Mexican Caesar Salad

Sometimes Caesar salad can sound bland; but why not spice it up a notch by making this Mexican Caesar Salad - it’s a fiesta in your mouth! With salsa, caesar dressing, summer grilled corn on the cob, tender, juicy chicken, crunchy tortilla chips, this salad does NOT lack in flavor.

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Mexican Caesar Salad Origins

Did you know Caesar Salad is actually from Mexico originally?! So the story goes, an Italian immigrant who ran restaurants in Mexico was serving up this salad when the kitchen's ingredient supply was running low. The result: a simple, easy, and well loved salad by many.

However, I set out to take that simple salad up a notch with this Mexican Caesar.

How to give a Caesar Salad a Mexican twist: add tortilla strips instead of croutons, added vegetables for flavor, marinated and juicy pollo asada! This Mexican Caesar Salad combines a variety of flavors that I wouldn’t usually pair together but it blew my mind how great it was.

The dressing too, is something I'll be making again to use not just on this salad. Combining condiments, in this case salsa and Caesar dressing, is one of my favorite ways to add new flavors into a dish. Check out this Easy Hummus Dressing Recipe for a similar method!

Mexican Caesar Salad Ingredients

Romaine Lettuce - This will be the base of our Mexican Caesar Salad.

Pollo Asada Chicken Breasts - I got these pre-seasoned from Trader Joe’s. You could also use regular chicken breast seasoned with taco or chili seasoning.

Everything but the Elote Seasoning - Trader Joe's spices can NOT be beat. This Elote brings in some extra umami flavors to this Mexican Caesar Salad.

Corn on the Cobb - We will grill the corn for a nice char on the outside.

Butter - We will lather our corn in butter before grilling.

Bell Pepper - Any color will do, but orange or red will give an eye-popping color against the yellow corn.

Onion - I used red onion for crunch and bitterness. You could use a sweet onion if you'd like.

Jalapeño - To bring in a little bit of heat.

Cheese - I used cotija to keep with the Mexican theme, but you could also use parmesan as a more classic Caesar topping.

Lime - The citrusy lime will be added to the Mexican Caesar Salad to balance out the flavors.

Salsa - We will mix this with the Caesar dressing to make it a MEXICAN Caesar dressing.

Caesar Dressing - It wouldn't a Caesar Salad without some Caesar dressing! I used a light version.

Tortilla Chips - Adds the perfect amount of crunch to this salad and serves as the croutons for this Mexican Caesar Salad.

Kitchen equipment & tools needed

To make this Mexican Caesar Salad, you will need the Ninja 5-in-1 Foodi Grill (regular grill or oven will also work), a salad bowl, cutting board, chef's knife, baking sheet, mason jar, and salad tongs.

How to make a Mexican Caesar Salad

There are a few moving parts to making this Mexican Caesar Salad before assembling.

cook the chicken

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a baking sheet with cooking spray and add the pre-seasoned Pollo Asada to the pan.
2. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Cut the chicken into strips.

grill the corn

1. Shuck the corn and remove all excessive strings left from the husk.
2. Then, lather each ear of corn with butter and Everything but the Elote Seasoning.
3. Add the corn to a heated grill (I use a Ninja Foodi Indoor Grill but a regular grill will also work, or see below for non-grill options). Grill until tender, about 15- 20 minutes.
4. Once the corn is done, remove it from the cob. Stand the ear up right on your cutting board and slide a knife downward to remove the kernels. Watch this video if you'd like a visual on removing corn kernels from the cob.

assemble the mexican caesar salad

1. While the chicken and corn are cooking, wash and dice the other ingredients: romaine lettuce, onion, jalapeño, and bell pepper.
2. Then, to make the Mexican Caesar Dressing grab a mason jar and combine the salsa, juice from one lime, and Caesar dressing. Cap the jar and shake until combined (don’t underestimate the dynamic duo of two incredible condiments!).
3. Toss dressing with lettuce, chopped vegetables, and cotija cheese, then add the grilled corn and grilled chicken strips. Crush up your tortilla strips and sprinkle over top. Think of the chips as the croutons to your Mexican Caesar Salad!
4. Serve and enjoy!

You can also watch the Mexican Caesar Salad Web Story here.

Serve this salad with Fiesta Chicken Tortilla Soup!

Switch up the Mexican Caesar Dressing

If you don't like the sound of the salsa + caesar dressing mixture (don't knock it till you try it), another option is a Cilantro Lime Caesar Dressing.

To make Cilantro Lime Caesar Salad Dressing just add the juice from one lime, a teaspoon of chili flakes, and a tablespoon of finely chopped fresh cilantro to ⅓ cup Caesar dressing. This dressing also goes fabulous drizzled on your favorite protein like chicken, shrimp, or salmon.

Mexican Caesar Salad FAQs

If you love this Mexican Caesar Salad you'll love these Mexican inspired recipes too

Spicy Mexican Street Corn Feta Dip

Healthy 7 Layer Salad

Pico de Gallo

Skinny Turkey Enchiladas

Homemade Guacamole

Street Corn Mexican Brussel Sprouts

Check out this round up of ALL of my favorite Cinco De Mayo recipes too!

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. It’s my passion to create dishes that can be shared with others. Tell me something you loved, something that you think it might need, or just say hi!

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