 2 minutes and have it ready to go!
- Layer cheese, black beans, tomatoes, chicken, corn, and red onion on top of the lettuce, then sprinkle with cilantro. Â If you don’t care for any of these, feel free to leave it off, or if you really love it you can add more! Â Other toppings that are great on this salad are guacamole, pico de gallo, sour cream, fresh lime juice, avocado, etc. Â The sky is the limit so get creative!
- Place the baked corn chips around the side of the bowl, or if you are meal prepping in small containers, put these in a baggie on the side so they don’t get soggy from the moisture of the salad.
- Right before serving, toss the salad with the skinny salsa ranch.
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Skinny Southwestern Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 hearts romaine lettuce washed
- 1/2 cup low-fat cheddar cheese shredded
- 1/2 cup canned black beans rinsed
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes
- 1 package 3- 3 oz chicken breasts Johnsonville Flame Grilled Southwestern Seasoned Chicken Breast
- 1/2 cup canned corn drained
- 1/4 cup red onion finely diced
- 1/4 cup cilantro finely diced (optional)
- 12 baked & seasoned tortilla chips
- 8 oz one recipe Skinny Salsa Ranch
Instructions
- Chop the romaine into bite-sized pieces and layer into the bottom of a wide bowl. Prep veggies, and chop chicken breast into 1/2"-1" pieces.
- Layer cheese, black beans, tomatoes, chicken, corn, and red onion on top of the lettuce, then sprinkle with cilantro.
- Place the baked corn chips around the side of the bowl, or if you are meal prepping in small containers, put these in a baggie on the side.
- Right before serving, toss the salad with the skinny salsa ranch.
- Enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
Skinny Salsa Ranch – Ingredients
- 1/2 cup light sour cream, You can also substitute geek yogurt here, but it doesn’t come out as smooth and creamy. Â I prefer the light sour cream by a long shot!
- 1/4 cup lowfat buttermilk, If you buy the buttermilk just for this recipe and don’t use it frequently, you can freeze it so you have it on hand next time you are making this dressing! Â Try using an ice cube tray so you have them in easy to use sizes!
- 1/4 cup salsa- I make homemade but you can use store bought or whatever your favorite flavor is!
- 1/5 tbsp dry ranch mix- 1 package is generally about 2 tbsp for reference. Â I buy mine at the warehouse store in bulk because it really comes in handy around the kitchen to add flavor!
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a glass jar and use a hand blender to blend until incorporated.
- Chill for at least 30 minutes.
Hungry for more family-friendly recipes? Sign up for my free recipe club to get new family-friendly recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing daily meal-time inspiration on Pinterest and Instagram.
Skinny Salsa Ranch
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup light sour cream
- 1/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
- 1/4 cup salsa
- 1.5 tablespoons dry ranch mix
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a glass jar and use a hand blender to blend until incorporated.
- Chill for at least 30 minutes.
Nutrition Information:
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
Skinny Baked Tortilla Chips- Ingredients
- 2 corn tortillas- I used yellow corn, but you can use which ever you prefer!
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp fajita seasoning- Use store bought or this homemade fajita seasoning recipe!
Instructions
- Brush each side of the tortillas with olive oil and then cut each one into 6 triangles, like you were cutting a pizza.
- Lay the tortilla wedges flat on a baking sheet and sprinkle with seasonings. Â I line my cookie sheet with aluminum foil to make for easy clean up!
- Bake at 400F for 6-8 minutes on the middle rack in the oven, or until they are golden brown. Â Make sure and watch them because if they over brown and start to burn they really don’t taste very good… trust me on that one!
Hungry for more family-friendly recipes? Sign up for my free recipe club to get new family-friendly recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing daily meal-time inspiration on Pinterest and Instagram.
Skinny Baked Tortilla Chips
Ingredients
- 2 corn tortillas
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp fajita seasoning
Instructions
- Brush each side of the tortillas with olive oil and then cut each one into 6 triangles (like a pizza.)
- Lay the tortilla wedges flat on a baking sheet and sprinkle with seasonings.
- Bake at 400F for 6-8 minutes or until they are golden brown.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
I hope you enjoy these recipes, together or separately! Â If you get a chance to try it, I would love to hear about it in the comments! Â Drop me a note and let me know if you love it as much as we did!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Johnsonville. The opinions and text are all mine.
Deebi27 says
OMG, This looks like an amazing Sunday dinner tonight! I hope what isn’t in house can be found…it’s Easter Sunday…ugh!
Clover says
My store does not carry the chicken in the recipe so I subbed with 6 chicken tender strips drizzled with EVOO and rolled in a spice mix:
1 & 1/2 Tbsp of brown sugar
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp salt & pepper
Baked at 400º for 35 min.
We did everything else according to the recipe and absolutely loved it.
Shelby says
Does the nutrition information for the entire salad include the nutrition information for both the chips and the ranch? I assume so since they are both mentioned in the ingredients/recipe, but just wanted to check!
Super excited to try this!
Kimber says
The nutrition info should include everything on the ingredient list, however, I always recommend using a nutrition calculator with the exact brands that you buy because it can really widely vary and that will give you the most accurate calculation.