Southwest Chopped Salad

Fresh and colorful, this salad is packed with flavor. Adding shrimp or chicken takes this side dish salad to a delicious entrée in a snap.

Apr 06, 2022

It’s all about vegetables today. Nearly half a dozen are featured in today’s chopped salad – romaine lettuce, tomatoes, corn, green pepper, and red onion. These veggies were chosen because of the Southwest theme, but use whichever ones you enjoy and have on hand.

I definitely wanted bell pepper in this recipe as I had a green pepper in my refrigerator crisper. Bell peppers are typically referred to as sweet peppers because they lack the spiciness of hot peppers like jalapenos or serranos.

Yellow, orange, and red bell peppers are essentially green peppers that have been left on the vine to ripen. The ripening process makes yellow, orange, and red peppers sweeter. Once picked, bell peppers will not change color or get sweeter.

If you want to up your vitamin C intake, add any color of bell pepper to your diet. Vitamin C helps the body make collagen, which is needed to keep bone, muscle, and other tissues in place. Collagen is also essential for healthy-looking skin. Additionally, vitamin C supports a healthy immune system.

When selecting bell peppers for today’s salad, choose firm, richly colored peppers with a shiny skin. They should feel heavy for their size and be free of cracks and soft spots. Store peppers in a plastic bag in the refrigerator and use within a week.

To your health,

Darlene

SOUTHWEST CHOPPED SALAD

Yield: 8 servings

Serving Size: about 1 cup

Prep: 10 minutes

Ready: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Dressing

1/3 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Salad

6 cups chopped Romaine lettuce
3/4 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup halved grape tomatoes
3/4 cup frozen corn, thawed
3/4 cup julienned green pepper
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion

DIRECTIONS

To prepare dressing, whisk together sour cream, mayonnaise, lime juice, vinegar, sugar, chili powder, cumin, salt, and black pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Place lettuce in a large serving bowl and top with black beans, tomatoes, corn, green pepper, and onion.
Pour dressing over vegetables, toss to coat, and serve.

Nutrition Information per Serving

112 Calories, 6 g Total fat, 1 g Saturated fat, 0 g Trans fat, 7 mg Cholesterol, 147 mg Sodium, 13 g Total carbohydrate, 3 g Dietary fiber, 4 g Total sugars, 1 g Added sugars, 3 g Protein, 0 mcg (0%) Vitamin D, 55 mg (4%) Calcium, 1 mg (6%) Iron, 169 mg (4%) Potassium