This no-cook taco salad with walnut taco “meat” comes together in 20 minutes or less and is the perfect weeknight meal for hot summer days. Made in the food processor in a couple of minutes, the vegetarian walnut taco “meat” is super satisfying and packed with savory taco spices. Drizzle the salad with your choice of a creamy cilantro lime dressing or jalapeno ranch to really take it over the top!
A 20-Minute, No-Cook Taco Salad for Hot Summer Days!
I LOVE tacos (I’m from Texas!) but I kind of hate heating up the kitchen with the oven or stove on hot summer days. The solution? This vegetarian no-cook taco salad! It’s packed with all of the savory tacos flavors I love but doesn’t require a single second of heat. It’s satisfying enough to keep you full but light enough so you can still navigate the summer heat without feeling sluggish.
Since this vegetarian taco salad doesn’t require any cooking, it’s ready in just 20 minutes, or less depending on how quickly you can chop and blend. While there’s the usual base of lettuce, tomatoes, corn, and black beans, you can customize it with your favorite toppings! Mine are crushed tortilla chips, pickled onions, and cotija. And avocado, always avocado!
Perfectly Spiced and Seasoned No-Cook Walnut Taco “Meat”
The bold, savory taco flavor comes from the incredibly simple walnut taco “meat”. I first came up with this savory vegan meat alternative for these lettuce wrap tacos and honestly, it is unbelievably delicious. It’s made from just walnuts, olive oil, tamari, spices, and a smidge of apple cider vinegar to balance all of the flavors.
It’s ridiculously easy to make as long as you have a food processor. Add everything to the bowl, then pulse several times until the walnuts are finely ground and it resembles taco meat. That’s it! I usually taste it at this point and add a splash more tamari if needed for saltiness.
My Favorite Flavorful and Easy Taco Salad Dressings
My favorite dressing to use for this easy no-cook taco salad is this creamy cilantro lime dressing because it pairs perfectly with all of the other flavors. But, I know that some of you aren’t the biggest cilantro fans so I have the perfect alternative for you: this pickled jalapeno ranch! Both of these dressings are made with a blender or immersion blender in 5 minutes or less without any cooking required. They’re also incredibly delicious as a dip for tortilla chips so you might want to double them to make sure you have enough on hand!
Putting Everything Together
Now comes the fun part: putting all of the taco salad elements together. I recommend using a base of finely chopped romaine lettuce here because it’s crunchy and doesn’t wilt as easily. Cherry tomatoes are my favorite because they’re naturally a little sweeter than larger slicing tomatoes which pairs really well with the corn and black beans. For me, avocado and crushed tortilla chips are a must-have along with cotija and pickled red onions if I happen to have some in the fridge.
You can toss everything together in a large bowl, but for this salad, I usually layer everything on a large plate since the heavier items always seem to sink to the bottom of the bowl. I like to start with a bed of lettuce then add the corn, black beans, tomatoes, avocado, and crushed tortilla chips. Then, I’ll spoon over some of the walnut taco meat, go in with a drizzle of the dressing, and finish with some pickled onions and cotija. Time to eat!
This no-cook taco salad is part of my series for the month of June featuring no-cook or minimal-cook meals for hot summer days! If you love this one, go check out my no-cook Mediterranean lentil salad wraps!
No-Cook Taco Salad with Walnut Taco “Meat”
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Diet: Gluten-Free, Vegetarian
Description
This no-cook taco salad with walnut taco “meat” comes together in 20 minutes or less and is the perfect weeknight meal for hot summer days. Made in the food processor in a couple of minutes, the vegetarian walnut taco “meat” is super satisfying and packed with savory taco spices. Drizzle the salad with your choice of a creamy cilantro lime dressing or jalapeno ranch to really take it over the top!
Ingredients
- 2 heaped cups walnuts
- 1 tablespoon tamari, plus more as needed to taste
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 romaine lettuce hearts, chopped
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can corn, drained and rinsed
- 12 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
- 2 medium avocados, diced
- 2 cups crushed tortilla chips
- Pickled onions, optional for serving
- Cotija cheese, optional for serving
- Cilantro lime dressing, or jalapeno ranch dressing
Instructions
Add the walnuts, tamari, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, smoked paprika, cumin, chili powder, and garlic powder to a food processor. Pulse several times until the walnuts are finely chopped, clumping together, and resemble taco meat. Taste, then add more tamari as needed for saltiness.
If you are making all four servings at one, toss together the romaine lettuce, black beans, corn, cherry tomatoes, and avocado. You can toss with some of the dressing now, wait until the salads are plated to add a drizzle, or serve it on the side.
Divide the salad between four large plates or bowls, then top with the walnut taco meat, crushed tortilla chips, pickled onions if using, and cotija if using.
If you prefer to make one salad at a time to enjoy, pile the romaine lettuce onto a large plate or bowl, then scatter over a fourth of the cherry tomatoes, black beans, corn, avocado, and walnut taco meat. Drizzle over some of the dressing of your choosing, then top with crushed tortilla chips, pickled onions, and cotija if preferred.
Store leftover compoenents in the fridge separately and enjoy within a week.
Notes
- This recipe makes 4 large main/entree sized salads. If you want to ensure you have plenty of dressing on hand, I recommend doubling the cilantro lime dressing or the jalapeno ranch dressing.
- I like to keep the componenents separate and assemble the salad when I’m ready to eat. Once I drain and rinse the corn and black beans, I combine then into one container to keep it easy.
- If you’re using heads of romaine lettuce instead of romaine hearts, you’ll need just two.
- If you are only going to make one salad at a time, I recommend chopping the lettuce as you need it rather than chopping it all at once.
- You can use 1 1/2 cups of thawed frozen sweet corn if you prefer instead of canned.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dinner, Lunch
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