Mexican Wedge Salad
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This Mexican wedge salad is crisp, refreshing and loaded with flavor. A wedge of iceberg lettuce is topped with veggies, black beans, avocado, pepitas, and cheese. Then drizzled with creamy cilantro lime dressing.
This Mexican wedge salad is like a party on a plate. It conjures up the vibrant flavors of Mexico, as well as celebrations like Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independence Day. This healthy side can be paired with almost any dinner.
For additional flavor, feel free to add more delicious toppings. Like crispy, crunchy (cooked) bacon crumbles. Or sliced black olives and diced fire-roasted green chiles. If you don’t have cilantro lime dressing on hand, feel free to use another creamy option like buttermilk ranch dressing.
🛒 Ingredients
- Iceberg Lettuce: The base for our Mexican wedge salad.
- Cherry Tomatoes (or grape tomatoes): A perfect pairing with salad.
- Bell Pepper: Adds a delicious earthy flavor and crunchy texture.
- Corn Kernels: Add farm-fresh sweetness to the salad. You can use the kernels from grilled corn on the cob, or sweet canned corn.
- Black Beans: Contribute protein and carbs, and a deep savory flavor.
- Purple Onion: Adds color, crunch, and a mild sweet flavor.
- Haas Avocado: Has a smooth, buttery, creamy texture with a rich taste.
- Cilantro Lime Dressing: Homemade or store-bought. Adds a bright and creamy Mexican flavor.
- Queso Fresco (or Cotija): A flavorful Mexican cheese that’s slightly salty and mildly tangy.
- Pepitas: Roasted pumpkin seeds contribute texture and a nutty flavor.
- Colorful Tortilla Strips: Add a festive look and crunchy taste.
📖 RECIPE STEPS
RECIPE PREP: Remove the outer leaves of the iceberg lettuce. Then rinse the head of lettuce under cold running water. Pat it dry between paper towels.
- STEP 1: With a serrated knife (bread knife), slice the head of lettuce (from top to core) into four quarters. Slice off the hard pieces of stem and core from the wedges and discard them.
- STEP 2. Place each wedge on a salad plate. You can either stand the wedges upright, or put the wedges on their side.
- STEP 3: Top the salad with colorful veggies like corn kernels, bell peppers and red onion. Add black beans and cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle kosher salt on each wedge, along with some ground black pepper.
- STEP 4: Arrange avocado slices on the side. Dress the salad with cilantro lime dressing. Sprinkle the Mexican wedge salad with Pepitas, Mexican cheese and colorful tortilla strips.
🧑🏼🍳 RECIPE FAQ
These are the most commonly-asked questions when making a Mexican wedge salad, and the most helpful answers for recipe success.
It can be both. As a meal, a wedge salad is usually enjoyed for lunch. For dinner it’s often served before the main entrée.
Remove and discard outer leaves. Rinse the head under cold running water. Pat dry between paper towels. Place head of lettuce on a board. With a serrated knife, cut it in half (from top to core). Cut each half into half (from top to core). Chop off the pieces of stem/core and discard.
Pepitas are roasted pumpkin seeds without the shells. They have a sweet mild flavor and are often used for garnishing salads. At the market, look for them in the same section as nuts and other seeds.
At the market, look for pages of them near the salad dressings and salad toppings. If you can’t find any, you can replace them with another crunchy topping like these mini sourdough croutons.
🥗 MORE DELICIOUS SALAD RECIPES
- Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
- Watermelon Arugula Salad
- Cold Spaghetti Salad
- Egg Salad Recipe
- Chinese Chicken Salad
- Cucumber Salad
- Tuna Pasta Salad
RATE THIS RECIPE ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Flavor testers rated this the BEST Mexican wedge salad. One tester said the presentation of this dish, along with the toppings and cilantro lime dressing, reminded him of a wedge salad he enjoyed at a restaurant in Mexico City.
If you agree this recipe’s a keeper, give it a 5-star rating in the comments. Then be a recipe hero. Share it with friends. 📌 Pin it to Pinterest.
Mexican Wedge Salad
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This Mexican wedge salad is crisp, refreshing, and loaded with flavorful toppings. It’s garnished with Pepitas, cheese, and tortilla strips, then drizzled with creamy cilantro lime dressing.
