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–+ servings
Santa Fe salad

Santa Fe Salad

Arielle Hess
For a zesty and zippy brunch-time dish, try throwing together this Santa Fe salad. Bursting with bright colors, flavors, and textures, the star of this salad is the surprisingly simple, fiery vinaigrette. Serve this with a few margaritas or lime-forward smoothies for a little extra flair.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Course Breakfast
Servings 2
Calories 653 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 4 cups of spinach or other leafy green
  • 1/2 cup frozen corn
  • 1 cup of black beans
  • 4 oz sharp cheddar cheese
  • ½ of one large avocado
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream
  • ½ jalapeno pepper
  • ½ of one medium red bell pepper
  • 1/4 of one red onion
  • 2-3 sprigs of cilantro
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 12-14 grape tomatoes
  • ½ teaspoon of kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon of ground pepper
  • 16-20 blue corn tortilla chips (for serving)

Instructions
 

  • Wash and dry your spinach and/or lettuce, and cilantro.
  • Strain and rinse 1 15-oz can of black beans. Reserve 1 cup of beans and refrigerate the rest.
  • Remove the frozen corn from the fridge and allow it to thaw.
  • Dice ½ a jalapeno, ¼ of red onion, and ½ of one medium red bell pepper.
  • Slice 12-14 grape tomatoes in half.
  • Cube 4 oz of sharp cheddar cheese
  • Slice and dice 1/2 of one avocado.
  • Place ⅓ cup of extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, ½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper, 2 teaspoons cumin, and 1 teaspoon sweet paprika into a blender.
  • Blend until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
  • On two separate plates, place 2 cups of spinach or lettuce.
  • Add half of the prepared toppings to each plate. These are black beans, corn, red pepper, jalapeno, cheddar cheese, grape tomatoes, red onion, and avocado.
  • Garnish each plate with 1 tablespoon of sour cream, a cilantro leaf, and 8-10 tortilla chips.
  • Pour 2-3 tablespoons of dressing over top of the salad and season with salt and pepper, to taste.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

The most important part of this dish is the dressing - so don’t skip it! You should also taste the dressing as you make it and adjust the levels of acid (lime juice), oil, and heat (spices) to your liking.
Feel free to adapt the recipe. You can sub or omit ingredients you don’t like. Don’t like cilantro? Skip it! Jalapenos too hot? Forget them! You also don’t need blue corn chips. Use any kind of tortilla chips you like to have on hand for guacamole.
If you toss the salad, wait to add the sour cream until after you’ve plated the salad, or you could add a dollop of sour cream to the vinaigrette before you blend it for a creamy twist.
You can prepare the salad up to one day in advance. Just be sure to cover it with plastic wrap in the fridge. Do not dress the salad until you are ready to serve. The salad dressing can be made several days in advance and stored in the fridge. You will need to re-emulsify it before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 653kcalCarbohydrates: 63.07gProtein: 15.57gFat: 41.5gSaturated Fat: 8.159gFiber: 12.3gSugar: 16.23g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!