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This Mexican Chopped Salad is perfect with any Mexican meal and always gets rave reviews! It's also delicious spooned over chicken, shrimp or pork or beef!
This might seem a little strange, but it makes me really happy to come home from the grocery store or farmer's market loaded down with all sorts of beautiful, fresh produce. And if I find it for a super-duper price, well, let's just say I'm like a little pig in mud. This Mexican Chopped Salad is the result of a recent trip to the market.
I always have fun deciding what to do with my stash of fresh goodies. I've been rolling around ideas for a Mexican Chopped Salad for a while now. So when I found tiny sweet peppers, red onions, fresh succulent corn and zucchini, all on sale this week, I did a little happy dance, knowing it was time to make that south-of-the-border-inspired salad happen.
A delicious ugly duckling
I just needed to find one more item; an item that could very likely win "the ugliest member of the produce aisle" award. Can you guess what I might be?
One small jicama (pronounced hē-kə-mə) is what I needed to complete my salad. Jicama is native to Mexico and is used frequently in South American cuisine. I love to use it in salsas and salads as it has a lovely, slightly sweet flavor and a crisp, crunchy texture.
If you've never purchased jicama before, don't be surprised when you finally find it looking like a speckly, brown, misshapen potato. But there's lots of nutritional goodness hiding under that humble surface.
Jicama is low in calories and high in fiber, potassium, iron and vitamin C. I would describe the taste and texture as a cross between an Asian pear, a potato and an apple. Pick one up next time you're at the grocery, you may discover a new culinary friend! Jicama is wonderful in salads and can also be cut in sticks and eaten with dips like hummus and dips.
Back to my Mexican Chopped Salad. It's the kind of salad I can never get enough of; fresh, vibrantly colored and loaded with flavor. Eating it, makes me feel energetic and healthy. The dressing is light and bright, with just a few ingredients; fresh lime juice, honey, a clove of garlic and a splash of oil. A pinch of cumin along with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper finishes it off perfectly. I love simple recipes like this.
If you like a little crunch in your salad, as we do, be sure to pick up a package of corn tortillas. That's what you'll use to make the crispy topping for this wonderful salad. Just slice them up, drizzle with a bit of oil on a sheet pan then pop the pan in the oven till the little strips are gloriously golden brown; a perfect complement to this Mexican Chopped Salad.
A kitchen magician!
Okay, and one little secret I have to share. See how all the veggies are chopped perfectly to the same size in this Chopped Mexican Salad? That's not me. Nope, if I were doing the chopping, they'd be all random sizes. I have this Vidalia Chop Wizard that I'd have a hard time managing without. When I want to make a pot of soup or a salad with lots of chopped veggies in a hurry, I just pull out this little magic chopper and 1-2-3 I'm done!
My daughter-in-law, Lindsay created a quick little video to demonstrate how this little kitchen magician works:
See for yourself!
She also made the video below, demonstrating how to make this Mexican Chopped Salad:
What to serve this salad with:
- It's perfect with any Mexican entree; tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, burritos, etc
- Spoon it on top of nachos, so delicious!
- Serve it with chips (omit the lettuce, if you prefer).
- Serve it with grilled chicken, seafood, pork or beef.
- It's a wonderful side to serve with burgers.
- Make a healthy, whole-meal salad by adding rotisserie chicken.
- This salad is perfect for potlucks and picnics as it goes so well with everything. Don't expect leftovers, you'll be sure to come home with an empty bowl!
If you're craving fresh and delicious, be sure to add these ingredients to your grocery list. Make this Mexican Chopped Salad and enjoy it for dinner along with some grilled chicken, pork or seafood. Then pack it up for lunch the next day, as it keeps quite well. Just a warning though; all your co-workers will be drooling over your delicious, brightly colored lunch. Enjoy!
Café Tips for Making this Mexican Chopped Salad...
- Cooking corn in the microwave is so simple and there's no mess. See the directions below in the recipe or check out the video below. The husks and silks just pull away. The corn is clean and just slightly cooked, perfect for salads like this.
- For a pretty presentation, try to chop all the ingredients about the same size. See the notes above regarding this.
- Although fresh corn is ideal in this salad, you can substitute frozen corn when fresh is not available.
- The tortilla strips are optional and if you're short on time, just skip them. The salad will be delicious without them. Often, if I'm serving this salad as a side to grilled entrees or burgers, I make it without tortilla strips.
- I love red onion in this recipe as it adds such pretty color but yellow or white onion is also delicious!
Enjoy South-of-the-Border cuisine? Check out some of our other Mexican-inspired recipes like our Homemade Flour Tortillas. We've gotten over 1100 comments from cooks all over the world who have fallen in love with these easy tortillas!
And this Mexican Honey Lime Grilled Chicken has also been super popular with our readers. It's perfect for a cookout or summer party!
