Get out of your salad rut with this delicious Southwest Chicken Chopped Salad with homemade Cilantro Jalapeño Ranch. Not only will you body thank you for feeding it some vegetables, but so will your taste buds because this is so dang good.

If you have never made homemade dressing, let this foolproof ranch be your first. You just shove all the ingredients into a food processor and then BOOM. Flavor overload! You will never eat ranch dressing from the store again.

And then, there’s the toppings… grilled corn, black beans, avocado, pickled red onion, queso fresco, and tortilla strips. So much YUM. I went all out and you should too! But if your lacking time, there are definitely some substitutes that you can make. For instance, rather than grilling corn, you can use canned sweet corn. Easy. And if you don’t want to pickle your own onions (you should though because it takes 4 minutes and takes this salad to the next level) then you could use fresh red onion or omit the onion all together. And finally, you COULD buy ranch dressing at the store but just don’t. A salad is only as good as the dressing you use.

Alright peeps. Get chopping!

Makes about 1 cup of dressing

Dressing Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup mayo
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of dried chives
• handful of fresh cilantro, about 1/4 cup
• 3 cloves of fresh garlic
• 1 jalapeño pepper or more to taste (cut down if you want this to be mild)
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Dressing Instructions:

1. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor with the blade attachment. Pulse until smooth;
2. Store the finished dressing in the fridge until the salad is ready.

Pickled Red Onion Ingredients:

• 1 medium red onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 cup and 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Pickled Red Onion Instructions:

1. Thinly slice the red onion into strips. Put the sliced red onion and garlic clove in a heat safe container;
2. Combine the vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small pot on the stove. Cook on medium heat until boiling;
3. Once boiling, pour the vinegar mixture over the red onions;
4. Submerge the red onions in the vinegar and let sit until it reaches room temperature;
5. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Salad Ingredients:

• 1 lbs of Grilled Chicken Breast or Pulled Rotisserie Chicken
• 2 Heads of Romaine Lettuce, cleaned and chopped
• Canned Black Beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 ripe Avocado
• 2 Ears of Grilled Sweet Corn (or canned sweet corn)
• 1/2 Cup of Crumbled Queso Fresco
• Pickled Red Onions
• Cilantro Jalapeno Ranch Dressing
• Tortilla Strips or Tortilla Chip Crumbs (what you find at the bottom of your tortilla chip bag works perfect here)

Salad Instructions:

1. Combine all ingredients (the amount of each is up to you) into a large salad bowl except the tortilla strips and chicken.
2. Toss with Cilantro Jalapeño Ranch dressing.
3. Top with chopped chicken breast and tortilla chips.