Mexican Style Salad {with Zesty Lime Dressing}

This Mexican Salad is everything we all want in a summer side dish – fresh, colourful, full of texture, flavour and not too much chopping. Not a soggy lettuce leaf in sight!

I don’t know about you, but for me, in the past, side salads have been a bit of an afterthought. Hi LIMP LETTUCE. 🤦🏼‍♀️

I have made it my mission to change that and remind myself that with a bit more imagination (but no more effort, thankfully), we can indeed serve a big bowl of deliciousness up for a vegetarian family meal or as part of a bigger meal when entertaining guests (I’m thinking fajita night or a barbecue for starters).

For this easy salad recipe, we’re simply chopping the fresh peppers and red onion, adding tins of sweetcorn and black beans, plus a tub of salsa, then jalapeños to your own taste into a big bowl.

Then mix together your dressing and pour over the salad just before serving. Crumble the feta and tortilla chips over the top. Done!

You can also make this in advance for when friends are over. Always a win.

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Why you’ll love this Mexican Salad recipe

⭐️ Packed with fresh flavour

⭐️ Budget-friendly and simple

⭐️ Impressive and colourful!

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How we came up with this recipe

This is my take on a salad, using some ingredients found in Mexican or Tex Mex cuisines. 

I’ve used feta cheese here as it’s the closest I think I can get to ‘white cheese’ used in Mexican dishes.

Did you know that if any kind of yellow cheese is used in a recipe it points to a Tex Mex cuisine rather than Mexican? You can read more about the differences here in an article on Spoon University which is super informative.

All that said, this recipe is also similar in style to the Cowboy Caviar (recently doing the rounds on TikTok), which is Tex Mex cuisine. 

Cowboy Caviar (or Texas Caviar) originates from the 1940s when a New York chef, Helen Corbitt, visited Texas and made it as a tongue-in-cheek nod to real caviar!

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Mexican Salad Ingredients Notes

• Dressing – This is made up with natural yoghurt, honey, salt and lime juice. The recipe has 2 limes but if it’s looking runny enough with less, just use 1 
• Mint – You can use coriander if you prefer (which would be more authentic) but I think it’s the food of the devil, sorry
• Salsa – We’re using the fresh kind, from the fridge section, rather than long-life jars
• Black beans – Be sure to drain and rinse these before adding 
• Jalapeños – The quantity for these are to your own taste

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How to make a Mexican SAlad bowl

1. Chop everything and add to the bowl.
2. Make the dressing but leave in a separate small bowl or jug. Add just before serving and mix well.
3. Sprinkle tortilla chips, feta and mint on top.

Top tip

Spice level

The addition of the jalapeños gives it a bit of heat, but you can choose the kick to your liking by adjusting how much you put in. 

If you think your kids won’t like any heat, just omit or add a very small amount. Similarly, load it up if you love the tingle!

FAQs