Mexican Honey Lime Grilled Chicken
Thought for the day:
And we have this HOPE
as an anchor for the soul,
firm and secure.
Hebrews 6:19
What we're listening to for inspiration:
If you enjoy this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review! It’s so helpful to other readers to hear your results, adaptations, and ideas for variations.
This Mexican Chopped Salad might just be the freshest, healthiest, most delicious salad you’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. And it’s loaded with fabulous Southwestern flavor!
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons honey
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 clove garlic finely minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- freshly ground black pepper
- taste and add salt if needed
- 6 6- inch corn tortillas
- 1 ½ tablespoons canola oil
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 medium head romaine lettuce chopped in approximately ½ inch pieces
- 1 medium bell pepper diced in ¼-inch pieces**, any color (I used orange)
- ½ medium red onion diced in ¼-inch pieces**
- ½ medium jicama peeled and diced in ¼-inch pieces**
- 1 medium zucchini diced in ¼-inch dice**
- 4 medium tomatoes seeded and diced into ¼-inch dice**
- 4 ears corn if fresh corn is not in season, substitute 1 ½ cups of sweet, tiny frozen corn
- 1 ½ cups canned black beans drained and rinsed
- ½ cup finely chopped cilantro plus whole cilantro leaves for garnish, if desired
- instructions
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For the dressing, combine lime juice, honey, cumin garlic and salt.
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In a slow, steady stream, add the oils, stirring continuously with a fork or small whisk.
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Taste and add more salt and pepper, if needed. Set aside.
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For the corn tortilla strips, preheat oven to 400˚F.
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Stack corn tortillas on a cutting board. Cut in half. Cut each stack of halves into thin strips, widthwise, about ¼-inch thick.
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Transfer tortilla strips to a sheet pan. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with salt and toss to coat.
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Bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, or until light golden brown and crisp. Set aside to cool.
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For the salad, place corn, two ears at a time, in the microwave and cook for 3 ½ minutes.
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Remove from microwave with a hot pad and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
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After cooling, cut bottom end of corn off, about 1 ½ inches from end. Pull back husk and silks (almost all of the silk should easily pull away). Cut kernels from husks and set aside.
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Combine corn and other salad ingredients in a large bowl. Stir to combine. Add dressing and stir to coat all ingredients. Garnish with cilantro leaves, if desired.
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Serve with tortilla strips on top or place a bowl on the side and let guests help themselves.
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Marianne says
Love love love this salad. I couldn't find jicama so used some toasted pepita seedsand it worked great. Thanks for a great salad recipe.
Vicky says
Looks so fresh with the various colorful ingredients. I plan to make this for Memorial Day cook-out. About how many will this serve? There will be about 17 people. Thanks.
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Vicky, for 17 people I would make at a double batch, the recipe will serve 6-8 but it always goes fast!
Vicky says
Thank you! I may do 11/2 times because six are rug rats! They are afraid, very afraid of veggies!
Betsy Warner says
I was so excited to make this for a dinner party last night and it exceeded my expectations. Every single guest asked for the recipe! Now I can't wait to explore some of your other creations. And I liked your microwave corn tip. Thank you!!
Chris Scheuer says
Thank you for the kind words Betsy!
Coleen says
I made this to go with a Mexican meal, we ended up having more food that I had imagined so I only dressed a small amount. It was fantastic, light and fresh, that night & great as a leftover. We ran out of dressing & my husband put avocado salsa on it, also yummy.
I eliminated the tortilla strips as we did not need those calories with the rest of the meal.
FIVE STARS
Lori says
Hi Chris and Scott!
Just HAD to comment on the Mexican Chopped Salad! Served it with 'quick cilantro lime chicken' (found both on Pinterest) for dinner last night. DELICIOUS. It was an amazing meal! Thanks for healthy and yummy! The next time I make it (and there will be a next time!) I'll make it closer to serving time as the vegetables released some of their water and diluted the wonderful dressing a little too much for me.
Evelyn says
Omg... Did it at the Weekend for a big salad buffet and all People were so amazed by this delicious salad. This salad has a Special place in our favorite menues. I took some maple syrup instead of honey (because mine was too thick) but was yummy at all! Thanks for this recipe!
Rachael says
I found this recipe on Pinterest last night and made it for dinner with some blackened fish tonight. It went down a storm. All 4 of our kids loved it, even though it had their arch nemesis of foods in...onion! Thank you for a new staple in our mealtimes.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks Rachael for letting us know. So happy you (and the kids) enjoyed it!
Lisa says
Question about the dressing: I made some, but it's far too runny as if not enough oil. Is this how it's supposed to be? I followed the recipe exact. Doesn't stick to the salad this way, just runs off to the bottom of the bowl. Needs more viscosity. I'm going to play with it and add more oil, but just wondering if it's intended to be this way. Thanks!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Lisa, The dressing is not super thick although adding the oil in a slow, stream does help it to emulsify which is what causes viscosity. I created it to be decently healthy with not a ton of oil. You certainly could add more oil although the dressing does add lots of wonderful southwestern flavor to the salad just the way it is. Hope you enjoy it.
