Southwestern Salad with an Avocado Cilantro Lime Dressing
I wanted to make a nice Southwestern flavored salad with an avocado dressing. I found a recipe online for the dressing at Sumptuous Spoonfuls that looked wonderful. I adapted the recipe to suit my family and it turned out terrific. I liked the combination of ingredients on the salad and the dressing was a big hit! We all LOVED it and even enjoyed dipping the Buttermilk Southwestern Grilled Chicken in it. This chicken also paired nicely with Mexican Rice.
How to Make a Southwestern Salad with an Avocado Cilantro Lime Dressing
Combine the minced garlic, lime juice, cilantro, avocado, sugar, cumin, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, to taste, cayenne pepper, to taste, olive oil, Greek yogurt, and milk together in a bowl. Mix it well using an immersion blender; set aside for at least 15 minutes for the flavors to mingle.
Combine the romaine lettuce, bell pepper, tomatoes, green onions, diced avocado, pinto beans, tortilla strips, and cotija cheese together in a serving bowl. Drizzle with the avocado dressing, to taste then toss to coat evenly. Serve immediately. Enjoy.
Ingredients
Salad Dressing:
- 1 clove garlic minced
- Juice from 1 lime
- ¼ cup of fresh cilantro leaves
- ½ of a ripe avocado
- ½ tsp sugar
- ⅛ tsp cumin
- Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
- Dash of cayenne pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp milk
Salad:
- Romaine lettuce
- 3 tbsp yellow bell pepper diced
- Grape tomatoes halved
- Green onions diced
- ½ avocado diced
- ¼ cup pinto beans drained & rinsed
- Crispy tortilla strips
- Cotija cheese crumbled
Instructions
- Combine the minced garlic, lime juice, cilantro, avocado, sugar, cumin, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, to taste, cayenne pepper, to taste, olive oil, Greek yogurt, and milk together in a bowl. Mix it well using an immersion blender; set aside for at least 15 minutes for the flavors to mingle.
- Combine the romaine lettuce, bell pepper, tomatoes, green onions, diced avocado, pinto beans, tortilla strips, and cotija cheese together in a serving bowl. Drizzle with the avocado dressing, to taste then toss to coat evenly. Serve immediately. Enjoy.
A wonderful salad, Pam. The avocado cilantro dressing sounds amazing.
This is an amazing salad!I love the dressing!Avocado is mouthwatering!
I’ve been on a huge avocado kick lately… this dressing sounds delicious and will be making it tonight for sure since salad is on the menu tonight!!
It’s at times like this I really wish avocados didn’t bother my stomach so! Love that green dressing!
I had a lot of guacamole recently and got into experimenting with avocados, this comes really handy to me. Thank you very much, Pam!
I just love cilantro and Lime.
i’ve made it clear that i’m not a lover of dressing, but this one is special!
I love everything about this salad, Pam, Everything! Marion requested a salad for Super Bowl Sunday and I made a quick Panzanella. If only I had known. I would have loved the taste of these southwestern flavors soooooo much more.
I just added your link to my side bar so it doesn’t happen again, now I’m off to Pin it! Can you tell I want this salad, Now!!!
Thanks for sharing, Pam…
This looks like a very refeshing salad and I like that it is different from the norm.
What a refreshing and delicious combination Pam!
Cheers,
Lia.
This looks like a great salad. The salad dressing sound yummy. I love the avocado and lime in the dressing.
this salad looks so refreshing!
That is one gorgeous salad, Pam! I love everything about it!
It’s been sooo long since I’ve had this type of salad! I love the nacho strips but they definitely don’t sell them over here. Perhaps I’ll have to make them to go with a salad like this.