Name: Santa Fe Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 12 ounces romaine lettuce (chopped); 2 cups chopped rotisserie chicken; 2 green onions (sliced); 1 medium avocado (diced); ½ cup frozen corn kernels (thawed); ½ cup canned black beans drained; ½ cup pico de gallo; ½ cup shredded pepper jack cheese; ¼ cup chopped cilantro; 1/4 cup Southwest ranch dressing ((see note)); ½ cup tortilla strips

Santa Fe Salad is loaded with flavor and so easy to make in about 15 minutes! It has shredded chicken, crisp lettuce, black beans, corn, creamy avocado, cheese, and super simple Southwestern-style ranch dressing. It’s zesty and bursting with freshness – the perfect main dish salad when you’re craving something light.

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I love the Southwest-y flavors in this salad and the super easy prep. We’re using rotisserie chicken along with one of my favorite ranch dressing hacks, so there’s not much work beyond a little chopping, tossing, mixing, and drizzling. You know, just enough prep to make us feel like we’re “cooking,” but not so much that we wished we’d just ordered takeout.

Ingredients

Chopped romaine lettuce – or other leafy greens like spinach, green lettuce, or iceberg.
Chopped or shredded cooked chicken – I use rotisserie chicken from the store.
Sliced green onions – or swap them for diced red onion.
Diced avocado
Corn kernels
Black beans
Pico de gallo
Shredded pepper jack cheese – or cheddar cheese if you like it better.
Chopped cilantro
Southwest ranch dressing – Use your favorite Southwest-style ranch or, and this is what I do, mix regular ranch dressing with fajita seasoning or taco seasoning.
Tortilla strips or crushed tortilla chips

Make Ahead Tips

If you want to assemble it ahead of time, you can! Layer the salad ingredients in this order in a large bowl: Salad dressing, pico, chicken, beans, corn, onions, avocado, cheese, lettuce, and cilantro.

Keep the salad in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve it. It should keep well for several hours. When you’re ready to serve, use tongs or large spoons to toss the salad so the dressing evenly coats everything and then add the tortilla strips for garnish.

the salad being tossed together with dressing.

More Salad Recipes

Santa Fe Salad

This easy salad is loaded with flavor and so easy to make! If you love Southwest flavors like avocado, black beans, and pico de gallo with chicken and a zesty dressing, you will love this recipe.

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Author: April Anderson

Servings: large salads

Prep Time: 15

Total Time: 15

Ingredients

12 ounces romaine lettuce chopped
2 cups chopped rotisserie chicken
2 green onions sliced
1 medium avocado diced
½ cup frozen corn kernels thawed
½ cup canned black beans drained
½ cup pico de gallo
½ cup shredded pepper jack cheese
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup Southwest ranch dressing (see note)
½ cup tortilla strips

Instructions

Place the lettuce in a large bowl. Add the chicken, onions, avocado, corn, black beans, pico, cheese, and cilantro.
Drizzle the dressing over the top and toss the salad to combine.
Garnish with the tortilla strips for serving.

Notes

Dressing tips: You can use prepared southwest dressing (look for options in the refrigerated section), or you can mix 1/4 cup of regular ranch dressing with a few teaspoons (or more to taste) of fajita seasoning.

Make-ahead tip: Put the dressing in the bottom of the serving bowl and top it with the other ingredients in this order: pico, chicken, beans, corn, onions, avocado, cheese, lettuce, and cilantro. When you’re ready to serve it, just toss it together and garnish with the tortilla strips.