Lisa says
Wow can't believe you replied to my post! Most bloggers don't bother with that; I appreciate the excellent customer here 🙂 I see your point about the healthy aspect. I'm serving this to a dinner party of 12 tonight. We're throwing calories to the wind, so I think I'll add a little more oil. Thanks for your reply.
Judy Nahs says
When it came to the dressing, I put it in the blender and it was prefect and stuck to the ingredients, This is the BEST salad I have ever ate !!!!
Donna says
My husband declared this the best salad he's ever had. It was beautiful and delicious. Thank you!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much Donna!
Kristi Rimkus says
My mother turned me on to jicama a few years ago - love it! The salad looks amazing and the dressing with that refreshing lime sounds delicious.
J. Alex says
I'm not a huge salad fan, and I barely say that a salad looks delicious. But now that's the case. 🙂 The pictures are great, and I'm sure the salad has an awesome taste. Will try it out for dinner!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks J!
Barbara says
Wonderful salad, fabulous dressing. Making it today for the 3rd or 4th time!
Chris Scheuer says
Yeh, thanks for letting us know!
Diatta @ Femme Fitale Fit Club says
This looks so good I plan to try this today over some fish.
Kay Ann says
Love the recipe and the photos are so good, wondered what kind of camera was used? Thanks for all the delicious recipes!!
Chris Scheuer says
Scott uses a Cannon 6D camera.
val says
This salad sounds great since I'm trying to watch my diet and eat more healthy food. I'll add shredded chicken and put it in a wheat tortilla wrap.
I love jicama, but not sure I can find it in Costa Rica....wish me luck !!
Thanks Chris...great recipe.
Kay Ann says
This looks amazing and I like the idea of making the tortilla garnish! I have bought these already baked and they are expensive. The photos are absolutely beautiful and I wondered what camera are you using for these perfect pics! My daughter is getting into the business and it's so confusing about which camera to buy. Thanks
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Kay Ann, Scott uses a 60D Cannon camera.
christina says
This salad is a big hit in my house. My 13 and 7 year old have requested this 4 times in the last 2 weeks. For lunch we eat as is and for dinner they eat it with
shredded chicken (not me I don't eat meat). Also good as a snack, very easy to make. This will be on our menu at least 1 a week.
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. I'm so happy you have enjoyed this as much as we do 🙂
jessica says
goodness is this salad super yummy! i found yer recipe through pinterest and made it yesterday w some adjustments due to allergies and it was a super hit! going to make it again for a large family dinner. thank you fo rsharing!
Connie S says
I'm so glad I found your site. So many yummy dishes! I am planning to make this for my mother-in-laws birthday party. I was wondering if it would be better to make it that morning before heading out or if the night before would work. I have never had jicama before but i imagine it probably turns brown after cut? I want the salad to look as pretty as your picture when I serve it!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Connie,
Thanks for your kind words.
For the salad, it might be best to chop everything the night before and make the dressing but keep it separate until just before you leave for the party. The jicama doesn't turn brown super quickly like some fruits and veggies, it's really quite stable. Keep a little bit of chopped cilantro separate until just before serving and then sprinkle it over the top and your salad should look just beautiful!
Connie S says
Thanks for your help. I chopped everything like you said the night before but kept the lettuce, corn and beans separate. The next morning I mixed it all together about an hour before we ate. It was wonderful and looked pretty. Everyone loved it.
Sarah says
Tried this recipe... ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! And so refreshing for summer!!!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks Sarah!
Lauryn says
I made this for a group of 17 friends at dinner tonight. It was a HIT! Thanks for such a fresh, wonderful recipe!
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks so much Lauryn, we love that salad too!
Jenna says
looks like heaven! I especially look forward to trying the simple dressing, sounds wonderful~
Donna says
I made this for my husband and I and am going to do,it again soon. I want to make enough to share with my. Mother and kids too and looking forward to taking it next time were invited to a BBQ. Do you have any idea how many calories? I guess just the corn and beans would have calories, I don't think the dressing is too high cal. Thanks of posting this!
Chris Scheuer says
Hi Donna,
I know it's not very high in calories but I don't have a program that figures out the exact calories. I think you're right, it would just be the corn, beans and also the honey that would have much calories.
mom taxi julie says
I made this last night and it was so good! Better than my "entree" 🙂
Chris Scheuer says
Thanks Julie, we love that one too.
Kathy says
Love this! Beautiful and healthy.
Plan on getting lots of "oohs and ahhs" when I take it to a July 4th gathering later today.
(Would love to see expecting number of servings on the recipe.)