Tex Mex Layered Salad is a nice version of a layered salad that includes all kinds of delicious goodies. It’s very much like a taco salad with a creamy, southwestern style dressing.
Whether it’s the beginning of a new year or the approaching summer season, it’s time to start thinking about “salad.” I’m sure there quite a few people out there who agree. Salad for dinner is a good idea if you want to try and lighten things up!
There’s no meat in this salad (but you can add a layer of seasoned taco meat if you’d like), and it’s easily gluten-free adaptable.
Ingredients needed:
- canned Rotel tomatoes with green chiles
- sour cream
- cream cheese
- ground cumin
- garlic cloves
- Romaine lettuce
- canned black beans
- canned corn
- avocados
- roasted red pepper strips
- shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- canned sliced olives
- green onions
How to make Tex Mex Salad:
*The complete, printable recipe is in the recipe card at the end of this post.
PREPARE THE DRESSING:
Place dressing ingredients in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to combine until smooth. Set aside while you prepare the salad. NOTE: Please note that the video for this recipe shows adding mayonnaise to the dressing. That’s an error- it’s cream cheese!
PREPARE THE SALAD:
Layer the salad ingredients in a large glass bowl in the following order: 4 cups of lettuce, black beans, corn and avocado.
Then add the red peppers, 2 more cups of lettuce, cheese, and olives.
Spread the dressing on top.
Then use a few sprinkles of chopped lettuce, cheese, olives and green onions to garnish the top. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours, or serve immediately.
The best part is… if you don’t like a layer, leave it out or replace it with something you like better! The dressing mixes into the salad as it’s served. This salad is a nice choice to bring for all of those barbecue potlucks you’re invited to. And because you’re eating salad, now you can feel like you’re eating more healthy!
If you’re looking for more great salad recipes to try, you might enjoy some of these:
Tex Mex Layered Salad
Ingredients
DRESSING:
- One 10-ounce can original Rotel tomatoes with green chiles
- 8 ounces sour cream
- 3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 medium garlic clove, minced
SALAD:
- 6 cups chopped Romaine lettuce
- One 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
- One 15-ounce can corn, rinsed and drained
- 2 medium avocados, peeled and sliced or diced
- ¾ cup jarred roasted red pepper strips
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- One 6-ounce can sliced olives (reserve a few for garnish)
- ¼ cup sliced green onions
- additional chopped lettuce, shredded cheese and olives for garnish
Instructions
PREPARE THE DRESSING:
- Place dressing ingredients in a large bowl and use an electric mixer to combine until smooth. Set aside while you prepare the salad.NOTE: Please note that the video for this recipe shows adding mayonnaise to the dressing. That's an error- it's cream cheese!
PREPARE THE SALAD:
- Layer the salad ingredients in a large glass bowl in the following order: 4 cups of lettuce, black beans, corn, avocado, red peppers, 2 more cups of lettuce, cheese, and olives. Spread the dressing on top. Then use a few sprinkles of chopped lettuce, cheese, olives and green onions to garnish the top. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours, or serve immediately.
Notes
- If you are preparing this recipe as gluten-free, just be sure to use a brand of black beans that is known to be GF.
- This salad is vegetarian as written, but you can easily add a layer of taco-seasoned chicken or ground beef to the salad.
- Use light versions of sour cream, cream cheese and shredded cheese if you’re watching your calorie intake.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I see cumin in the ingredients list, but not in the recipe. Should there be cumin in the dressing?
Yes, thank you for catching that- I’m not sure how that got left out. Recipe has beed edited.
In the video for Tex Mex salad, it shows using mayonnaise, but in the recipe it calls for cream cheese? I would like to make this salad but i need clarification, please.
Thank you.
Richard
Yikes, you are correct. Cream cheese is the correct ingredient- not mayonnaise. I’m going to have to talk to my video producer about the error. Thank you so much for pointing that out!!!