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