Am I becoming a salad person? I think so! This Hearty Taco Salad was just what I needed and I may or may not have eaten this entire thing!

Okay, okay, hear me out though! I didn’t eat this entire thing in one sitting but it is definitely what I had as lunch, a snack, and dinner haha

This taco salad was so delicious and it was loaded with some of my favorite ingredients like kale, black beans, tomatoes, red onions, tortilla strips, corn, avocado, and vegan ground meat.

TIP: I actually made the tortilla strips myself by taking a large tortilla and cutting it into strips with a pizza cutter. Then I generously spray the strips with olive oil and air fried them for about 5-7 minutes at 400 degrees. Talk about game changing!! I couldn’t stop snacking on them

I used Impossible Meat as the meat substitute and seasoned it with traditional taco flavors like cumin, smoked paprika, black pepper, chipotle chili powder, and garlic pepper. I refrained from adding much salt because it didn’t really need much so I’d recommend adding salt after the vet meat has finished cooking to get a good idea on if you’ll need it or not

I grilled the corn on a stove top grill pan and it was cooked to perfection.

This was absolutely delicious and I would 10/10 recommend you give it a try!

Be sure to tag me @sweetgreensvegan if you share on social media

Hearty Taco Salad Ingredients:

.5 lbs of vegan ground meat

1/4 tsp of chipotle chili powder

1/2 tsp of garlic powder

1/4 tsp of smoked paprika

1/4 tsp of cumin

Salt + pepper to taste

1 cup of crispy thin tortilla chips (store bought or homemade)

1 medium-sized corn on the cob

1 tbsp of dairy, free butter

4-5 cups of mixed leafy greens (I used a spring mix, romain, and kale)

3/4 cup of cooked black beans

3/4 cup of halved cherry tomatoes

1/4 cup of sliced red onions

1/3 cup of chopped cilantro

1/2 cup of vegan cheddar cheese

1 avocado, sliced

Dressing: vegan ranch, avocado cilantro-lime ranch, or your preferred dressing

Instructions:

Cook the vegan ground meat according to the brand instructions. Halfway through add in the chipotle chili powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and cumin. After the meat has fully cooked through, season with salt and pepper as needed

If you are making tortilla strips, cut them into small strips (see picture), and either fry them on the stove in hot oil or generously spray them with oil and add them to the air fryer at 400 degrees for 5-7 minutes. (I air fried mine to minimize the amount of oil used)

Next, grill the corn. Rub the corn on the cob with 1 tbsp of butter and place it either on a stove-top grill pan, a countertop grill, or an outside grill. Cook and flip occasionally for 7-10 minutes to ensure that the entire corn on the cob has grill marks

Now that the vegan ground meat, tortilla strips, and corn have finished cooking, prep the veggies and assemble the salad using leafy greens, black beans, halved cherry tomatoes, grilled corn, vegan meat, tortilla strips, sliced red onions, cilantro, vegan cheddar cheese, and avocado

Serve with vegan ranch, avocado-cilantro-lime dressing, or your preferred salad dressing

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