Mexican Salad

This light and healthy Mexican Salad features crisp romaine lettuce and cold, refreshing toppings all coated with a homemade honey lime vinaigrette with fresh cilantro. This salad can be served as a side dish for all your favorite Mexican and Tex-Mex meals or as a main dish.

 

This light and healthy Mexican Salad features crisp romaine lettuce and cold, refreshing toppings, all coated with a homemade lime vinaigrette sweetened with honey. This salad can be served as a side dish for all your favorite Mexican and Tex-Mex meals or as a main dish.

While I love a classic Taco Salad, sometimes I want a more veggie heavy salad. This salad contains various refreshing, crisp, and cold ingredients. The combination of radishes, cucumbers, and jicama gives a naturally sweet, refreshing flavoring.

Then the honey lime vinaigrette is a complementary, tangy dressing featuring freshly squeezed lime juice, cilantro, and sweet honey. Not to mention the colors in the salad alone; the green, white, and red reinforce the meal’s theme.

Mexican Salad Ingredients & Substitutions

• Romaine: There are many great options for salad greens, such as spring mix, iceberg, and baby spinach. Choose your favorite!
• Vegetables: This salad features radishes, cucumbers, avocado, jicama, and tomato. Customize this Mexican salad with your favorite vegetables and leave out any you don’t like.
• Cotija Cheese: Substitute with Queso Fresco if needed or another cheese of your choice.
• Pepitas: You can use pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, or sunflower seeds. Of course, you can omit the nuts/seeds entirely if needed.
• Honey Lime Vinaigrette: Combine extra virgin olive oil, white wine vinegar, garlic, fresh cilantro, lime juice, Mexican oregano, honey, and salt and pepper. If you don’t feel like making your own dressing, you can always use your preferred store-bought option. 

How to Make a Mexican Salad

Make the Honey Lime Vinaigrette

Prepare the dressing by whisking the ingredients together in a small bowl, cup, or jar. You can leave it at room temperature or store it in a glass jar with a lid in the refrigerator if you make it ahead of time.

Assemble The Salad

After making the dressing, it is time to prepare the salad. Combine lettuce, radishes, jicama, tomato, and avocado in a large bowl.

Then, top the salad with pepitas and crumbled cotija cheese.

Dress The Salad

You can serve this Mexican salad in two ways:

1. One option is to prepare the salad with all the ingredients and serve it already dressed.
2. Second, you can assemble the salad, serve portions, and dress them individually. If you have leftovers, storing an undressed salad in the refrigerator can help it last longer.

Serving Suggestions

• Main Dish: this salad is hearty enough with vegetables it could stand as a main course on its own. Or you can top it with some Grilled Mexican Chicken for added protein. 
• Side Dish: serve this as a side for your favorite Tex-Mex or Mexican meals. The fresh flavors in this dish pair nicely with rich, flavorful meals like: 
  • Enchiladas
  • Tacos
  • Burritos
  • Gorditas

Storage Information

• Make Ahead: prep all the salad ingredients and the dressing ahead of time. Then, store them separately in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
• Storage: Store in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Mexican Salad FAQs

More Mexican Side Dishes

• Refried Black Beans
• Elote Corn Salad
• Cheesy Corn Fritters
• Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice

Photography by KJandCompany.co