Vegan Taco Salad

This vegan taco salad is loaded up with all the good stuff: spicy lentil walnut taco meat, tortilla strips, all sorts of veggies, pinto beans and avocado. Ready in less than 30 minutes, it's easy to customize and perfect for a nutritious, gluten free weeknight dinner!

This Vegan Taco Salad is a great way to change up your #tacotuesday plans. I love a good taco as much as the next person, but I have to admit, this loaded salad is just as good!

It has a little bit of everything: plant protein, spice, fresh greens, a tangy spiced vinaigrette, creamy avocado and crunchy tortilla strips. A little bit of something in every bite!

If you have picky family members (like us), you can easily set up a taco salad station so each person can customize their own dinner. You can even have vegan and non-vegan options for cheese, meat and other toppings. It also makes for great leftovers!

Vegan Taco Meat

Our vegan taco "meat" has an incredibly similar texture to real ground meat. It's super flavorful, easy to make and stores well in the refrigerator. You can use it in tacos (duh), lettuce wraps, burrito bowls, nachos, in this salad, or just on its own.

The meaty mixture is made with a combination of cooked lentils, walnuts and mushrooms. Lentils add plant-protein and texture, walnuts add crunch and mushrooms add a meaty flavor. Together, the three ingredients perfectly mimic ground beef, especially with plenty of spices to add extra flavor.

To make vegan taco meat, cook green or brown lentils according to package directions. Then, sauté some finely diced onion, jalapeño, and mushrooms.

Season with lime juice, salt, chili powder, smoked paprika and cumin. Stir in the cooked lentils and walnuts, let it cook for a few minutes and you're good to go!

Vegan Taco Salad Ingredients

In addition to the lentil walnut taco meat, there are a few other essential components to this vegan taco salad.

• Romaine: romaine is my favorite lettuce choice for this vegan taco salad. It's versatile and has a refreshing crunch that helps balance all of the toppings. You could also use butter lettuce, spinach or even kale.
• Pinto beans: drain and rinse a can of pinto beans and add to your salad for more plant protein. Black beans work well, too!
• Sliced cherry tomatoes. Feel free to sub with salsa or another fresh vegetable like bell pepper.
• Corn: an optional ingredient, but it adds a lot! We buy frozen fire-roasted or regular corn and reheat it before adding to the salad.
• Avocado: the riper, the better! You can also sub with guac.
• Vegan cheese: optional, but there are some great options on the market.
• Tortilla strips: or for an easier alternative, just crush up some tortilla strips! You can also make them at home either by baking or frying.
• Optional garnishes: fresh cilantro, green onion, jalapeño, pickled or fresh red onion

Lime Cumin Vinaigrette

This simple citrus vinaigrette is easy to whip up with a few basic ingredients.

To start, use a simple base of avocado or olive oil. Freshly squeezed lime juice adds acidity and lime zest adds extra citrus flavor. Add a small amount of agave nectar (or another liquid sweetener like honey or maple) to balance out the flavors.

Salt, pepper, red pepper (for a kick), cumin, garlic and onion powder round out the vinaigrette. Whisk everything together, or add to a jar, seal and shake it up well.

Toss everything together (except for the tortilla strips), garnish and enjoy!

If you meal prep this salad, wait to add the dressing until just before serving. The same goes for the tortilla strips - be sure to add just before serving so they don't get soggy!

More filling vegan salad recipes

• Vegan Cobb Salad with Eggplant "Bacon" and Homemade Ranch
• Moroccan Carrot and Lentil Salad
• Greek Chickpea Salad
• Soba Noodle Salad with Citrus Scallion Dressing
• Grilled Corn, Black Bean and Avocado Salad

If you make this Vegan Taco Salad recipe, we’d love for you to leave a comment and rating below! We also love to see your creations on Instagram – tag us at @crowded_kitchen so we can see what you’ve been cooking.

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