Mexican Chopped Salad with Honey Lime Dressing

This Mexican Chopped Salad topped with a creamy Honey Lime Dressing tastes as good as it looks with its kaleidoscope of colors, flavors, and textures. It features crisp romaine lettuce, red bell pepper, scallions, canned black beans, corn, tomatoes, radishes, avocado, jicama, and cotija cheese.

A veggie-filled, nutritional powerhouse, it works as a hearty main dish salad or a flavorful side dish paired with your favorite Mexican-inspired recipes. It is perfect for your Cinco de Mayo celebration. The Honey Lime Mexican salad dressing with its tangy-sweet and spicy deliciousness is the crowning glory. Leftover dressing can be drizzled over other dishes to add tons of flavor and share the love. 

Make it for dinner tonight, take it to work tomorrow, or serve it at a fun luncheon with friends! Yes, there is some chopping involved, but other than that, you are home-free with this naturally gluten-free, one-dish wonder that you can have on the table faster than you can say “Olé!”

Here’s what you will need:

For the salad: 

• Romaine lettuce – a popular base for salads, tasty romaine is crisp and sturdy enough to serve as the foundation for this salad. 
• Black beans – while they can be eaten hot or cold, black beans add great taste and protein to this salad. Good substitutes are canned navy, cannellini, or kidney beans. 
• Tomatoes – is there anything more delicious than fresh red tomatoes? In addition to a beautiful color, tomatoes add their own special brand of tastiness to this dish. 
• Jicama – is the only ingredient you might not be familiar with. With a texture like a cross between an apple and a potato, jicama adds a delightful crunch and crispness.  
• Corn – adds its sweet corn flavor and beautiful color to this salad. Frozen corn works great in this recipe, or you can use fresh. Even canned sweet corn works as long as you drain it well. 
• Radishes – add a spicy crunchiness and crisp texture plus beautiful color. 
• Avocado – with its nutty buttery flavor, adds a creamy deliciousness that complements and brings together all of the other flavors. 
• Red bell pepper – with its beautiful red color is nutritious and another veggie added to the mix that adds a crunch. Feel free to substitute either green, yellow, or orange bell pepper. 
• Scallions – which are also called green onions, add a sweet, mild onion flavor. 
• Cotija cheese – is for all of the cheese lovers out there. Cotija cheese has a salty flavor profile and crumbles easily. Good substitutes are queso fresco or feta. You could even use parmesan or romano cheese in a pinch. 

For the dressing, you will need:

• Limes – add a fresh floral, citrusy note to this delicious dressing.
• Olive oil – besides being one of the healthiest oils, helps emulsify the ingredients and bind them together in this tasty salad dressing. 
• Honey – adds a bit of sweetness and rounds out all of the flavors.
• Garlic – mixes with the rest of the ingredients and adds its distinctive pungent taste and aroma. 
• Jalapenos – add just the right amount of spiciness and zing.  
• Kosher salt – enhances all of the flavors and brings them together in one delicious bite. 

Here’s how to make it:

1. Add all dressing ingredients to a blender and process until smooth. Store in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it. If your ingredients have separated, give them another whirl in the blender, whisk or add them to a mason jar and shake. This dressing gets better the longer it sits. Although it’s delicious when you make it, it gets better with time, anywhere from two to twenty-four hours work. 
2. To make the salad, add the Romaine lettuce, black beans, tomatoes, jicama, frozen corn, radishes, red bell pepper, and avocado to a large bowl.
3. Top with the dressing and toss.  Add the cotija cheese and scallions.
4. Serve immediately. 

*Special thanks to my friend and neighbor Peggy Bielby for sharing this delicious salad recipe with me to share it with you! 

Frequently asked questions:

What to serve it with?

Mexican Chopped Salad is robust enough to serve as a main dish salad with my Jalapeno Cornbread or topped with my Blackend Shrimp or Smoked Shrimp. It can also be served as a side dish with other Mexican or Southwestern-inspired dishes like my Tequila-Lime Chicken Enchiladas, Blackened Shrimp Tacos, Shrimp Quesadillas with Bacon, Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas, or Grilled Fish Tacos.  No matter what you serve it with, add a nice cold frozen margarita, and make it a party.

Can you make it in advance?

For the best results, instead of making the salad ahead, I recommend that you prep and chop up the vegetables and store them in the refrigerator separately up to 24 hours in advance. Right before you are ready to serve it, add the dressing and combine. Do not add the dressing until right before you are ready to serve it.

The dressing is actually better if you make it up to 24 hours ahead. 

Alternatively, you can use this recipe to make individual mason jar salads. I frequently do this to take to the beach when we go, and they will last at least three or four days prepared in this manner. 

How to spice it up?

If you like to live life on the wild side, you can increase the amount of heat in the dressing by either adding the jalapeno seeds and ribs or double the amount. As the recipe is written, it has a mild amount of heat.

Sharon’s tips:

• Even though all of these ingredients add something to this salad, make it anyway if you are out of one or two ingredients. It will still be delicious. The last time I made it, I didn’t have any jicama or radishes, and it was still wonderful.  
• If you have never had jicama, give it a try. It adds a crisp, juicy, crunchy element to the salad. 
• When making the dressing, add some avocado before you blend it up. Not only does it add flavor, but it also makes the dressing especially creamy. 
• If you are feeding a crowd, feel free to double or triple the recipe!

Related recipes: 

If you like this dish, you also might be interested in these popular salad recipes:

• Beef Taco Salad with Avocado Lime Dressing
• Summer Garden Pasta Salad
• Corn, Tomato and Avocado Salad
• Roasted Shrimp Pasta Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
• Fall Harvest Salad with Apples and Sweet Potatoes
• Shrimp Caesar Salad with Homemade Dressing

If you want more menu ideas or recipes, here is a link for all of my salad recipes; if you are interested in more Mexican or Southwestern-inspired favorites, you can find all of my Cinco de Mayo recipes at this link. 

★ If you make this recipe, please leave a comment and give it a star rating. I would love to know how you liked it!

Thank you so much for visiting Grits and Pinecones!

*This post was originally published on September 1, 2016. It was republished on April 21, 2021, with new photos, an FAQ section, and expanded tips.