A healthy, satisfying Vegan Taco Salad bowl made with black beans, fresh veggies, and taco-seasoned chickpea-walnut crumbles! Then it's tossed in an easy & flavorful southwestern style dressing. (Vegan, gluten-free, oil-free.)
This Vegan Taco Salad bowl is packed with protein (about 23 grams per serving)!
We combine black beans, fresh vegetables, and taco-seasoned chickpea-walnut crumbles. These are my favorite vegan "beef" crumbles and much healthier than store-bought alternatives.
Then we'll toss it with a simple but flavorful creamy southwestern-style dressing.
Ingredients for Taco Salad
For the salad portion you will toss together in a large bowl:
- Romaine lettuce
- Chickpea-Walnut Taco Crumbles: These are so simple to make and add great texture. Plus protein and fiber!
- Black beans: Or use pinto beans if desired.
- Sweet corn: Either cooked fresh, canned, fire-roasted, etc.
- Grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes: I use these because they are so sweet and flavorful. Substitute with roma tomato or plum tomato if desired.
- Red onion
- Desired toppings: Tortilla chips, guacamole or avocado, fresh cilantro, etc.
Tip: You can also add cooked brown rice, Spanish rice, or quinoa for extra heartiness!
Ingredients for Dressing
For the creamy southwestern-style dressing you will need:
- Vegan yogurt: Be sure it's plain and unsweetened. I use Forager cashew milk yogurt.
- Fresh lime juice: We will need two tablespoons for this recipe. (Which is about one lime.)
- Apple cider vinegar
- Chili powder: I use mild.
- Onion powder: Be sure your pantry spices are fresh (not expired) for best flavor.
- Garlic powder
- Pure maple syrup: Or substitute with another liquid sweetener.
- Salt: I use fine grain salt. Use as much or as little as you'd like.
Tip: You can also add fresh cilantro and/or chipotle for some smoky spiciness!
For more inspiration, also browse all easy vegan dinner recipes.
Vegan Taco Salad with Creamy Southwestern Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 large head romaine (4-5 cups finely chopped)
- 1 batch chickpea-walnut taco crumbles
- 15 oz. can black beans
- 1 cup sweet corn, cooked
- 5 oz. grape tomatoes (about 1 cup)
- 1/3 cup red onion
- Optional for serving: tortilla strips, avocado/guacamole, cilantro
For the Creamy Southwestern Dressing:
- 1 cup vegan yogurt, plain & unsweetened*
- 2 Tbsp. lime juice
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- Optional: fresh cilantro, chipotle
Instructions
- Make the chickpea-walnut taco crumbles.
- Meanwhile, make the dressing: Combine all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Adjust flavors if desired. Set aside.
- Finely chop romaine. Halve/quarter the grape tomatoes and finely dice the red onion.
- Place all salad ingredients in a large bowl (including taco crumbles when finished baking). Toss to combine.
- Place portioned salad in serving bowls and top with desired amount of dressing. Add toppings if desired. (I enjoy crumbled tortilla chips for crunch.)
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving (Estimate)
Sodium content: This is omitted as I cannot provide an accurate number. I encourage you to calculate your own to provide a much more precise reading based on the exact ingredients, brands, and amounts you're using.
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Zoe Hale says
I made this last night and kept the yoghurt separate as suggested but the yoghurt mix went quite hard/curdled-like in the fridge? Its not out of date as it was newly bought and opened for this recipe. It tasted great but the texture of the refrigerated yoghurt mix was grim. Not sure what I can do to prevent that happening next time.
Kaitlin says
Hi Zoe. Ah yes, that can happen when mixing together yogurt and acid (lime juice and vinegar) and letting it sit. Feel free to make the dressing right before serving next time to avoid the texture change if you prefer!
Bridgette says
I rarely leave comments but this salad is stupid easy to make and is so good! It's perfect for meal prepping for the week and is super low cost. I used to hate taco salads and then fell in love with the one at Mendocino farms but couldn’t afford to eat there all the time. This is the perfect substitute and honestly tastes better!
Kaitlin says
Hello, Bridgette! Thrilled to hear you're enjoying this recipe and you find it great for meal prep, too. That's awesome. Thanks for coming back to leave a comment - it's very appreciated!
Grace says
Hi Kaitlin. I absolutely love your vegan taco crumbles. The texture of the chickpea and walnuts are perfect. The spices were delicious. Thank you so much for all the wonderful recipes that you send!!
Kaitlin says
Hello, Grace! Thrilled to hear you're enjoying the recipes (including the taco crumbles!) That warms my heart. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your very kind feedback.
Joan says
This was incredibly good. I can’t stop eating it. Very filling and so flavourful and delicious. I found that I loved it best with a good squeeze of lime and chopped cilantro over the salad. I loved this salad. I omitted the tomatoes but made a fresh salsa to go with it. Thanks very much for sharing this healthy, salad recipe.
Kaitlin says
Hello, Joan! So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe. Great call adding lime juice, cilantro, and salsa. Thanks for giving it a try and sharing your kind and helpful feedback!
Jennifer says
A delicious recipe of amazing flavours!! Easy to put together on a weeknight. We absolutely loved the chickpea-walnut taco crumbles! Delicious + filling = a keeper of a recipe!
Kaitlin says
Happy you tried this one, Jennifer! I had so much fun developing it and putting all the components together. 🙂 Absolutely thrilled to hear it worked out for you all. So sweet of you to share your kind feedback as always - thank you!
Celeste says
Dressing was so good. Mix of veggies was great. My guy and I both loved it.
Kaitlin says
Hello Celeste! Wonderful to hear you both enjoyed the salad and dressing. I appreciate you sharing your very kind feedback - thank you!
imsen says
This salad was delicious and filling. I especially loved the dressing and the spices. I have made those twice in one week because it was so good. I highly recommend it!
Kaitlin says
Great to hear. Thanks for sharing!
J says
So delicious!! Even left out the walnut crumbles because I was too hungry. Loved the dressing. Such wonderful flavors! Subbed avocado mayo for the yogurt. Topped with crumbled Tortilla chips. AMAZING. Thank you.
Kaitlin says
Wonderful to hear you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for giving it a try and sharing your kind and helpful feedback!
Karen Goolsbee says
I love this recipe! It was absolutely delicious, and I'll be making this again soon. I'll have to find a way to layer this for a jar for school lunches. Thank you!!
Kaitlin says
Wonderful to hear, Karen. (And great idea with turning it into a jar salad for packed lunches!)