Confession: my friends and I were regulars at all the chains in high school. TGI Fridays, Carlos o’Kelly’s, CHILI’S – nothing was safe! I re-created Chili’s spicy, slightly-thick bowls of Chicken Tortilla Soup many years ago, and am back with another copycat recipe that I used to order there on the regular: Southwestern Chopped Salad (though they call theirs Sante Fe Chicken Salad.) Regardless of what you’re calling it, this salad is still stuffed with all the same tasty ingredients!
A base of thinly shredded romaine lettuce is tossed with local sweet corn, creamy black beans and avocado, plus fresh pico de gallo and crushed blue corn tortilla chips which not only add a fabulous color to this beautiful dish, but a salty, satisfying crunch. While Chili’s drizzles their salad with ranch dressing plus a spicy santa fe sauce, to keep things simple and low-fuss I dressed my salad in Salsa Ranch Dressing aka salsa mixed with, you guessed it, ranch dressing. It’s the simple life over here, folks, won’t you join me?! I’m telling you, this dish is a treat to eat. Savory, sweet, fresh, crunchy, creamy – totally interesting. Since this salad has black beans for protein and is enormous, I kept it meatless, but if you want to divy up the recipe amongst four people instead of two or three, add grilled chicken, shrimp, or steak on top and you’re set!
Start by mixing up a batch of fresh Pico de Gallo. Before making my own PdG I was totally indifferent about the oft overlooked condiment served in tiny plastic cups next to burritos and nachos which, in my experience, almost always went untouched. Homemade PdG though? INSANE. Ridiculously good in this salad and/or dunked into with tortilla chips. It’s just a mix of chopped tomatoes, white onion, jalapeno, cilantro, lime juice, and salt. Simple ingredients, tons of flavor.
Add your desired amount of pico de gallo (aka what’s left after attacking it with chips) to a big bowl with 9oz shredded or chopped romaine lettuce, the kernels from 2 ears sweet corn, and 1/2 cup black beans then toss to combine.
Last step is to add 1 chopped avocado and a couple handfuls of crushed blue corn tortilla chips then drizzle with Salsa Ranch Dressing and toss again to combine. Scoop onto plates then dig in! I hope you enjoy this fresh and colorful summer feast!
Like this recipe? Share it with friends!
