Tex-Mex Salad with Creamy Oregano Dressing

Corn + Radishes + Avocado + Cheese = Totally Counts as a Salad

There’s a place in our hearts for every kind of salad. From refreshing and delicate, to hearty dinner salads, to fancy composed salads, we love ‘em all. This chopped Tex-Mex salad probably falls into the category of hearty chopped salad. Loaded with goodies that you might find in a taco—creamy avocado, spicy, crisp radishes, Jack cheese—it’s one of the healthiest ways to enjoy Tex-Mex flavors that we know of. Fresh sweet corn, boiled and cut off the cob right before being added to the salad, is what really makes this salad recipe stand out. But, if you’re in a pinch or happen to have canned corn on-hand, it’s OK to sub it in for fresh corn.

Everything You’ll Need To Make this Tex-Mex Salad

When else in your life do you get to buy a bag of chips and say that it’s for a salad you’re making? And, for that matter, what’s not to love about a list of salad ingredients that includes CHIPS? This salad rocks for so many reasons. Plus, it does have tons of lettuce in it so it truly is pretty darn healthy. It’s also a great one for bringing to parties! This salad stands up really well to hearty fare—think burgers or barbecue, roast chicken or even a slab of steak! Here’s everything you’ll need to make it:

• Sweet corn

• Romaine lettuce

• Avocado

• Cucumber

• Pickled onions

• Radishes.

• Monterey Jack cheese

• Crispy tortilla strips or crushed tortilla chips

The Best Tex-Mex Salad Dressing Recipe On The Planet

Creamy and herby with a nice little kick of heat, this dressing quite simply rules. It kills on this Tex-Mex salad, but you can honestly use it on just about any salad. It’s fresh and kind of zingy and so full of flavor that it’d be good on even just plain old iceberg lettuce. Fresh oregano is easy to find at the market, but it’s also insanely easy to grow in your garden or even as an indoor plant. It’s pretty—it flowers!—bee-friendly, and fragrant. Give it a go and you’ll probably be surprised by your own green thumb. Anyway, once you’ve got your oregano, here’s everything else you’ll need to make this delightful dressing:

• Extra-virgin olive oil

• Mayonnaise

• Jalapeño

• Fresh garlic

• Garlic powder

• Onion powder

• Lemon juice

• Parmesan cheese

How To Make A Truly Awesome Tex-Mex Chopped Salad

You can make the pickled onions and the creamy dressing ahead of time, so this is a really great salad for when you know that you’ll be short on time the day you want to serve it. You can even boil the corn and cut it off the cob a day or two ahead of time.

1. Make these quick pickled onions! You’ll want to start at least an hour before you want to serve the salad, but if you can do it a day or two ahead of time that’s even better. You can even do it up to three weeks ahead of time.

2. Whip up the oregano dressing! You could do this up to 3 days ahead of time.

3. Boil the corn cobs and (when they’re cool) cut the corn off the cob. Resist the urge to eat all the corn right away (we know, it’s hard). You could do this up to 5 days ahead of time.

4. Slice and dice! Chop everything—radishes, avocado, cukes, romaine. This step is a day-of step, but it’s pretty quick!

5. Toss everything together and voila! Salad is served.

Tools You’ll Need

• Large stock pot

• Sharp knife

• Big mixing bowl

• Blender

More Hearty Salad Recipes To Try

• Taco Salad

• Mexican Street Corn Salad with Chipotle Crema

• Italian Chopped Salad

• Asian Chopped Salad

Salad For Dinner Can Be A Beautiful Thing

Yeah, this salad is totally filling enough to make a light dinner or definitely a hearty lunch. If you want to round it out with a little extra protein, add some chicken or black beans. We hope you’re as into it as we are—particularly this super yummy oregano dressing!—and if you are, snap a photo and share it so we can see your handiwork! Tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper so that we can see your stuff! Happy eating!