This Spicy Southwest Salad is a picture-perfect copycat of the famous Chick-Fil-A salad! Spicy seasoned chicken over vibrant mixed greens, tomatoes, bell peppers, cork, black beans, shredded cheese, and crunchy pepitas and tortilla strips! The creamy salsa dressing included is really the perfect compliment to this flavorful salad.

top view of southwest salad in a bowl drizzled with dressing.

Spicy Southwest Salad

Do you think salads are boring? Or maybe you’re just never quite as full as you want to be after eating one for lunch or dinner. Well this Spicy Southwest Salad will change your mind! It’s bursting with flavor and is sure to hit the spot with protein-packed ingredients like white meat chicken breast and black beans.

This is a great recipe to make for either lunch or dinner. While it’s certainly filling enough to make for dinner, you can portion it however you’d like for lunch for a quick and easy midday meal! If you’re a fan of meal prepping, this is an excellent recipe to do so with. Pack it up and take this spicy salad with you to work or whatever other errands you have so you can avoid the ever-tempting drive-thru that wastes both your time and money!

So, how spicy really is this salad? That all depends on your preferences. For me, I think this chicken has a pretty nice, noticeable kick from the ancho chili powder. You can always add more or less of that spice depending on just how pronounced you’d like that flavor to be. While there is enough spice here to make your mouth water, the other ingredients like black beans and fresh veggies do a pretty great job at taming the heat. Plus, since this is homemade, you can also control exactly how spicy you’d like the dressing to be as well.

ingredients for spicy southwest salad on cutting board.

four seasoned and grilled chicken cutlets on the board.

Ingredient Notes

This gorgeous salad is made with simple ingredients that you can easily find at your local grocery store!

Chicken:

Chicken Breasts
Seasonings – Salt, garlic powder, onion powder, ancho chili powder, paprika, white granulated sugar and black pepper are what you’ll need to make this copycat chicken SO flavor-packed!
Olive Oil – You can opt for avocado oil instead if you’d prefer.
Want More Spice? Add a pinch of cayenne pepper.

Southwest Salad:

Spring Salad Mix
Vegetables – You’ll need a medley of cherry tomatoes, red bell peppers, and corn for this salad. I like to use canned corn that’s been drained since it’s the quickest and easiest option.
Black Beans – Be sure to drain and rinse them before tossing them into your salad.
Mexican Shredded Cheese Mix
Roasted and Salted Pepitas – If you’ve never heard of pepitas before, fear not – they’re just pumpkin seeds!
Toasted Tortilla Strips – These add the most satisfying crunch to your salad.

Creamy Salsa Dressing:

Mayonnaise – You can use low-fat if you’d like. However, I find that regular mayo creates the best consistency.
Salsa – I use spicy salsa, but you can opt for medium or mild if you’d prefer.
Lime Juice – As always, be sure to only use freshly squeezed lime juice for the BEST flavor.
Seasonings – You’ll need cumin, a pinch of salt, and black pepper to make this dressing even more flavorful.

Cooking Instructions:

chicken breasts and seasoning on cutting board.

two chicken breast cutlets cooking in the skillet.

Season and cook the chicken.

First, you’ll need to slice each chicken breast in half horizontally into two even pieces. Try to be as precise as possible!

Mix the spices together to create the seasoning mix. Season the sliced chicken breasts evenly on all sides.

Preheat a pan over medium heat and add the olive or avocado oil.

Cook the breasts for a few minutes on each side until cooked through. This should take about 3-5 minutes per side.

Let the chicken cool on the cutting board before slicing it into thin pieces.

ingredients for creamy salsa dressing on cutting board.

creamy salsa dressing blended in the blender.

Make the salad dressing.

Measure all of the ingredients with care and place them in a small blender. Pulse until smooth.

You can either use the dressing immediately or store it for later. To store it, transfer the creamy dressing into a storage container with a lid. Keep it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.

Assemble the salad.

Divide the salad mix into four bowls.

Top off the salad mix with your sliced chicken, veggies, black beans, and shredded cheese. Add some pepitas and tortilla strips on top, serve with creamy salsa dressing, and enjoy!

closeup of southwest salad in white bowl and creamy dressing.

Make Ahead Tips:

This dinner salad only takes about 30 minutes to prepare, but you can also make it even faster! If you prepare the chicken and the dressing ahead of time, the salad will only take you about 5 minutes to put together.

Chicken: Cook the chicken ahead of time per the recipe and let it cool down to room temperature. Store the cooked chicken in a food storage container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. You can also make extra chicken and freeze it.

Creamy Salsa Dressing: You can make it ahead of time as well and store it in the refrigerator. Make sure to store it in a food storage container with an airtight lid. This dressing will also last about 3-4 days in the refrigerator. It does freeze well if you need to make extra and freeze it. You can freeze it in a freezer friendly zip-top bag for up to 2 months.