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Salads just don’t get better than this! This copycat recipe for the Chick-Fil-A Spicy Southwest Salad is spot on, from the tender, spiced grilled chicken (marinated in pickle juice, of course!) to the creamy salsa dressing, there’s simply no reason to get in that drive-thru line anymore!
Before You Get Started
- This recipe calls for boneless, skinless chicken breasts. You can use 2 thinly-sliced chicken breasts, or 1 large chicken breast cut in half horizontally to create 2 thin cutlets.
- Don’t overcook the chicken! Aim for an internal temperature of 158°-160° Fahrenheit, then set the chicken aside to rest 5 minutes. It’ll finish cooking during that time, leaving you with perfectly-cooked, juicy chicken.
How to Make This Recipe
See recipe card below for full list of measurements, ingredients, and instructions.
Marinate the chicken
Cover the chicken breasts with pickle juice and seal the mixture in an airtight container. Pop the container in the fridge for an hour and let the pickle juice work its magic!
Cheryl’s Tip: Feel free to tackle this step the night before! Don’t marinate the chicken for more than 8 hours, though, or the protein will start to break down, leaving you with chewy meat.
mAKE THE dRESSING
Toss all of the dressing ingredients (except for the lime juice!) into a blender or a food processor and mix until smooth. Once it’s smooth, give the dressing a taste and stir in the lime juice, then taste it again. Add more lime juice and/or salt as needed until you’re happy with the flavor, then transfer it to a jar or a bowl and set it aside until you’re ready to serve it.
Cheryl’s Tip: The flavors in the dressing will deepen over time, so feel free to make it the day before! Just refrigerate it in an airtight container and consume it within 5 days.
Season the chicken
Mix up a little spicy spice blend of cayenne, paprika (smoked or sweet), garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels, then season them generously with the spice blend, covering all sides of the chicken breasts completely.
Grill the Chicken
Grill the seasoned chicken over indirect heat for 5 minutes, then flip the chicken breasts over and grill them until they reach 158°-160° Fahrenheit internally. This shouldn’t take very long since your chicken breasts should be on the thin side. Once you hit your target temperature, remove the chicken from the grill and set them aside to rest 5 minutes. After they’ve rested, slice them into thin strips or bite-sized chunks.
Assemble the Salad
Toss the mixed greens, black beans, corn, grape tomatoes, and roasted red peppers together in a large bowl, then divide the mixture evenly between two serving bowls. Top the salads with the grilled chicken and tortilla strips, then serve with plenty of creamy salsa dressing.
What I Love About This Recipe
- A perfect copycat for the southwest chicken salad at Chick-fil-A? Sign me up! Making this salad at home saves money (and doesn’t financially support CFA) and gives you way more bang for the buck you do spend. Plus making it is fast and easy!
- It’s super filling, and the grilled chicken + black beans combo packs in a ton of protein. It’s a light lunch that’ll keep you satisfied ’til dinner. Great for meal prepping!
- There’s so much incredible flavor! Tomatoes, black beans, and roasted red peppers. Chicken marinated in pickle juice (optional but encouraged) and seasoned with cayenne, paprika, garlic & onion powders, and a touch of salt and black pepper. And the dressing? Creamy mayo. Tangy sour creamy. Salsa, cilantro, chili powder, cumin, and a squeeze of lime juice. Unbelieveably delicious.
Recipe Variations
- Pickle Juice Marinade: This is totally optional, but I highly recommend it. Not only will the pickle the juice tenderize the chicken and make it extra juicy, it’ll also give the meat that Chick-fil-A flavor you’re craving! Still, if you’re not a fan of pickle juice, feel free to skip this part altogether and go straight to the spice blend.
- Stovetop Method: If you don’t have a grill, you can cook the chicken on the stove instead! Heat 1 tablespoon neutral-flavored oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil’s hot and shimmery, place the seasoned chicken breasts in the pan and sear them 3-5 minutes. Flip them over, then sear them 3 to 5 minutes more, or until they reach 160° Fahrenheit internally. At that point, transfer them to a cutting board and set them aside to rest 5 minutes.
