Southwest Chicken Salad in a Jar

Although I shared this southwest chicken salad over 3 years ago, it’s still an absolute favorite recipe of mine. A few years back Abra and I were testing a bunch of different salad jar recipes and I knew I wanted to create a veggie and protein-packed salad filled with Southwest flavors. Every time I go to a Mexican restaurant, I’m always ordering some version of this salad with a side of tortilla chips and a marg and I never get bored of it.

I’ve gone in and given this flavorful salad a little upgrade with new photos, salad dressing options, and even more ways to customize because meal prep salad jars should be FUN. I’ve also included different ways to use up leftover chicken or to grill or bake the chicken for this salad.

The options are truly endless for making this salad your own, so get your mason jars ready for the meal prep you’ll come back to time and time again.

The key to making a salad in a jar

I love making and storing salads in jars because they’re such an easy, fun way to meal prep! The key to a perfect mason jar salad is to layer the ingredients in a way that they don’t get soggy. You’ll always want to put the dressing at the bottom, followed by crunchy veggies, protein, and greens at the top. Get all of my mason jar salad tips & recipes here!

For example, in this southwest chicken salad in a jar, you’ll want to keep that romaine crisp by adding it last!

Southwest chicken salad ingredients

You’re going to love all of the flavor and crunch in this southwest chicken salad. It’s filling, protein packed, and so easy to make! Here’s what you’ll need:

• For the dressing: I originally made this salad with my homemade chipotle ranch dressing, but it would be perfect with this simple greek yogurt ranch, your favorite store-bought ranch, or this spicy cilantro yogurt sauce.
• Chicken: you’ll need cooked, diced or shredded chicken breast. Notes on this below!
• Black beans: for an extra boost of protein, fiber, and Southwest flavor we’re adding canned black beans.
• Veggies: in your mason jar you’ll layer up a diced roma tomato, cucumber, corn, jalapeño, sliced avocado, and chopped romaine lettuce. Gotta love all of the crunch!

The perfect chicken for this salad

This southwest chicken salad is a great way to use up leftover chicken or even rotisserie chicken, but if you’re cooking it from scratch we recommend:

• Marinating the chicken in this delicious jalapeño cilantro marinade
• Grilling or baking it
• Then dicing it up or shredding it using one of these techniques!

Alternatively, you can make my Grilled Jalapeño Cilantro Chicken or my Sazon Grilled Chicken Thighs and use some of the chicken in your salad. So easy!

Customize your southwest chicken salad

Because this salad uses such simple ingredients, is very easy to customize to your taste preferences or what you have on hand. Here’s what I can recommend:

• To make vegetarian: simply omit the chicken and add more black beans, 1 cup of chickpeas, or 1 cup of cooked, cubed tofu. Learn how to grill tofu here!
• For a dairy free dressing: try this flavorful Cilantro Lime Dressing.
• For the veggies: feel free to mix in any veggies you have on hand! Red onion and bell pepper would be delicious here, and I love adding pickled jalapeños in place of the fresh ones.
• Delicious garnishes: once you serve your salad, feel free to garnish with tortilla strips, shredded cheese, and fresh cilantro to make this chicken salad even more like a taco bowl!

How to make this southwest chicken salad in a jar

1. Make the dressing. Start by making one of the dressing options, or choosing your fav store-bought dressing.
2. Chop your veggies. Dice, chop and slice all of the vegetables as directed so that they’re bite-sized.
3. Layer the mason jar. Add all of the ingredients to your mason jar in the following order: dressing, tomato, cucumber, corn, black beans, jalapeño, chicken breast, avocado, and romaine. Feel free to add a squeeze of lime juice to the avocado to keep it extra fresh.
4. Store, then serve. Store your mason jar salad in the fridge until you’re ready to eat it, then enjoy!

Storing & serving tips

Store the southwest chicken salad in a 16 ounce mason jar or meal prep container for up to 2-3 days. Because it’s tricky to create the layers in a meal prep container, I recommend storing the dressing separately and adding it right before serving. Simply pour the salad out from the jar into a bowl or onto a plate to enjoy it, or mix it up right in your meal prep container.

More meal prep salad recipes we love

• Balsamic Chicken Berry Salad in a Jar
• Thai-Inspired Chicken Quinoa Salad in a Jar
• Greek Chicken Salad in a Jar
• Peach Brussels Sprouts Crunch Salad with Creamy Tahini Poppy Seed Dressing
• Spicy Ranch Chopped Chicken Cabbage Salad

Get all of my mason jar salad recipes here, and the rest of my salad recipes here!

I hope you love this southwest chicken salad in a jar! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!

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Southwest Chicken Salad in a Jar

5 from 6 votes

byby :Monique Volz of AmbitiousKitchen.com

Leave A Review Print Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

ServesServes 1 serving

Delicious southwest chicken salad packed with fresh, crunchy veggies and black beans for an extra boost of protein. Store this southwest chicken salad in a jar with your choice of easy, homemade salad dressings like chipotle ranch and spicy cilantro yogurt! The perfect meal prep salad for busy weekdays.

Ingredients

• For the dressing, 2 tablespoons of any of the following*:
• Greek yogurt ranch dressing
• Chipotle ranch dressing
• Spicy cilantro yogurt sauce
• For the salad:
• 1 roma tomato, diced
• 1/4 cup diced cucumber
• 1/4 cup corn
• 1/2 cup black beans
• 1/2 jalapeno, sliced (or you ucan do pickled jalapenos)
• 1 cup diced or shredded grilled or baked chicken breast** (see notes for the perfect marinade)
• 1/4 avocado, sliced
• 1-2 cups chopped romaine

Instructions

• Make the mason jar salad by adding the ingredients to a 16-ounce mason jar (or equivalent) in the following order: dressing, tomato, cucumber, corn, black beans, jalapeño, chicken breast, avocado, romaine. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days until you're ready to eat. When ready to eat, simply pour ingredients into a bowl or onto a plate and enjoy! Feel free to double the recipe to make 2 mason jar salads.

Recipe Notes

To make vegetarian: sub 1 cup chickpeas or 1 cup cubed, cooked tofu.

*Feel free to also use a store-bought ranch if you’d like.

**We recommend marinating your chicken before baking or grilling in my fabulous jalapeno cilantro marinade.

Learn how to grill chicken here, how to bake it here, and see the full post for tons of different ways to customize this salad!

Nutrition

Serving: 1mason jar salad (with homemade ranch dressing)Calories: 371calCarbohydrates: 30.9gProtein: 42.4gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1.8gFiber: 9.7gSugar: 6.7g

This post was originally published on April 23, 2018, and updated & republished on August 10, 2022.