I’m always looking for ways to turn an ordinary salad into a fiesta. And for me, that usually means getting creative with the greens, the ingredients, the dressing, and ways to add a healthy crunch factor. Enter my Taco Salad, which has all the flavors and colors of a Mexican inspired salad. Plus, it has a healthy dose of plant protein!
This Mexican style Taco Salad is one of my top favorites. It’s made with crisp chopped greens, fluffy quinoa, black beans, crisp homemade corn tortilla “croutons”, and avocado “crema” dressing. Then I top it with a almond milk queso style cheese (vegan) and toasted pumpkin seeds.
The dairy-free avocado “crema” dressing makes this salad extra bueno, and is also good for dipping, schmearing and drizzling on just about anything. Tacos anyone!?
The recipe…
Let’s start with the base ~ my number one tip when making salads is to have fresh salad greens with zero signs of brown or wilted greens. Your salad will only be as good as the greens are fresh.
I always like a mix of different greens in my salads, and for this one I went with a combo of crisp romaine, shredded red cabbage, and meslun.
Quinoa, cilantro and homemade tortilla chips
Next up, the quinoa. If you’ve never had cooked quinoa on a salad now is your chance to try it ~ cuz it’s delicious!
Adding rainbow quinoa to this salad gives it a few things~
- texture variation
- healthy plant protein
- a pop of color
Bonus: quinoa is a great high-protein, nutrient-packed “grain” that can be batch cooked and stored separately to enjoy throughout the week, and tossed into salads such as this one. I say “grain” because it is not a traditional grain, but rather a seed. And it’s a complete protein, meaning it has all nine essential amino acids.
I like the Ancient Harvest brand.
Make this salad for a healthy Meatless Monday dinner
For the tortilla chip croutons you can use corn, flour, or grain-free Siete tortillas. You just brush the tortillas with a little avocado oil, some salt and spices, and bake until crisp. Homemade fiesta croutons in 10 minutes!
For the spices on the croutons I like this Frontier Mexican seasoning blend. But, if you cannot find this at a grocery store you can make your own taco-y blend by mixing equal parts smoked paprika, cumin, oregano, coriander and turmeric. Olé!
Homemade tortilla chip “croutons”
Lastly, the dressing! I am also including a recipe below for my quick and easy vegan Avocado Crema Dressing, which is like lime vinaigrette meets guacamole. It’s an oil-free dressing made creamy by puréeing ripe avocado with some garlic, lime and cilantro. This dressing goes great with this salad, and is also a bangin’ dip, sandwich spread, grain bowl drizzle, and taco topper.
So since it’s so delicioso, you may even want to double the recipe!
This salad has lots of texture variation
I like to add a touch of dairy-free creaminess to this salad, so I use Kite Hill almond milk ricotta. It’s a great vegan sub for traditional ricotta, in both savory and sweet recipes.
Pumpkin seeds also add some protein, not to mention extra crrrrunch.
In addition to the main salad ingredients in this recipe, other add-ins could be chopped cucumber, red onion, red bell peppers, shredded carrots, radish or jicama, just to name a few.
The finish product, ready to dig in!
Sharing the recipe right here, so be sure to comment below or tag me on Instagram if you make this Mexican fiesta-y salad. Adios, amigos!
Like this fiesta style recipe? Check these out…
Elote Bowl (vegan, GF)
Tostadas (vegan, GF)
| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 10 minutes |
| Servings |
servings
|
- 2 each corn tortillas
- 1/2 tsp avocado oil **plus more for dressing below
- 1/2 tsp taco seasoning see blog post for brand rec and recipe tips
- 1 pinch flake sea salt
- 4 cups salad greens such a chopped romaine and mesclun
- 1/2 cup shredded red cabbage
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro tender leaves picked (plus a little more for dressing)
- 1 large ripe avocado divided and chopped (reserve half for dressing below)
- 1 cup black beans
- 1 cup cooked and cooled quinoa
- 1/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup crumbled almond ricotta “queso" see blog post for brand rec
- remaining half of avocado from above
- 1 - 2 cloves garlic sliced
- 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
- 3 tbsp chopped cilantro
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 2 tbsp water to thin or as needed
- to taste salt & pepper
Ingredients
Tortilla crouton ingredients
Salad ingredients
Avocado crema ingredients
|
|
- heat oven to 350° and line a small sheet pan with parchment paper
- make tortilla croutons: brush both sides of tortillas with 1/2 tsp of the avocado oil, then sprinkle evenly with taco seasoning and salt, then bake for 10-12 minutes until crisp; break into pieces when cool
- make salad: combine all salad ingredients in a large bowl and set aside *(using only half of the chopped avocado)
- make avocado crema dressing: pureé the remaining half of avocado and all dressing ingredients in a blender or food processor, thinning with water as needed to reach a drizzling consistency, then season to taste with salt and pepper; you may want to double recipe if you like a lot of dressing
- to assemble, toss salad with desired amount of dressing, then top with tortilla croutons
Recipe serves 2 as a main, 4 as a side
Original recipe created by Jerran Boyer
www.healthnutchefs.com