This McDonald's Southwest Salad is a delicious copycat, right down to the homemade southwest salad dressing and healthier crispy chicken!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Chicken tenders – you can also slice up some chicken cutlets or boneless skinless chicken thighs instead.
- Eggs – you can leave out the egg but the breadcrumbs might not stay on as well.
- Panko breadcrumbs – double up on the regular breadcrumbs or try using tempura, unsweetened corn flakes or crushed potato chips.
- Regular breadcrumbs – double up on the Panko or try using tempura, unsweetened corn flakes or crushed potato chips.
- Cooking spray – the cooking spray prevents the chicken from sticking to the pan. Using a non-stick pan would also work.
- Salt – to taste.
Salad fillings
- Romaine lettuce – or another leafy green of your choice like bibb lettuce or iceberg lettuce.
- Black beans – chickpeas or kidney peas would also be good in this salad.
- Corn – swap this out for another vegetable of your choice.
- Tomatoes – try using bell peppers or another veggie.
- Shredded cheddar cheese – feel free to use your favourite shredded cheese blend like Tex Mex, Monterey Jack or mozzarella.
- Tortilla strips – make your own or use a store-bought variety.
- Cilantro – leave the cilantro off altogether if you don’t like cilantro or don’t have any on hand.
Southwest salad dressing
- Sour cream – plain Greek yogurt or a dairy-free substitute would also work here.
- Lime juice – fresh lime juice is best but bottled lime juice or even lemon juice will work in a pinch.
- Paprika – chili powder will provide the same amount of kick.
- Onion powder – onion flakes would also work in this salad dressing.
- Cumin – coriander is the best substitute for cumin.
- Salt – to taste.
- Chili flakes – leave these out altogether if you don’t like a lot of spice.
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How to make this recipe
- Bread and cook the chicken.
- Make the salad dressing.
- Assemble the rest of your ingredients.
- Toss everything together.
- Serve and enjoy!
Making the crispy chicken
The original McDonald’s salad comes with either crispy or grilled chicken. The most popular version has crispy diced pieces of fried buttermilk chicken breast. Normally, breaded chicken is higher in fat and calories. However, with a mixture of breadcrumbs and panko, you can create the same crispy flavour with far fewer calories for your delicious southwest salad!
To make the crispy chicken, you want to dip the chicken in egg first – it’ll help the breadcrumbs stick to the chicken so it’ll get nice and crispy in the oven. Line your baking sheet with foil and spray it with non-stick cooking spray so the breadcrumbs don’t stick to the pan, then bake the chicken at 425° Fahrenheit for 6-7 minutes per side. That's all there is to it!
While the chicken is great for McDonald’s salads, you can also use this recipe to make easy homemade chicken tenders at home – it's one of my go-to’s. The key is to not overcook the chicken as it will cook fast when it's cut up into smaller pieces like this. You can buy chicken already cut into tenders at the grocery store, or you can cut up boneless, skinless chicken breasts yourself.
Frequently Asked Questions
A southwest salad is packed full of Tex-Mex inspired flavours like black beans, tortilla strips, corn, tomatoes and cheese.
This McDonald’s menu salad should be a healthier menu option, but the McDonald’s version contains 520 calories and 39% of your daily recommended fat intake. It does contain plenty of protein, but also more carbs than you may want to consume due to the breading on the chicken. My version has slightly less calories at just 431 calories per serving and is a lot healthier since it uses whole ingredients, less salt and homemade southwest salad dressing with fewer preservatives.
While the original McDonald’s salad is not gluten-free, this recipe can be adapted for that diet. Breadcrumbs and panko both include wheat flour, but there are gluten-free breadcrumbs on the market or you can use grilled chicken instead of breaded. Tortilla strips are usually made of corn, so you can still enjoy them in the gluten-free version of this salad, but leave them out if you're looking to go low carb. You'll also want to leave out the black beans and corn as they are higher in carbs.
The southwest salad dressing that McDonald’s uses is Newman’s Own Southwest. My version uses a homemade smoky southwest dressing made with mostly pantry staples, but if you’re in a hurry, you can grab a bottle of the Newman’s dressing at most grocery stores.
Storing and reheating
I've got one handy tool for keeping salads fresh for a few days: USE MASON JARS!
