Wendy’s Southwest Chicken Salad
I’m not normally a salad guy, so let me say that upfront. It’s not often when visiting fast food restaurants that I even acknowledge the existence of salads on the menu, so it was a surreal experience finding myself ordering one. Furthermore, salads depend so greatly on the freshness of ingredients and assembly, that for many years the choices were few in number, and less than satisfactory in quality. Today several of the fast food giants are offering freshly made salads, daily. One of the most interesting is a limited time creation from Wendy’s called the Southwest Chicken Caesar Salad.
Wendy’s calls it “Caesar with an Attitude”. I think that’s a good description, as I was pleasantly surprised by the bold combinations of flavors and textures. From the first bite, the influence of the Southwest was obvious. The roasted corn and black beans, combined with seasoned chunks of chicken breast and Wendy’s spicy southwest dressing produce a taste reminiscent of a Mexican dish. Add shredded Parmesan cheese, bite sized grape tomatoes, and garlic croutons — this salad is loaded.
Sitting underneath those flavorful toppings is a core of Romaine lettuce, which is washed, chopped and prepared fresh daily at each location. After trying this salad on numerous occasions now, I can happily report the locations in my part of the country do a consistent job of keeping things crisp, cold and fresh tasting.
Don’t worry meat lovers, the chicken included in the salad is nice sized chunks of whole breast. Real meat, not over processed and pressed forms. The dressing and croutons come on the side, in individually sealed packets. That’s perfect, because it ensures the croutons will be crunchy and fresh, and the dressing will be applied as liberally, or as sparingly as you prefer. The rest of the ingredients are assembled at the start of the day, by hand, and then refrigerated until ordered and served.
The Southwest Chicken Caesar Salad from Wendy’s is excellent. It tastes like a fresh salad I would make at home, but with more toppings and flavor then I would probably ever be willing to devote the time or effort to achieve. This is a big, hearty and satisfying salad. An entire meal in a bowl. Unfortunately it’s a “Limited Time” item, but hopefully they will receive enough positive feedback to keep it around, or bring it back soon. They continue to offer the rest of their trademarked “Garden Sensations” line of salads, including a regular Chicken Caesar without the Southwest ingredients.
Price: $4.99 — Website: Wendys.com
Fast Food Critic Score: A
Click here for rating system details.
Nutrition Facts - Wendy’s Southwest Chicken Caesar Salad.
Calories - 490
Calories from Fat - 210
Total Fat - 24 grams
Carbs - 37 grams
Saturated Fat - 5 grams
Trans Fat - 0 grams
Cholesterol - 105 milligrams
Sodium - 1730 milligrams
I eat their asian chicken salad quite often, it is very satisfying for a salad, though sometimes I cheat by buying the 99 cent cheeseburger too.
you should try the southwest salad at McDonald’s…really good
i haven’t ever had a sald @ wendys however
always loved the JBC’s