Delicioso Mexican Caesar Salad – a Fiesta in Your Mouth!

[Updated on October 2, 2020] Mexican Caesar Salad combines a few classic salad ingredients, like romaine lettuce and chopped tomatoes, adds a few Mexican-inspired ingredients, and there you have it – a delicioso Mexican Caesar Salad!  All these flavors come together to create a fiesta in your mouth – crunchy, chewy, creamy, salty, tangy…

The secret to its amazing flavor is the salad dressing – a homemade, restaurant-thentic copycat version of the salad dressing made famous by the California El Torito Mexican Restaurant chain.   My niece, Tiffany, shared her version of this delicious homemade salad dressing in a separate blog post and you can find the details for creating this secret sauce here:  The Best Ever Restaurant-thentic Mexican Caesar Salad Dressing.

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Mexican Caesar Salad Ingredients

What are the Mexican-inspired ingredients that complete this salad?

Romaine Lettuce – this is a lettuce-based salad and the lettuce of choice (at least my choice) is romaine.  The recipe calls for one large head of romaine and I wash it, pulling the leaves apart, then use as much of the entire head of romaine as possible, discarding browned areas or parts that are a little limp.  If you prefer, however, you can use hearts of romaine, which will give this salad an even crispier vibe.  But, if you do decide to use hearts of romaine, use two if you are making four servings.

Chopped Tomatoes –  for this recipe, I seed the tomato.  I use one large tomato and after I wash it, I slice it in half, use my knife to score the inside of each half, and then use a spoon to dig out the seeds.  Then I chop the tomato into 1/2-inch chunks.  In the photos above and below, you can see the chopped tomato chunks in the red-lined bowl, but you’ll notice no seeds.  Another idea is to use either grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes and slice them in half OR leave them whole.  Whatever you like!  It’s all good!

Sliced Avocado – you’ll need one sliced avocado to serve four.  Each serving gets a quarter of the avocado unless you want more, of course!  If you have enough recipe avocados to give everyone half an avocado, that’s even better.  Slicing the avocado isn’t necessarily a ‘must;’ you could chop the avocado into chunks, too.  Anyway, to easily slice an avocado, use a knife to slice around the avocado’s seed lengthwise.  Then using your hands, twist each side of the avocado in opposite directions, pulling it apart as you twist.  The seed will remain in one half of the avocado and unless it pops out easily (it will pop out by itself if it is super-ripe), you’ll need to remove the seed with your knife.  Once the seed is removed, use your knife to slice each side of the avocado lengthwise into several slices.  You don’t need to pierce the skin because you’ll be using a spoon to scoop out the slices from the skin.  Once you’ve scooped out the slices, discard the avocado skin.

Cotija Cheese – a salty, crumbly cheese, Cotija cheese is the perfect complement to this delicious salad.  It’s like adding shredded Parmesan to an Italian-inspired salad.  The quarter cup measurement in this recipe contemplates that every serving will get a tablespoon of this delicious cheese.

Roasted and Salted Pepitas – pepitas are seeds, specifically the seeds of certain types of pumpkins.  But, they are not technically pumpkin seeds!  In a pinch, you can substitute hulled pumpkin seeds.  In this recipe, I prefer them roasted and salted.  But, if you are trying to reduce your sodium intact, it’s fine to substitute unsalted pepitas.

Tortilla Strips – I use pre-packaged tortilla strips from the grocery store that are usually located near the produce department (at least they are at my store).  I chose tri-color tortilla strips for this post to give this salad a bit of color.  You can use regular tortilla chips and just crush them up a bit.  Or, you can make your own from scratch!

Restaurant-thentic Mexican Caesar Salad Dressing – this is the ‘secret sauce’ to this salad recipe.  Made in a blender, this savory and delicious Mexican Caesar Salad Dressing is rich and creamy, so be sure to visit that post and make this salad dressing so that you have it ready to go and handy for your salad.  Roasted Anaheim peppers are blended with lots of cilantro, Cotija cheese, pepitas, and other salad dressing ingredients to create a restaurant-thentic salad dressing that your friends and family will crave!  This recipe makes a quart of salad dressing (4+ cups!), so not only can you serve it on a Mexican Caesar Salad, but it’s great on other things, too, like tacos, burritos, quesadillas, Mexican Caesar pizza, sandwich wraps, or drizzled on roasted chicken, grilled steak, carne asada, or shish kebobs!

Yum.  This is one of my favorite salads, especially in the summer when I want something filling, but not too heavy.  It’s a perfect salad to have as a meal or as a side salad that complements several other Mexican dishes, like Charlie’s Layered Mexican Casserole or even the lite version of this popular casserole.

We made and served Mexican Caesar Salad at our Blog-o-versary Party a few years ago and it was such a hit that by the time I went to get a plate it was all gone!  That’s always a good sign!  Hope you enjoy this salad as much as our party guests did!

Kitchen Supplies and Equipment Needed to Make This Recipe:

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Chopping Board || Kitchen Knife || Measuring Cups || Salad Spinner|| Salad Serving Bowl || Salad Tongs || Salad Bowls|| Kitchen Towels || Round Placemats || Salad Forks || Flatware || Napkins || Small Condiment Bowls

I found these adorable engraved forks at a gift shop many years ago.  They only had three so that’s all I have!  But, I love using them because they always make me smile.  I mean, seriously, doesn’t using a fork that says “yum,” or “savor,” or “hangry” make you giggle just a bit?  Also, I bought these colorful paisley napkins at World Market many years ago.  So bright and colorful they evoke a fiesta feeling!

Here’s the recipe for this Delicioso Mexican Caesar Salad:

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Related Posts from Toot Sweet 4 Two’s Archives:

The Best Ever Restaurant-thentic Mexican Caesar Salad Dressing

Cheesy Fiesta Salsa Chicken and Rice Casserole

The Best Leftover Turkey and Rice Casserole with a Crispy Surprise

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