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Truthfully, I’ve never had a taco I didn’t like.
Yet when it comes to taco salad– well, I am traumatized.
As a kid, I was forced to eat taco salad covered in thousand island dressing (don’t ask me why). I just remember gagging it down and vowing to stay away from taco salads. Then I started making my own recipes and it all changed.
This healthy taco salad recipe is not a childhood recipe. It used walnuts and cashew cream for protein and salsa for the dressing. It’s good, promise!
As I grew up, I learned that taco salad takes many forms— and some are quite tasty (while others are gag-worthy)! There’s just something so satisfying about a crisp corn shell (or chips) piled high with shredded lettuce and all of the other veggie-lovin’ fixings.
What’s unique about my Healthy Taco Salad is there’s no meat. Instead, I’ve substituted my heart-healthy vegan taco meat. It’s so good you’d almost never know it wasn’t meat.
Ingredients in Healthy Taco Salad
While there are a dozen reasons I love tacos and taco salads, here are my top three:
- Easy to make
- Versatile for everyone
- Favor changes every time
For real though; I’ve got a family of 4 and we all have different taste preferences. This healthy taco salad recipe is an easy dinner win because everyone can customize it their own way. Here’s what I set out for my version of a healthy salad:
- Vegan taco meat: no joke, everyone is shocked at how amazingly tasty this walnut ‘meat’ is. You’ve gotta try it!
- Tortilla chips: I like to get strips for this; try Siete’s cassava chips for a grain-free version
- Romaine lettuce: It’s all about those crispy leafy greens in this healthy taco salad. Feel free to swap in spinach, kale, or the leafy green of your choice.
- Black beans: I splurge on the organic version, or make my own recipe from Simple Green Meals
- Avocado or guacamole: Healthy fat is needed for our bodies to break down nutrients, and what better way than with a colorful avocado?!
- Colorful veggies: cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, corn, black olives, green onions
Get creative with the veggie toppings. Red onion provides a pop of color, radishes are super crunchy, jalapeños really pop in flavor + spice… What are you fav veggies to add to a healthy taco salad?
Taco Salad toppings
Serve food that delights your tastebuds and nourishes your body at the same time. Choose a veggie or two from each of these 5 color groups and enjoy a variety of flavors as well as health benefits in your healthy taco salad.
Blue/purple foods provide vitamins A, C, and K. Green foods are rich in cancer fighting phyto-chemicals. Orange/yellow foods bring the beta-carotene and potassium. Red foods are good sources of iron. White/light green foods provide potassium, magnesium and vitamin E.
While this is just a glimpse into the incredible land of whole food, keep these tips in mind when choosing what colors join your plate for dinner.
What Makes Taco Salad Healthy?
Most taco salad recipes use ground beef, not this one. My walnut taco meat recipe is amazing. Now, I don’t often try to ‘mimic’ meat with plants, yet this recipe is pure genius on a plate. All you do is place walnuts in a bowl with water and a little lemon juice. Let sit for 8 hours or overnight to soften.
When ready, drain and rinse the soaked walnuts. Then add to a food processor with tamari (gluten-free soy sauce) and a few spices and grind it all up. You can turn up the spice on this ‘meat’ as much or as little as you want. If you have a fav taco seasoning, use that instead of my spice combo! This recipe made its debut in my our 21-Day Cleanse, and has been a fan fav ever since. Your salad just won’t be the same without it.
How to Incorporate Meat into Taco Salad
Plant-based eating doesn’t mean you have to be vegan. I’m not. If your family eats meat, try using half walnut taco meat and half ground beef. Your brain and body will thank you for providing it the rich benefits of walnuts, while you can also keep your meat-loving family members happy, too.
Healthy Taco Salad
Ingredients
- 1 cup Vegan Taco Meat
- 1 cup tortilla chips
- 2 cups romaine lettuce shredded
- ¾ cup black beans drained and rinsed
- ½ avocado diced
- ½ cup cherry tomatoes halved
- ½ red bell pepper diced
- ¼ cup corn thawed if frozen
- ¼ cup black olives sliced
- 2 tbsp green onions thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp cilantro for serving
- 1 tbsp dairy-free sour cream cashew cream
Instructions
- Prepare Vegan Taco Meat according to recipe (best if walnuts are soaked overnight. Yet in a pinch, you can "flash soak").
- Arrange romaine lettuce on plate and top with ingredients.
- Top with tortilla chips, followed by the taco meat, black beans, avocado, tomatoes, corn, olives, and green onions.
