Southwestern Chicken and Cornbread Salad
I have an outstanding Tex-Mex salad recipe for you today. Southwestern Chicken and Cornbread Salad is a layered salad with lots of veggies, along with cornbread and Spicy Ranch Dressing. This particular salad does not include lettuce, but there is still plenty of protein and other goodies to make it lip-smacking good!
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Last August, our community group got together after being off most of the summer. The hostess wanted everyone to bring salads since we were in the dog-days of a Texas summer. I wanted to bring a couple of new salads, so I tried this salad along with a Watermelon Feta Salad. Everyone loved both salads. I had a couple of servings of each!
I made the cornbread by following the directions from a Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix. I actually baked the muffins the day before so they could be dry for making the salad. The chicken was leftover from grilling chicken earlier that week. Basically, you put all the veggies in between two layers of cornbread and Spicy Ranch Dressing. Mouthwatering doesn’t do justice to how wonderful this salad turned out.
Southwestern Chicken and Cornbread Salad is great to make for family dinners or company whether for lunch or dinner. Serve it with grilled meat if you desire, but it’s perfect as a main dish meal during hot, summer days. If you have a potluck coming up, bring this salad! Everyone will be scooping up large portions, and you’ll go home with an empty bowl. 🙂
Southwestern Chicken and Cornbread Salad is filled with delightful Tex-Mex flavor!
This festive and elegant salad is marvelous for company dinners.
It’s really pretty prepared in trifle dishes, or parfait cups.
This salad has a lot of protein since it includes chicken, beans, and cheddar cheese.
Here’s what I did.
I used these ingredients for the cornbread.
Pour Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix into a small mixing bowl. Add egg and milk.
Whisk ingredients to combine.
Spoon mixture into a greased six-tin muffin pan or dish.
Bake muffins at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
After the corn muffins cool, remove from muffin pan and set out on counter to dry. I did this the night before.
Crumble the muffins into crumbs and set aside.
I used these ingredients to make the salad.
Place half of the cornbread crumbs into a salad bowl or dish.
Add olives.
Add pinto beans.
Add corn.
Add one-half cup of Spicy Ranch Dressing.
Add bell peppers (use assorted colors).
Add shredded chicken.
Add diced red onion.
Add diced tomatoes.
Add remaining cornbread crumbs.
Add the remaining amount of Spicy Ranch Dressing (1/2 cup).
Add shredded Cheddar Cheese.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
I garnished the salad with sliced tomatoes.
Southwestern Chicken and Cornbread Salad was delicious even a day or two later!
The Spicy Ranch Dressing makes this salad irresistible. It’s so much better than plain Ranch Dressing.
Every bite was incredibly delicious.
Southwestern Chicken and Cornbread Salad is a keeper! Everyone loved the tastes and textures of this marvelous salad.
Here’s the recipe.
SOUTHWESTERN CHICKEN AND CORNBREAD SALAD
(Recipe adapted from CooksRecipes.com; recipe source: Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing/The Chlorox Corporation)
Southwestern Chicken and Cornbread Salad
Equipment
- 1 6-tin muffin pan
- 1 medium mixing bowl
- 1 whisk
- 1 trifle dish or glass bowl or parfait dishes
- 1 sharp knife to cut vegetables
- measuring cups
Ingredients
CORNBREAD MUFFINS:
- 8.5 oz. box Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
- 1/2 cup half-and-half or milk
- 1 large egg
SALAD:
- 1 cup Hidden Valley Spicy Ranch Dressing divided use
- cornbread muffins very dry, coarsely crumbled (the Jiffy package makes 6 muffins)
- 2 1/4 oz. can ripe olives sliced and drained
- 16 oz. can pinto beans rinsed and drained
- 11 oz. can whole kernel corn drained
- 1 cup bell pepper diced (assorted colors)
- 2 cups cooked chicken shredded
- 1/2 cup red onion diced
- 1 cup tomatoes seeded and diced (about 2 medium tomatoes)
- 1/2 cup sharp Cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
CORNBREAD MUFFINS:
- Whisk ingredients in a small bowl.
- Pour mixture into six greased regular-size muffin tins, filling each about 2/3 full.
- Bake at 400º for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Allow muffins to cool completely before removing from muffin pan.
- Use in recipe as directed below.
SALAD:
- In a large clear salad bowl or trifle dish, layer half of the cornbread.
- Top with olives, then pinto beans, then corn.
- Spread with 1/2 cup of the Spicy Ranch salad dressing.
- Sprinkle with diced assorted bell peppers.
- Spread shredded chicken over top.
- Top with diced red onion and then seeded tomatoes.
- Sprinkle remaining cornbread over all.
- Top with remaining 1/2 cup Spicy Ranch Dressing.
- Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese.
- Cover and refrigerate several hours.
- If desired, garnish with additional tomatoes and/or green onions on top.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing.
© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen
Nutrition
The presentation on this Tex-Mex Salad is festive and beautiful.
If you enjoy Tex-Mex flavors, you’ll love this salad–especially in the summer when it can serve as a main dish entree.
Cornbread crumbs, shredded chicken, cheddar cheese, veggies and a Spicy Ranch Dressing come together in a fantastic Southwestern Chicken and Cornbread Salad.
I loved this stuff!
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Southwestern Chopped Salad with Cilantro Dressing
Steak Fajita Salad with Avocado Cilantro Dressing
