This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
When you’re craving Mexican food but want something with low-calories, this Mexican Chopped Salad recipe is the perfect answer! Packed with authentic Mexican flavors and topped with a creamy cilantro yogurt dressing, you are going to love this delicious chopped salad!
This amazingly dynamic Mexican chopped salad is a wonderful way to add even more excitement to the midday meal. Full of color, texture, flavor and nutrition, it is light and yet intensely satisfying. Whether you enjoy it strictly as a lunch or you use it as a side dish for an evening meal, you won’t be disappointed.
What is in this Mexican salad?
So, the ingredients are straightforward and include options with loads of crunch and color. The base includes both.
- Romaine lettuce: Romain lettuce adds a great crispy texture to the salad bowls. You can also use iceberg.
- Black beans: Beans are a great source of protein and fiber as well as being high in folate and vitamin B6. The beans turn this salad into a hearty meal.
- Corn: Go for fresh off the cob if you can, or defrosted frozen corn for the highest nutrient levels. You can use canned if you are in a pinch.
- Tomatoes: I like to use roma tomatoes as they have a thick firm flesh with fewer seeds.You can also used halved cherry tomatoes.
- Avocado: Avocado adds a nice creaminess and healthy fats. Get my top tips for how to cut an avocado quickly and easily.
- Onion: I like to use a red onion as it is milder than white or yellow and doesn’t overpower the other ingredients. The onion should be finely diced, be sure to get my how to cut an onion tips to achieve this.
- Jicama: Jicama is a South American root vegetable. it’s juicy and crunchy and works great in this salad.
- Cilantro: Cilantro adds a nice freshness. You can also use parsley.
- Cotija: A Mexican cow’s milk cheese. If you can’t get cotija, feta is a good alternative.
For the cilantro dressing:
- Cilantro: I love the flavor of cilantro and it works so well in this dressing. You can use parsley in its place if you dislike it.
- Greek yogurt: Greek yogurt makes for a nice creamy and tangy dressing as well as being a great source of protein and probiotics. I used full fat as it’s much richer in flavor, but you can use low fat if you prefer.
- Garlic: Use freshly minced garlic for the best flavor.
- Lime juice:Use fresh lime juice rather than bottled, it’s so much zingier. It cuts through creamy dressing and adds a wonderful flavor.
- Salt: I use kosher salt which has a less intense flavor.
- Cumin: Cumin adds a nice earthiness to the dressing.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Helps to round out the flavors of the dressing. You can also use another oil like avocado.
Top tips for making Mexican salad
- Make a big batch of the salad dressing since it lasts for a couple weeks. It not only works great for the salad as a dressing, but also works as a dip, sauce and marinade!
- Don’t add the dressing until you are ready to serve the salad. This way it will stay fresh and crunchy especially since creamy dressings can weigh down salads sometimes.
- Chop everything finely. The beauty of chopped salads is that every bite has a little bit of everything, so how you chop it will actually affect the flavor. To achieve this quickly, try this great chopper I found on Amazon (affiliate).
Frequently asked questions
This creamy salad dressing is made with Greek yogurt, olive oil, garlic and spices create a boisterous level of texture and flavor that is a perfect match to the bold crunch of the greens. The yogurt brings that nice dash of probiotics as well as calcium and protein, and it makes for a really creamy dressing that brings the dish together.
To make this salad vegan, simply swap the Greek yogurt for your favorite vegan substitute, this way you can still enjoy a creamy dressing! Some suggestions include:
soy yogurt
cashew yogurt
vegan Greek-style yogurt
almond milk yogurt
Full of flavor and color, this Mexican chopped salad is going to quickly become a favorite among your lunch salads. So easy to prepare and delicious to eat! Not to mention it’s packed full of healthy ingredients!
For more healthy salads:
- Watermelon Blueberry Salad
- Green Goddess Salad
- Kale Tabbouleh Salad
- Tomato Avocado Cucumber Salad
- Vegan Macaroni Salad
- Mediterranean Hummus Bowl
If you’ve tried this feel good Mexican Chopped Salad recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!
Mexican Chopped Salad
Ingredients
- 1 head romaine lettuce chopped
- 1 15 ounce can black beans rinsed and drained
- 1 cup corn kernels
- 2 Roma tomatoes seeded and chopped
- 1 large avocado diced
- 1 small red onion diced
- ½ small jicama chopped
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- ¼ cup cotija cheese
Cilantro Yogurt Dressing
- ½ cup fresh cilantro
- ¼ cup Greek yogurt
- 1 small garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- To make the dressing, add the cilantro, Greek yogurt, garlic, lime juice, salt and cumin in the bowl of a food processor. While the food processor is running, slowly pour in the olive oil and allow it to emulsify the sauce, scraping down the sides of the food processor as necessary.
- Divide the salad ingredients into four bowls and drizzle the dressing on top.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
This Mexican salad is what I have been making for our family tacos night since I came across your recipe! The dressing is absolutely the best!! I would not change a thing
Thank you so much!
Looks so good.
Are the beans out of a can? Are they rinsed or cooked?
Thx
Hi Kimber, you can find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card right above the comments. This recipe does use canned black beans that have been drained and rinsed. Hope you enjoy!
This Mexican chopped salad is what I have been missing!! I always follow directions the first time I make it and if it’s a keeper (it absolutely is) Then add my own flair.
The dressing is the star in this recipe!! I would not change a thing.
I will fire grill the corn next time to add a smokey component. Add some shrimp or chicken and you have a complete meal!
Back to this dressing….so versatile…when I tasted it my mind went wild with how to apply it to different dishes. The sauce will pare so well with carnitas tacos!
My new go to salad!!
Thank you so much, Melissa. So glad you liked it!
It is a great Mexican salad recipe.
Thank you!
What a delicious salad. Thank you.
Yay! You’re so welcome!!
Loved the recipe, I add some chopped garlic and cucumbers 😋😋😋
Sounds delicious! Thank you!!
Loved this salad so much! So fresh and easy to whip together when it’s too hot to turn on the oven or stovetop. The dressing especially was to-die for. We added a little extra lime juice and garlic, and don’t use low fat or fat free yogurt–whole fat makes it so much yummier and creamier. We also mixed in a little mexican seasonings with the beans and corn, but it really didn’t need it, because the dressing and all the ingredients were so flavorful! Thanks for your beautiful content, Yumna!
Thank you so much! I love the sound of those seasonings!!