Layered Southwestern Cornbread Salad
Having a backyard barbecue or going to a potluck? This Layered Southwestern Cornbread Salad can be made in advance and served cold. With the layers of colors and flavors, it’s certain to stand out on the buffet table.
It’s almost the season for backyard barbecues again! I feel like whenever there’s a potluck-style party, the classic side dishes always show up in abundance – potato salad, pasta salad, fruit salad, etc.
Knowing that those salads will probably already be at the party, I like to arrive with a little something different.
This Layered Southwestern Cornbread Salad can still be made in advance and served cold, just like all the others. But with the layers of colors and flavors, it’s certain to stand out on the buffet table.
About this Layered Southwestern Cornbread Salad recipe:
This salad actually has seven different components, but I was unsure whether I could call it Seven Layer Salad, since many of the layers repeat more than once, creating more like eleven or twelve layers.
But whatever it’s called, make sure you present this salad with a serving spoon long enough to reach all the way to the bottom, so everybody can get a little bit of everything, including crumbled cornbread (if you have extra, try my leftover cornbread breakfast casserole), chorizo, tomatoes, green peppers (buy an extra for a batch of fajitas veggies, too), black beans, creamy lime dressing and cilantro.
A note on the chorizo layer: it’s actually JENNIE-O® Chorizo Seasonings Turkey Sausage! This stuff has the nutrition of turkey sausage, but is SO flavorful and delicious, I actually bet none of your party guests will know it’s not traditional pork chorizo.
Tips for customizing this Layered Southwestern Cornbread Salad:
I stopped at seven different ingredient layers, but you’re welcome to add or subtract layers to suit your own taste. I didn’t put any cheese in my salad, but I think sharp Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese would be nice here.
If you’ve used your last can of black beans to make black bean meatballs, pinto beans would work great in place of black beans (or use a combination like I did in my vegetarian fajitas). I also think that green onions or even finely diced red onions would be a nice addition.
This salad is so flexible that you can honestly add just about anything you want!
Layered Southwestern Cornbread Salad
Having a backyard barbecue or going to a potluck? This Layered Southwestern Cornbread Salad can be made in advance and served cold. With the layers of colors and flavors, it's certain to stand out on the buffet table.
Ingredients
- 1 package (16 ounces) JENNIE-O® Chorizo Seasonings Turkey Sausage
- Juice of 1 lime
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Mexican seasoning
- 12 cornbread muffins (2 (8.5 ounce) boxes cornbread mix, prepared)
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1/2 bunch cilantro (leaves picked and stems discarded)
Instructions
- Prepare sausage according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, in small bowl, whisk lime juice, sour cream, mayonnaise and Mexican seasoning until smooth.
- Crumble 3 muffins into bottom of 3-quart glass bowl or trifle dish. Spread 1/2 of chorizo over cornbread. Dollop 1/2 of sour cream mixture chorizo.
- Continue layering in the following order or any order your want: green pepper, 3 crumbled muffins, tomatoes, 3 crumbled muffins, remaining chorizo, remaining sour cream mixture, 3 crumbled muffins, beans and cilantro.
- Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate up to 1 day before serving.
More great summer salad recipes:
- Chopped Broccoli Salad with Cheese Tortellini – this one is a crowd pleaser!
- Heirloom Tomato & Beet Salad – for when tomatoes are at their peak.
- Great Green Salad with Miso Dressing – simple and perfect.
- Watermelon & Avocado Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing – the best combo of sweet and salty!
- Sweet Celery Seed Apple Slaw – great with barbecue chicken or ribs.
- Ahi Tuna Poke & Mango Salad from FoodieCrush
- Vegan Ricotta & Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Salad from Minimalist Baker
Disclosure: As a member of the Jennie-O Switch Circle, this was a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Jennie-O. Sponsored posts help me pay for the costs associated with this blog (groceries…lots of groceries), and help support me as I pursue a career in recipe development and food photography. All opinions are 100% my own.
I thoroughly enjoyed this turkey chorizo inspired savory parfait thing. I could see it going over very well at a party for Cinco De Mayo. Wonderful work for Jennie-O.