Homemade Southwest Dressing Recipe - Simply Scratch (2024)

Mar10

Cinco de Mayo, , Recipes, salad dressing, salad dressings, Salads// 10 Comments

Creamy, smoky and with some subtle heat, this homemade Southwest Dressing is so flavorful and will elevate your salad to the next level. Chipotles in adobo and fresh lime juice blended with spices and honey in a creamy luscious dressing. Makes 1-1/3 cups in seconds.

Please tell me you’ve had McDonald’s southwest chicken salad? Normally I wouldn’t order a salad from a fast-food place (Panera Bread being the exception) because I swear the lettuce tastes weird and all you get is those hard, white lettuce core pieces. But I was plesantly surprised when I ordered this one night when we were headed to Haileigh’s softball game and had to eat on the go.

The salad itself was delicious, but the Newman’s Own Southwest dressing is gold!

I’ve scoured my local grocery stores and even searched online and cannot find a retailer. McDonald’s seems to be the only place that has this dressing. How can this be? But you know me, and I never back down from a challenge, so I tried my best to recreate it.

To Make This Homemade Southwest Dressing You Will Need:

mayonnaise
sour cream
honey
lime
chipotles [in adobo]
adobo sauce
apple cider vinegar
adobo seasoning
ground cumin
dried cilantro
paprika
teaspoon annatto (for color, but optional)
kosher salt
black pepper
cayenne pepper

Add everything in to a blender. That’s 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 cup sour cream, 1 tablespoon honey, juice of 1 lime, 1 to 2 chipotles [in adobo] plus 1 to 2 teaspoons of the adobo sauce, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 2 teaspoons each of adobo seasoning, ground cumin and dried cilantro, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon annatto (for color, but optional), salt and pepper to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon) and 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper.

Flip the switch and puree until smooth and creamy. If you need to, thinning with a little bit of water at a time until you reach a desired consistency.

Pour the dressing into a jar or glass bottle with a tight fitting lid and before using, refrigerate for 2 to 4 hours but overnight is best!

For more recipes, check out my post of 50+ homemade salad dressings and vinaigrette options!

Enjoy! And if you give this Southwest Dressing recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!

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4.60 from 20 ratings

Southwest Dressing

Creamy, smoky and with some heat, this homemade Southwest Dressing is so flavorful and will elevate your salad to the next level. Chipotles in adobo and fresh lime juice blended with spices and honey in a creamy luscious dressing. Makes 1-1/3 cups in seconds.

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 20 minutes mins

Ingredients

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon honey, up to 2 tablespoons
1 lime, juiced
1 chipotles [in adobo], or more to taste, plus 1 to 2 teaspoons of the adobo sauce
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons adobo seasoning, (see notes)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried cilantro
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon annatto, for color (optional)
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, more or less to taste
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, more or less to taste
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more or less to taste

Equipment

Vitamix 7500 Blender, Professional-Grade, 64 oz. Low-Profile Container, White

Instructions

Add all ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth. Pour into a glass jar or bottle and refrigerate 2 to 4 hours but overnight is best!
Should keep for a week or so in the fridge.

Notes

**I have a homemade adobo seasoning recipe that I use that is from my cookbook (available on Amazon) but you can use store bought if you wish. Just check to see if there's salt in the recipe and adjust this recipe to fit.

Serving: 2tablespoons, Calories: 101kcal, Carbohydrates: 4g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 8mg, Sodium: 212mg, Potassium: 37mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 164IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 15mg, Iron: 1mg

Author: Laurie McNamara

Course: Homemade Ingredients & Condiments

Cuisine: American, Tex Mex

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10 comments on “Homemade Southwest Dressing Recipe”

Jaimie Logan — March 10, 2018 @ 7:40 am Reply

THANK YOU!!! I love this salad from McDonald’s and, like you, was not expecting much, but tried it on the go on a friend’s recommendation. I was so pleasantly surprised at the quality of the salad, and the dressing absolutely made it. I tried to find the dressing also, but it appears to be exclusively for McDonald’s. So, happy dance to see your post this morning! Guess what I’m making this afternoon? And, I have your wonderful cookbook so will be looking up the adobo seasoning recipe. Can’t wait to try!
- Laurie McNamara — March 10, 2018 @ 8:56 am
  
  Oh yay!! I’m glad I’m not alone with my love for that dressing, Jaimie!! IMHO this is as close to it as I could possibly get it, but I would love to know if you tweak it at all 🙂 Enjoy!
danielle — March 11, 2018 @ 4:59 pm Reply

but also tell me about that salad underneath the dressing, please!
- Laurie McNamara — March 12, 2018 @ 2:18 pm
  
  Hi Danielle! I just used baby romaine, leftover chicken from my Mexicali nachos with diced peppers, tomatoes, avocado and cheddar jack cheese. 🙂
Shelly B — June 1, 2020 @ 9:06 pm Reply

This was definitely a hit! I only added one whole chipotle in adobo but did use two teaspoons of sauce and a little extra honey! Also made my own adobo spice from a recipe off the web only because I actually had all the ingredients so did not add extra salt. Otherwise, will add this to my regular repertoire of staple recipes to use again!!!
- Laurie McNamara — June 6, 2020 @ 8:13 am
  
  So glad you enjoyed it, Shelly!
kim — June 16, 2020 @ 12:32 pm Reply

This is delicious, thank you for sharing it with us! I didn’t have sour cream so had to sub yogurt and it tastes great. Easy to manage spice level with adjusting chipotle to your taste.
- Laurie McNamara — June 17, 2020 @ 4:53 pm
  
  I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Kim!
Yuki — July 14, 2020 @ 7:00 pm Reply

How long can this sauce last refrigerated? Thanks!
Jess — February 23, 2022 @ 7:10 am Reply

Y-U-M!!! I couldn’t imagine the amount of taste that was packed into this dressing, so when I tried it, it almost knocked me out! It’s so delicious. As someone who was obsessed with McDonalds SW salad (and still hurt by its absence), this is just amazing. Thank you for figuring out how to recreate such a tasty dressing. It’s probably the best salad dressing I’ve ever had!