- Garnish with cilantro and sour cream.
Notes
- Vegan avocado crema would be really good on top instead of sour cream. It’s like a saucy version of guacamole.
- For a grain-free version, substitute corn tostadas with large cabbage or lettuce leaves, or simply omit.
- To heat taco meat, place a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and lightly coat the bottom with olive oil, about 1-2 teaspoons. Add taco meat mixture and lightly saute until warmed through and nuts are lightly toasted. Be careful not to let it burn. Use immediately.
Nutrition
Taco Salad Frequently asked questions
No! They can be super healthy yet still delicious by using fresh ingredients, protein powered vegan meat or real meat and dressing that is made with whole ingredients.
Easy! Use walnut taco meat, chickpeas, black beans, jackfruit, or tofu for a delicious non-meat taco salad. Swap out cheese + sour cream for guacamole and cashew cream. You won’t even miss the dairy or meat.
Taco salads are kind of a whole-meal-in-one dish. You’ve got your protein, starch, veggies, and fats altogether in one filling dish. Know that not all calories are the same, and if your healthy taco salad is full of fresh, whole foods, then you’ve got nothing to worry about except that next bite of flavor-filled goodness.
Delicious! So happy with my lunch!
Wow this was so good!!! First time trying the walnut meat…very clever will certainly use it other ways as well!!!
Another super salad! I just love this bright, fresh creation. AND it tastes fabulous! This recipe is a keeper. My non-vegan friends will have to rethink plant- based diets when they try this!
This is a very classic recipe but healthier. I used butter lettuce instead of romaine and lentil taco meat instead of the walnut taco meat and then I just put a few crushed walnuts on top. Very tasty. I will make again!
Taco Tuesday was a hit! I wasn’t sure about the vegan taco meat, but it was pretty good! I’m not fond of smoked paprika so I omitted it and added garlic and onion powder. I’d make it again. I warmed the taco meat, beans and corn. So good!
Delicious! I like that once all the ingredients are made, the family can pick and choose what they want on their salad.
Another go to for me. It’s so yummy you don’t even know it’s plant based! I added salsa since there was no dressing.
So. Very. Tasty!
I think anyone could enjoy this salad! We just used sour cream since we already had some sitting in our refrigerator. You can add a little more zing, if you want, by topping it with some salsa.
Easy & quick to make. Delicious to look at. I think I might bring this as a party dish someday!
So. Very. Tasty!
I think anyone could enjoy this salad! We just used sour cream since we already had some sitting in our refrigerator. You can add a little more zing, if you want, by topping it with some salsa.
Easy & quick to make. Delicious to look at. I think I might bring this as a party dish someday!
EDIT: Whoops! Forgot to add the STAR rating! :
So. Very. Tasty!
I think anyone could enjoy this salad! We just used sour cream since we already had some sitting in our refrigerator. You can add a little more zing, if you want, by topping it with some salsa.
Easy & quick to make. Delicious to look at. I think I might bring this as a party dish someday!
Yum! I reheated some bar nachos in the air fryer then broke up the tortilla chips for this salad. I skipped the taco meat because don’t have walnuts right now. Made the cashew cream for a fun touch. Used a squeeze of lime for zest and chunky hot salsa as a tasty dressing. Love tacos, especially on Tuesday! 😀
Filling tasty taco salad. I made the vegan taco meat with walnuts and was pleasantly surprised. The mixture of lettuce, red peppers, beans, avocado, tomatoes and corn was light but filling.
This Healthy Taco Salad is a hit! I enjoy taco salads anytime. This was so good and fresh. I did not add tortilla chips.
Very filling. First time I made it I used the walnuts. Wasn’t a fan. This time I used mushrooms with the seasonings. I liked it so much better!
The Healthy Taco Salad was fabulous. Anyone who thinks vegan taco meat doesn’t taste like the real thing needs to try Jen’s recipe for it and become a believer . Even my husband couldn’t believe how good it was! He said it was AMAZING. This salad has a fabulous mix of ingredients. So much flavor, quite filling and super healthy!
Day 2 Taco Salad was absolutely amazing! I decided to try the vegan taco recipe and oh boy was I glad I did! It was delicious! My salad was bursting with freshness and vibrant colors! Almost to good to eat but I was famished and ate both servings!
Healthy taco salad was . I will make again but double the walnut meat seasoning as like it spicy. Used vegan sour cream but next time trying your cashew cream for more flavor.