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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.
Very tasty and extremely filling.
Love all taco salads. I’ve always wanted to try walnut “meat”. My family loved this. Next time we will add some riced cauliflower with the walnuts to cut back a little on the nuts. Added salsa verde for some extra heat!
Day 2 ✔️ Healthy Taco Salad
It’s really good! Avocado still not ready.
I love walnut meat!
I’d make it again!
Awesome salad for taco Tuesday in my house! I added some hot sauce and homemade guac and it was a complete meal. The cashew cream was a great dressing and it was nice to not have to add any additional dressing to it. Will be making again!
Very filling! I substituted coco aminos for the tamari and added some jicama I had on hand. I didn’t miss cheese at all!
Super easy to make and delicious. Added toasted garbanzos for additional crunch.
Nice change. I have not had a salad like this before. I am so glad to get some new recipes!
Not a big salad person so take this with a grain of salt . Seemed a little dry but I also didn’t use the cashew cream so I would recommend adding that even though said optional .
Adding the cashew cream definitely adds some moisture and brings the ingredients together! Def give it a shot next time!
This Healthy Taco Salad really (in Jen’s words) RAWKS!!! I did not make the walnut meat instead using Morningstar crumbles that I had on hand but seasoned it exactly as the recipe said. The seasoning was right on the money. This has to be the best taco salad I have ever had!! I made the cashew cream on Sunday and tasted it when it was done and thought it was delicious enough to use alone as a spread but the salad had so many amazing flavors going on that the cashew cream didn’t really stand out. It did combine nicely with everything to moisten it and help hold it together. I’ll definitely use this recipe again and will try the walnut “meat” next time.
Love it!! Great job, RAWKSTAR!
Great salad! When I was done I wished I had added a squeeze of lime juice. That would have been perfect!
This one was so easy to make. I used a blender. And I loved this addition to my taco Tuesday dinner. It tasted so good and I have extra for lunch tomorrow.
Rochelle
Oh my goodness! I had my hesitation on whether I would like either walnut taco meat or cashew cream! They are to die for!! I cannot have sour cream as my digestive system tries to get it out as fast as possible so I’ve always done without. The salad I THOUGHT sounded small with only a cup of romaine shredded. By the time I got the rest of the goodies on my plate I was wondering if I could finish! What an excellent recipe! I will definitely make this a regular in my house
Aww! I’m so glad you tried the walnut “meat” and the cashew cream.
Cashew Cream is definitely a life changer. And it’s just so versatile in different recipes!
This was a very good salad that I will make over and over. I was hesitant about the walnut “meat” but it was quite tasty. I will probably try something with mushrooms instead of nuts in the future to save on calories. I also added jalapeno for a bit of a bite.
This salad was so filling! I had trouble finishing it. My avos were going soft so I made guac and since I like it spicy I made the chipotle cashew cream. Yummm!
Color me surprised! I was skeptical of walnut taco meat substitute and I am pleasantly surprised. This was so good and the flavors were delicious. I will definitely be making this again!
Definitely a repeat for our family! My son who prefers only one vegetable on his plate at a sitting took one bite and eagerly finished his salad. He even asked if we could have it again soon.
Yummy! Had to use ground beef but will try the walnuts very soon. Didnt have the cashews so it did need some kind of dressing but it was still good. Couldn’t believe I would ever eat a taco salad without cheese, but I lived to see that it could happen. Thanks for broadening my horizons!!
Great job challenging yourself without the cheese, Marilyn!
Healthy way to enjoy Taco Tuesday on a plate. A flavor combo of goodness. The walnut taco meat could be used as a regular salad topper.