Layer the chicken into the bottom of the jars, then add the cheese, tomatoes, lettuce and pack the tortilla chips and dressing on the side. This way, you can enjoy your McDonald’s salad at work for up to 3 or 4 days! Just make sure to use a large bowl to serve your mason jar salads in when you go to eat them.
There are also these super cool bento box meal prep containers so you can keep the chicken, tortilla strips and veggies separate for a nice and fresh southwest salad on the go.
Freezing the chicken
After the chicken has fully cooked (whether you're using crispy chicken or grilled chicken), you can freeze in freezer-safe Ziploc bags or glass containers for up to 3 months. If you plan on freezing your chicken instead of eating it right away, I recommend initially undercooking it for 2-3 minutes so it doesn’t get overcooked when you reheat it.
When you’re ready to enjoy the chicken, you can easily reheat it from frozen. Add the chicken to a foil-lined sheet pan and reheat it in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 375° Fahrenheit. You could also let it defrost in the fridge overnight then reheat it in the microwave for a couple minutes, just make sure to sprinkle some water over top so it doesn’t dry out. Use it to make a fresh McDonald’s salad or eat the chicken on its own!
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More McDonald's copycat recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some bento box meal prep bowls to separate the ingredients and enjoy this salad for work week lunches.
- You can also grab some mason jars to layer the lettuce at the top so it doesn't get soggy.
- I get all my free-range chicken from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- Get a meat thermometer to make sure your chicken is cooked through.
McDonald's Southwest Salad {Copycat Recipe}
Ingredients
Crispy chicken
- 1/2 lb chicken tenders
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 cup regular breadcrumbs
- Cooking spray & salt to taste (optional)
Salad fillings
- 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
- Black beans
- Corn
- Tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 cup Shredded cheddar cheese
- Tortilla strips
- Cilantro, chopped
Southwest salad dressing
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 F. Crack egg into a large bowl, then coat chicken in it. Mix panko and regular breadcrumbs in a large bowl, then coat chicken in the mixture.
- Place chicken tenders on a parchment-lined baking sheet and spray with cooking spray then season with salt if desired. Bake for 6-7 minutes per side until chicken is fully cooked.
- Meanwhile, mix ingredients together for salad dressing and assemble ingredients for salads while chicken is cooking.
- When chicken is done, remove from oven and let cool. Slice into strips then top each salad with chicken and toss in 2 tbsp of dressing (or less) per salad. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Chef John says
I really enjoyed this recipe! This tastes just like the ones at McDonald’s if not better. A great spring/summertime salad.
Lisa Gilbert says
Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mixed with taco season (in the little packet) is a dead ringer! It is the packet that you add to your browned meat… I use Taco Bells from my grocery store. The avocado Ranch would be wonderful as well! I’m hungry.
Suzanne says
Where have you found the Newman’s Own Southwest dressing in the grocery store? Every store i have been to doesn’t have it, so u thought maybe its just made for McDonald’s.1🤷♀️
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Suzanne – I believe I’ve seen it in the past in my local grocery store. A chipotle ranch dressing such as this brand might be a good substitute. https://goodnessme.ca/products/drews-chipotle-ranch-dressing-360ml?variant=32471243784295¤cy=CAD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic
[email protected] says
They do Not sell this dressing. It is only made for McDonald’s I have been looking for years and even emailed them and found this out hahaha I still have not found a store dressing even close and now McDonald’s got rid of salads forever I am so upset. I also loved the glaze on chicken from McDonald’s and don’t know what that is yet either haha
Jen says
You cannot buy Newmans SW dressing anywhere. It is licensed exclusively to McDonalds. In my opinion, they should let that license go now since the salads have been discontinued.
Wolf says
The salad used to come with cilantro lime glaze that was put in top of the chicken. Not a southwest salad without it.
Donna Stratton says
Jane, that’s what I am looking for too! I had one today and that glaze is so good!
Laura Adams says
I make a lighter but crisper coating using 1½ cups crushed Rice Krispies Cereal to 1/2 cup combination of bread crumbs & panko. It’s lower in calories & delicious, and you can add southwestern (or other) seasonings to it. Thanks for a great recipe!
Taylor Stinson says
So happy you enjoyed it Laura 🙂
Jane says
Hello, Do you have a recipe for the Cilantro Sauce that comes on the salad. (not the dressing). It’s my favorite part of McDonald’s Southwest Salad. Thank you! : -)
Taylor Stinson says
I’m afraid I do not! Sorry about that 🙁