This Mexican salad is made with chopped romaine, beans, veggies, avocado, a cilantro lime dressing and crushed tortilla chips. A perfect side dish to any Mexican meal!

Close up of Mexican salad with black beans, corn and tortilla strips.

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Mexican Tortilla Salad

This Mexican salad is easy to make with flavorful taste. I love to make it for a quick lunch or dinner especially if I have fresh garden vegetables or farmer’s market produce.

I love to drizzle it with cilantro lime dressing and garnish with homemade tortilla strips. A chopped salad makes a great side to meatless Monday or Taco Tuesday and is often on dinner menu with mains like beef tacos, chicken enchiladas or chicken fajitas!

Ingredients Needed

Mexican salad ingredients on marble countertop.

See full printable recipe below.

  • Lettuce: I love to use chopped romaine for a Mexican chopped salad.
  • Tomatoes: I love using cherry tomatoes, but really any tomato will work well.
  • Corn: You can use fresh corn instead of canned if preferred. Grilled corn in the summer adds amazing flavor from the char from the grill.
  • Black beans: These make this salad more hearty with added protein and fiber.
  • Red onion: This adds crunch and flavor to this salad.
  • Avocado: These make every salad better! Guacamole would be great, too.
  • Toppings. A drizzle of cilantro lime dressing, cotija cheese, homemade tortilla chips and fresh chopped cilantro.

How to Make a Mexican Salad

Step by step showing how to make Mexican salad.
  • Slice the veggies. Wash the veggies first, then use a cutting board to chop ingredients and slice. Drain and rinse the canned corn and beans.
  • Layer. Place the lettuce in the bottom of a large bowl, then layer on the tomatoes, onions, avocado, corn kernels and black beans.
  • Extras. Top with any extras like crushed tortilla chips, cheese or cilantro.
  • Toss. Drizzle your dressing of choice on top of the salad and then toss together with salad tongs until the vegetables are well coated.

Tips and Variations

  • Dressing. You can absolutely use a store-bought Mexican salad dressing to make life easier! For a spicier option, try the chipotle dressing included in recipe card notes.
  • Wait to toss. Drizzle on the dressing right before serving, so that the lettuce stays crisp and the veggies don’t get soggy. This salad tastes best cold.
  • Use leftovers. This salad is perfect for using up any leftovers of my black bean salsa recipe.
  • Dairy free or gluten free: As is this Mexican chopped salad is gluten free. To make it dairy free, use this restaurant style salsa as the dressing and leave off cheese.

Serving Suggestions

You can enjoy this Mexican tortilla salad recipe as the main course, or serve it alongside steak fajitas, chicken burritos or these pork enchiladas. It would pair well with any of your favorite Mexican recipes!

Mexican salad in white bowl on marble countertop.

Make Ahead

This salad tastes best if served immediately after preparing, however you can prep the ingredients ahead of time if desired.

Keep everything stored separately in an airtight container in the fridge and then toss with the dressing right before serving. I don’t recommend prepping the avocado in advance, as it is likely to turn brown.

Mexican salad in white bowl on a marble countertop.

Need more salad recipes? Try this taco salad recipe with ground beef, street corn salad or my favorite 7 layer salad!

More Mexican Salad Recipes

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Mexican salad in white bowl on marble countertop.

Mexican Tortilla Salad

5 from 17 votes
Recipe by: Jamielyn Nye
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4
This Mexican salad is made with chopped romaine, beans, veggies, avocado, a cilantro lime dressing and crushed tortilla chips. A perfect side dish to any Mexican meal!
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Ingredients 

  • 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
  • 1 cup sweet corn
  • 15 ounce can black beans , rinsed and drained
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes , sliced in half
  • ¼ red onion , sliced
  • 1 ripe avocado , sliced or diced

For topping

Instructions

  • Chop ingredients. The first step will be to chop lettuce, tomatoes, onion and avocado. Drain and rinse the corn and black beans. Set aside to dry.
  • Layer salad. Add lettuce to a large bowl. Then layer the vegetables, corn and black beans on top. Add the tortilla strips and optional toppings.
  • Pour the desired dressing over the bowl of salad and toss until coated. This salad is served best cold.

Last step: Please leave a comment and rating after you make the recipe.

Notes

Meat: Feel free to add grilled chicken, grilled flank steak or taco meat on top for more protein. 
Corn: I love to use grilled corn for this recipe if I have time.
Tortilla strips: We love to use crushed restaurant style tortillas chips. You can also make your own homemade tortilla strips or tortilla chips. 
Chipotle dressing: This recipe has been updated, but here is the original chipotle dressing recipe. Combine all the ingredients in a blender until smooth.
  • 2/3 cup sour cream
  • 1 Tablespoon chipotle in adobo sauce
  • 2 Tablespoons salsa
  • 3 Tablespoons cilantro
  • 1 Tablespoon taco seasoning
  • 1 lime, juiced

Nutrition

Calories: 254kcal, Carbohydrates: 38g, Protein: 11g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Sodium: 433mg, Potassium: 1155mg, Fiber: 15g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 8945IU, Vitamin C: 41mg, Calcium: 90mg, Iron: 4mg

Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.

Mexican salad on a plate with tortilla strips.
Original photo with chipotle dressing and homemade tortilla strips.