Southwestern Chopped Salad with Cilantro Lime Dressing

A tex-mex style salad with an incredibly creamy Greek yogurt cilantro dressing that will knock your socks off!

I’m happy to report that after 11 days into 2014, I am still well into my salad phase –BBQ chicken salad, Asian cobb salad, kale salad, you name it. But with a bunch of cilantro left over in the fridge, I just had to make a cilantro-type dressing. And boy am I glad I did because this is one of the creamiest, most flavorful dressings I have ever made.

Not to mention, the dressing comes together so quickly and easily with the help of a food processor. Simply drop everything into your handy dandy food processor – I love using my Magimix for this – pulse, and that’s it!
You can definitely adjust the amount of olive oil for a a thinner dressing. I didn’t want mine too thick so that’s what the recipe here reflects. Either way, this goes so perfectly in this tex-mex style salad loaded with corn, beans, tomatoes, avocado and tortilla strips. It’s quickly become a favorite of ours, and we’ve had it almost every day this week!

SOUTHWESTERN CHOPPED SALAD WITH CILANTRO LIME DRESSING

Prep Time15 minutes

Total Time15 minutes

Yield2 servings

A tex-mex style salad with an incredibly creamy Greek yogurt cilantro dressing that will knock your socks off!

INGREDIENTS

• 5 cups chopped romaine lettuce
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup canned corn kernels, drained
• 1/2 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced
• 1/4 cup tortilla strips, for garnish
FOR THE CILANTRO LIME DRESSING
• 1 cup loosely packed cilantro, stems removed
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 cloves garlic
• Juice of 1 lime
• Pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

See a Hawaiian Sweet & Sour Sausage Recipe

 

INSTRUCTIONS

• To make the cilantro lime dressing, combine cilantro, Greek yogurt, garlic, lime juice and salt in the bowl of a food processor. With the motor running, add olive oil and vinegar in a slow stream until emulsified; set aside.
• To assemble the salad, place romaine lettuce in a large bowl; top with tomatoes, corn, black beans and cilantro. Pour the dressing on top of the salad and gently toss to combine. Stir in avocado.
• Serve immediately, garnished with tortillas trips, if desired.

NOTES

Adapted from The Garden Grazer