- Air Fryer Method: We love air fryer chicken breasts! All you have to do is preheat the air fryer to 360° Fahrenheit, then spray the basket with neutral-flavored cooking spray and add the chicken breasts. Air fry the chicken breasts 10 minutes, then flip them over and cook them 5 minutes more or until they reach 160° Fahrenheit. Take them out and let them rest 5 minutes, then slice and serve.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions or variations listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Chick-fil-A Southwest Salad Recipe
Equipment
- standard blender or food processor
- jar or small bowl
- Airtight container
- grill
- small mixing bowl
- whisk
- Paper towels
- Large plate
- neutral-flavored spray oil
- internal meat thermometer
- Tongs
- Cutting board
- Sharp chef's knife
- large mixing bowl
- salad tossers
- 2 Serving bowls
Ingredients
For the Creamy Salsa Dressing
- ½ cup mayonnaise full-fat preferred
- ½ cup sour cream full-fat preferred
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon salt more or less to taste
- 1 squeeze fresh lime juice plus more to taste
For the Spicy Grilled Chicken
- 2 large thinly-sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts approximately 4 ounces each
- ½ cup dill pickle juice optional but encouraged
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt more or less to taste
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper more or less to taste
For the Southwest Salad
- 8-9 cups mixed greens spinach, red lettuce, green lettuce, arugula, baby romaine, etc.
- ¼ cup cooked black beans drained and rinsed if canned
- ¼ cup fire-roasted corn kernels drained and rinsed if canned, defrosted if frozen
- 12 grape tomatoes
- ¼ cup roasted red peppers diced
- ½ cup tortilla strips
Instructions
To Prepare the Chicken
- Place 2 large thinly-sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts in airtight container. Pour ½ cup dill pickle juice over chicken, covering chicken breasts completely.
- Secure lid on container and place in refrigerator. Marinate chicken 1 hour. Do not marinate longer than 8 hours.
For the Creamy Salsa Dressing
- Add ½ cup mayonnaise, ½ cup sour cream, ¼ cup fresh cilantro, 1 teaspoon chili powder, ½ teaspoon cumin, and ¼ teaspoon salt to blender. Blend ingredients together until fully combined into smooth mixture. Pause blender and scrape down sides as needed to thoroughly combine ingredients.
- Once mixture is smooth, taste dressing and add 1 squeeze fresh lime juice. Blend or stir mixture to incorporate lime juice, then taste dressing again. Add lime juice and/or salt as desired.
- When satisfied with flavor of dressing, transfer mixture to jar or bowl. Set aside or refrigerate until ready to use.
For the Spicy Grilled Chicken
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat, approximately 375° to 400° Fahrenheit.
- Add ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, ¼ teaspoon paprika, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper to small mixing bowl. Whisk ingredients together until well blended.
- Remove chicken from pickle juice marinade and pat chicken breasts completely dry on all sides with paper towels. Place chicken breasts on large plate.
- Season chicken breasts generously on all sides with prepared spice blend. Rub or pat spice blend into chicken to ensure coverage.
- Lightly spray grill rack with neutral-flavored spray oil, then place seasoned chicken breasts on grill rack over indirect heat. Grill chicken breasts 5 minutes.
- Flip chicken breasts over and grill 5 to 8 minutes more, or until internal temperature reaches 158° to 160° Fahrenheit.
- Once chicken reaches 158° to 160° Fahrenheit internally, carefully remove chicken from grill and place on cutting board. Set chicken aside to rest 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, slice chicken breasts into strips or bite-sized chunks.
For the Southwest Salad
- Add 8-9 cups mixed greens, ¼ cup cooked black beans, ¼ cup fire-roasted corn kernels, 12 grape tomatoes, and ¼ cup roasted red peppers to large mixing bowl. Toss ingredients together until well blended.
- Divide salad mixture evenly between 2 serving bowls.
- Top each bowl of salad with grilled chicken. Garnish salads with ½ cup tortilla strips and serve immediately with prepared salsa dressing.
- Chicken: You can also use 1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast, halved horizontally to create 2 thin cutlets.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
Did You Make This Recipe?
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