Ingredients
- 1 head of Iceburg lettuce, quartered
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, whole or halved
- 1 cup chopped bell peppers (red, yellow or orange)
- 1/2 cup purple onion, chopped or sliced
- 1 cup canned black beans, well drained
- 1 cup corn kernels, fresh or canned
- 1 Haas avocado, sliced
- 1 cup crumbled Mexican cheese (Queso Fresco or Cotija cheese)
- 2 cups multi-colored tortilla strips (or croutons)
- 1 cup Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing, homemade or store-bought
- 1/2 cup Pepitas (roasted pumpkin seeds)
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
RECIPE PREP: Remove the outer leaves of the iceberg lettuce. Then rinse the head of lettuce under cold running water. Pat it dry between lint-free kitchen towels.
- With a serrated knife, slice the head of lettuce (from top to core) into four quarters. Slice off the pieces of stem and core from the wedges, and discard them.
- Place each wedge on a salad plate. You can either stand the wedges upright, or put the wedges on their side. Either way works.
- Top the salad with colorful veggies like corn kernels, bell peppers and red onion. Add black beans and cherry tomatoes. Sprinkle with kosher salt and a few twists of freshly-ground black pepper. Arrange avocado slices on the side.
- Drizzle cilantro lime dressing over the wedges. Sprinkle the top with pepitas, Mexican cheese and colorful tortilla strips. Serve and enjoy immediately.
Equipment
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Notes
What are Pepitas? They’re roasted pumpkin seeds without the shells. They have a sweet mild flavor and are often used for garnishing salads. At the market, look for them in the same section as nuts and other seeds.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Cutting
- Cuisine: Mexican
Keywords: wedge salad, Mexican wedge salad, wedge salad recipe
MEXICAN WEDGE SALAD 👉🏻 JOIN THE CONVERSATION!
Do you enjoy eating a variety of healthy, colorful salads? What do you think about this flavorful Mexican wedge salad? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
This really makes me want to make a salad like this. I’ll have to pick up some corn, black beans and avocado. Was making the dressing homemade hard?
Wow this looks so delicious and the colours are just amazing!
I’m not usually a fan of salads but this looks so colourful and bursting with goodness and flavour! What lovely dish!
Hubby loves wedge salads. He’ll definitely give this a try.
★★★★★
Wow!! This really look very delicious! Definitely letting my mom read this and made this for the family.
I love anything with avocado! This looks really delicious! :)
I love how pretty and colorful this dish is. I bet it’s also flavorful as well.
★★★★★
I have never had a wedge salad before. This new spin on it though makes it look tasty. I love Mexican food so adding the queso, corn and cilantro dressing make it look more inviting.
Wow this is quite a festive salad. I bet even kids will enjoy it because its colorful!
★★★★★
Oh wow!! I have never seen this kind of salad before. It does look super yummy though
★★★★
This looks fantastic. I would love to make this sometime. I have never seen a Mexican wedge salad.
This salad looks too pretty to eat! And it’s so healthy, with so many vitamins packed on one plate. Avocados are actually one of my favorite vegetables.
★★★★★
Hmm awesome recipe! I love grape tomatoes, bell peppers, and avocados so combining the three into this Mexicna wedge salad is a great idea.
Ugh, I want to eat that right up! Looks absolutely delicious and so colorful!
This salad looks soooo good! I have pinned it as I want to give it a shot. Thanks for sharing
Yum! I’m vegetarian and so this looks super great and also like a wonderful complete meal! Thank you for posting. Excited to try this.
this is a positive combination of ingredients. I will be making this with vegan cheese
Yummm yummmm yummm! I actually haven’t had a wedge salad before, but this looks amazing. Can’t wait to try it!
xoxo
Annie
Now this is my kind of salad and the avocado on the side just makes it even better and delicious.
I am a big fan of salad so this is definitely going to my Pinterest salad pin
★★★★★
Oh my that looks so good. That is my kind of salad. I plan on making this soon. I also am sharing your post on FB and Pinterest.
★★★★★
I really love how you began with “This salad is literally a party on a plate.” It’s exactly what it looks like! :) I am sure if I make this for my girlfriend, she would go crazy. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. This is something I want to try out some time soon.
I served this wedge salad as an appetizer before our white chicken chilli last night. It was delicious!
I didn’t have any Mexican cheese so I soaked a small block of feta in milk and then crumbled that over. Will definitely be buying some Cotija cheese next time I go to the store as we will DEFINITELY be having this again. YUM!
★★★★★