Southwest Chicken Salad with Avocado Lime Dressing

You’ve heard me say like a billion times now how much I love Mexican food, so you probably aren’t surprised that Mexican-inspired salads are my fave!

With Cinco de Mayo coming up this weekend, I thought I would share a recipe for those of you looking to celebrate with some healthier recipes. Who says you can’t have a salad for Cinco de Mayo?! As much as I love to have tortilla chips by the handfuls or eat some really cheesy enchiladas, a good salad sounds so perfect sometimes, especially when it comes with a really great dressing.

Meet my latest lunch obsession. This avocado lime dressing is the bomb.com! The avocado makes it nice and creamy, but the dressing still has a light texture. You’d swear you were really eating a heavier dressing. I’m not really giving a recipe for the salad as you can really use whatever ingredients you want, but I tore up some rotisserie chicken and added grape tomatoes, some black beans, and some shredded cheese.

And hey, with the calories you save eating this salad, you can make up for it by drinking more margaritas! ;)

Southwest Chicken Salad with Avocado Lime Dressing

Avocado Lime Dressing
Yield: makes 1/2 cup dressing (serves about 2)

Southwest Chicken Salad with Avocado Lime Dressing

Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 cups lettuce of your choice
  • Suggested Toppings: sliced chicken breast, black beans, corn, tomatoes, shredded cheese, crushed tortilla chips, etc. (whatever you want).

For the dressing:

  • 1/2 avocado, diced
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 1 tbs. cilantro
  • 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1/4 cup-1/2 cup water (depending on how thick you want the dressing to be)

Instructions

  1. To make the dressing, place the avocado, lime juice, cilantro, and garlic powder in a food processor. Pulse until the avocado is pureed.
  2. Add 1/4 cup of water and pulse. If dressing is too thick, add additional water until the dressing reaches your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve on salad.

Southwest Chicken Salad with Avocado Lime Dressing