Southwestern Chopped Salad with Cilantro Dressing
(adapted from thegardengrazer.com)
I’m fairly certain I just searched for “cilantro corn black bean salad” and found “Southwestern Chopped Salad with Cilantro Dressing” by the GardenGrazer. She’s incredibly clever, and it is fun to read her comments on making the salad. All credit goes to her! Unfortunately, the salad typically disappears so quickly that I don’t have time to capture a picture…and she doesn’t allow people to borrow hers…
I’ve added a few notes which helped me, but you can ignore them (especially the first time making it).
Southwestern Chopped Salad with Cilantro Dressing
Prep time: 20 minutes (depending on how fast you chop)
Ingredients
- romaine lettuce – one head
- 1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can sweet corn
- 1 orange bell pepper (I also tossed in some red and yellow)
- 16 oz cherry tomatoes (any tomatoes work, grape…roma…etc.)
- 1 avocado
- 5 green onions
- 1/2 of a cucumber, skin or no skin…your choice!
- Creamy Cilantro-Lime Dressing (see below)
Directions
- Chop romaine and dice bell pepper, green onions and tomatoes. Size does not matter. It is just about how much you can fit on a fork and into your mouth.
- Mix all chopped ingredients in a large bowl.
- Add dressing and toss to coat!
Creamy Cilantro-Lime Dressing
Prep time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 handful cilantro with stems removed (Uh…I just added a lot. I never measured)
- 1/2 avocado
- 3-4 garlic cloves (In fact, once I used 4-5. That was only slightly too much. I didn’t complain.)
- 1 whole lime – juice
- 1 1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar – I’ve also used white vinegar. Slightly different taste, liked both.)
- 1/4 cup olive oil – I used a bit less.
- 1/8 tsp. salt
Directions
- Add all ingredients into a food processor and puree! I pureed until the cilantro was fairly small bits.
- Taste and edit with whatever ingredient you are lacking. I kept adding cilantro, vinegar and garlic.
I’ve made batches of 3 at a time. It keeps for a few days, and I try to eat it for every meal during that time. Good luck and enjoy!