7 Layer Salad with Avocado Lemon Crema Dressing

Having been in Southern California for almost a month, the kids and I ate so much great Mexican food. Now back in Vegas, all I’m craving are refreshing summer salads. It’s so hot! Immediately, I started thinking of ways to incorporate Mexican flavors into a salad and came up with this Mexican salad recipe version of the 7 layer salad with a super yummy Avocado and Lemon Crema Dressing, pan-roasted corn and red pepper layer and some amazing queso fresco. If you haven’t tried queso fresco – you must! You could add a Protein layer directly to this meal and make a Mexican Salad with Chicken for a complete meal or see How Daddy D accompanied our 7 Layer Salad below.

7 Layer Salad

It seriously turned out so yummy! Sponsored by the girls at Latina Bloggers Connect and Avocados from Mexico’s #iloveavocados campaign, I’m excited to bring you this summer salad recipe that is perfect for any day of the week. Crazy love for Avocados from Mexico is 100% my own.

Mexican Salad Dressing:  Avocado Lemon Crema

The most tantalizing part of this Mexican salad is the dressing. Leaving it thick and chunky, in part with the layers of corn, red pepper and black beans, this 7 layer salad leaves you feeling full. All you need is a few ingredients to make the dressing:

– 3-4 ripe Avocados from Mexico

– 1 lemon, juice and zest

– Mexican crema, a few tablespoons.

– Salt/Pepper, to taste

Cube the avocados and place in a bowl. Add lemon juice and zest. Gently mix in the Mexican crema, making sure to not break down the avocados completely. Slowly add more crema until you have reached your desired consistency. Taste (yum!) and add salt/pepper to taste. Mexican crema has a distinct tart taste, which is amazing, but if you can’t find it, use sour cream.

7 Layer Salad Ingredients

For the remainder of the 7 layer salad ingredients, you’ll need the following layers:

1) Lettuce greens: I used a spring salad mix and added additional spinach.

2) Roma tomatoes: 2-3 tomatoes,1 cut into half moon shape for the outside of salad. The remainder were cut into lengthwise slices, so to act as a bridge for the next layers.

3) Black beans: I used a can of no-salt added black beans, rinsed, dried then added a pinch of salt on top.

4) Queso Fresco: 1 package worked perfectly. The crumbly, dry cheese was perfect for this layered salad.

5) Pan Roasted Corn and Red Peppers: I wanted to be sure that my 7 layer salad had plenty of flavor, so I ramped up the corn layer. In a frying pan, add a bit of butter and let melt. Add corn (frozen or fresh – I used frozen this time) and a few roasted red peppers and let caramelize. Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste.

6) Avocado Lemon Crema Dressing – recipe above.

7) Organic Multicolored Tortilla chips– crumbled to give a crunchy top layer.

 

As you can see, the whole family enjoyed this 7 layer salad! While Daddy D grilled some carne asada, the kids “helped” me photograph the layered salad and set up for our dinner-time picnic. It makes me happy that we can make food traditions like this a part of our family legacy. Avocados from Mexico’s site has a new Upload Recipe Page where you can submit your own creation – check it out!

One last tip on presentation – while layering your salad, add your ingredients on the outsides first. If you run out of a certain layer, fill the center with additional salad greens so to keep the salad leveled. By working the outsides first, you make sure that all your beautiful layers are shown.

Enjoy!