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This Southwest Bean Salad is packed with flavor and lots of heart-healthy foods sure to satisfy every appetite. Spinach + Romain Lettuce + Avocado + Beans + Bell Peppers + Tomatoes + Chicken = lots of vitamins and fiber and good things that keep your body running strong.
When summer arrives in Kansas, I turn to quick and easy meals that are light and often cool. I’ve mentioned before that my husband is a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy, but even he enjoys this hearty Southwest Bean Salad in the summertime. Just be sure to put plenty of meat on the salad. Oh, and Ranch Dressing. He always puts ranch dressing on his salads, no matter what.
This salad is so easy to put together. Quickly sear chicken pieces in a skillet, or if you happen to have some rotisserie chicken in the fridge, just use that. Warm the chicken and beans in the microwave to prevent even more heat used in the kitchen.
Ingredients for Southwest Bean Salad
(See the full recipe at the bottom of this post.)
Instructions on Making this Salad
Gather the ingredients so that you have everything close at hand on the counter or table.
Cook the Chicken and Beans
Drain the garbanzo and black beans in a colander.
Using a knife and cutting board, slice chicken tenders into 1-2 inch chunks.
Heat a large skillet with 2-3 tablespoons olive oil. Cook chicken for 7-10 minutes until cooked through. Add beans and cook for 3-5 more minutes.
If you prefer, you may serve the cooked chicken and beans cold.
Time Saver Option: Slice refrigerated leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken into bite-size pieces. Place in a glass bowl. Add beans to the chicken and stir to combine. Microwave on high for 3-5 minutes until the chicken is warm.
Prepare the Vegetables
With a second cutting board and clean chef’s knife, chop the sweet peppers and bell pepper. Dice the Roma tomatoes.
Peel and slice the avocado.
A quick way to prepare an avocado is to slice it in half diagonally. At this point, the avocado should split in half. Starting at the smaller end, begin peeling the thick skin until it is removed. Do the same with the second half. To remove the seed, simply insert the end of the knife along one edge and pop it out. From here you may slice the avocado with a paring knife on a cutting board, as desired.
Grate the cheddar cheese with a box grater. Rinse and pat dry the Romain lettuce.
Arrange The Salad
In a large serving bowl, tear the Romaine lettuce into bite-size pieces. Add baby spinach to the bowl and toss to mix.
If you don’t have Romaine lettuce, you may use Iceberg lettuce, a spring mix, or all spinach.
Add to this the chopped sweet and bell peppers, diced tomatoes, and sliced avocado.
Spoon the chicken and bean mixture over top and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
Toss the salad with your favorite salad dressing. (I used creamy Italian.)
Then sprinkle the salad with your favorite croutons. Or even better, make your own. See my recipe for Homemade Sourdough Croutons Here.
This recipe serves 4-6 people.
Besides croutons, I also like serving a dinner salad like this with flatbread. There is something very satisfying about eating flatbread with a salad, and say, maybe a glass of white wine or Pinot Noir. See these Flatbread Recipes for More Ideas!
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Southwest Bean Salad
(As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.)
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken tenders (sliced 1/2″ thick)
- 8 oz. garbanzo beans (drained)
- 8 oz. black beans (rinsed and drained)
- 6 whole mini sweet peppers (chopped)
- 1/2 cup green peppers (chopped)
- 2 whole Roma tomatoes (diced)
- 2 whole avocados (sliced)
- 2 heads Romaine Lettuce (rinsed and drained)
- 10 oz Baby Spinach
- 3/4 cup cheddar cheese (grated)
- 1 1/2 cups Croutons (Make Your Own)
- 1 cup Creamy Italian dressing
Instructions
- Gather the ingredients so that you have everything close at hand on the counter or table.
Cook the Chicken and Beans
- Drain the garbanzo and black beans in a colander.
- Using a knife and cutting board, slice chicken tenders into 1-2 inch chunks.
- Heat a large skillet with 2-3 tablespoons olive oil. Cook chicken for 7-10 minutes until cooked through. Add beans and cook for 3-5 more minutes.
- Time Saver Option: Slice refrigerated leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken into bite-size pieces. Place in a glass bowl. Add beans to the chicken and stir to combine. Microwave on high for 3-5 minutes until the chicken is warm.
Prepare the Vegetables
- With a second cutting board and clean chef’s knife, chop the sweet peppers and bell pepper.
- Dice the Roma tomatoes. Peel and slice the avocado.
- Grate the cheddar cheese with a box grater.
- Rinse and pat dry the Romain lettuce.
Arrange the Salad
- In a large serving bowl, tear the Romaine lettuce into bite-size pieces. Add baby spinach to the bowl and toss to mix.
- Add to this the chopped sweet and bell peppers, diced tomatoes, and sliced avocado.
- Spoon the chicken and bean mixture over top and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
- Toss the salad with your favorite salad dressing. (I used creamy Italian.)Then sprinkle the salad with your favorite croutons. Or even better, make your own. See my recipe for Homemade Sourdough Croutons Here.Serve with your favorite snack crackers, crunch breadsticks, or flatbread. This recipe serves 4-6 people.
