Easy Black Bean Taco Salad (with Lime Vinaigrette) – SO GOOD!
Drizzled with a homemade citrus vinaigrette and loaded with black beans, corn tortilla chips, and veggies, this Black Bean Taco Salad is a quick and easy meatless dinner idea! You’ll love all the fresh flavor in this vegetarian taco salad.
Creating This Black Bean Taco Salad
This recipe and the pictures have been sitting on the computer for a while now. I’ve been meaning to post it, but somehow other recipes always took priority. It’s not that this vegetarian taco salad wasn’t good — it was great!
Fresh tasting, easy to make, healthy. I happened to like the dressing especially and switching to blue corn chips made it so colorful! But, still, for some reason it just sat there waiting its turn.
Just today I commented to my friend on how I’ve been making more meatless meals lately and she said she had noticed as well.
Not in an attempt to be vegetarian, but sometimes getting dinner together is quicker if you don’t have to deal with meat. Meatless meals are also a great way to use up lots of leftover vegetables that might be hanging around.
To add back to the bulk of the salad, I substituted some corn. I thought this would be a great salad to repeat with fresh summer corn — cooked on the grill first, and then cut off the cob. I’m hungry just thinking about it!
Black Bean Taco Salad Ingredients
This easy taco salad recipe has two parts: the homemade dressing and the salad itself.
To make the vegetarian taco salad, you’ll need:
- Lettuce
- Cherry Tomatoes or Roma Tomatoes
- Green Bell Pepper or Red Bell Pepper
- Red Onion
- Corn
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- Canned Black Beans
- Corn Tortilla Chips
And to make the salad dressing for this veggie taco salad, you’ll need:
- Tomato
- Fresh cilantro
- Olive oil
- Cider vinegar
- Lime juice and Lime Zest
- Ground Cumin
- Chili Powder
- Garlic
For the complete ingredient list and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this post for the FREE printable recipe card.
Should I Use Canned, Frozen, or Fresh Corn?
You can use any type of corn you have on hand when making this easy and healthy taco salad recipe!
Fresh sweet corn is delicious in the summer. If you use fresh corn, just cut it off the cob and enjoy it raw (it’s super sweet when it is in season!).
Frozen corn is best when you thaw and drain it first. Frozen corn should be thawed and drained.
When using canned corn, it also needs to be drained before adding it to this great salad recipe.
What is the Best Lettuce to Use in Taco Salad
My favorite is crisp romaine lettuce. If you want your taco salad to have that satisfying crunch in this easy black bean taco salad recipe, then I recommend iceberg lettuce or romaine lettuce. Those lettuce varieties are the crispest and don’t wilt as easily.
If you wanted to use butter lettuce or green leaf lettuce, then I would recommend not adding the lettuce to the black bean mixture until just before serving
Substitutions in this Taco Salad Recipe
Need to make some substitutions in black bean taco salad so you don’t have to make a trip to the grocery store, or you just want to make it your own? Here are my suggestions:
Cheese – This recipe calls for cheddar cheese, but I also like cotija cheese, feta cheese, or a Mexican Cheese Blend. If you’re dairy free, then substitute with your favorite vegan cheese.
Black Beans – you can easily use substitute a different variety of canned beans, like Pinto Beans or Kidney Beans in place of the black beans. Use whatever you prefer.
Canned Beans –You can also used dried black beans if you don’t have (or don’t like to use) canned beans. Check out my tutorial: Everything You Need to Know About Cooking Dried Beans for instructions.
How to Make Black Bean Taco Salad
This is such a simple recipe! First, you’ll prepare the taco salad dressing recipe. Then, add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth.
After that,, you’ll chop up the fresh veggies and assemble the salad in a large salad bowl. Lastly, add as much or as little of the taco salad dressing as you’d like.
The above is simply a quick summary of this recipe. Check out the full recipe in the free printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for all the detailed instructions.
Favorite Taco Toppings for this Black Bean Taco Salad
Want to add some extra flavor to that first bite? Here are my ideas to garnish this recipe for vegetarian taco salad:
- Green Onions Chopped Red Onion
- Sour Cream or Mexican Crema
- Lime Juice
- Chopped Jalapeños
- Pickled Jalapeños and/or Onions (to make pickled jalapeños, check out this recipe for pickled vegetables, but use only sliced jalapeños and/or sliced onions)
- Salsa (Try Restaurant Style Salsa or Roasted Salsa Verde)
- Homemade Guacamole (Try: Easy 5 Minute Guacamole or Salsa Verde Guacamole)
Can I Add Meat to This Taco Salad?
I see no reason why you couldn’t add meat to this easy taco salad recipe. The original recipe called for chicken; I suppose you could also use some browned and seasoned ground beef or ground turkey, but it was a busy night and I didn’t want an extra step.
If you’d like to serve this taco salad with traditional taco meat, I recommend flavoring the ground beef with my favorite taco seasoning
You could also opt to add some Southwestern pulled pork to the taco salad, or even Mexican chicken.
How to Meal Prep this Taco Salad Recipe
I love to meal prep black bean taco salads for a busy Tuesday taco night dinner or a new recipe for weekday lunches. Here are my suggestions on how to do that:
- First, prepare the dressing ahead of time and store it in an airtight container – something like a jar works great because you can shake it to mix it up. The taco salad dressing recipe lasts in the fridge for about a week.
- Then, prep all the fresh veggies ahead of time and store in individual containers in the refrigerator. They don’t last as long when you combine them in a large serving bowl to store in the fridge.
- After that, assemble your individual salad when you’re ready to eat and store the leftover ingredients in the fridge. Lastly, top with chips!
Or, another option is to make a layered taco salad in a jar – head over to this post to read about how to make Salad in a Jar
What to Serve with Taco Salad
Because this is a vegetarian taco salad, you can enjoy it either as a side or a main dish. Depending on how you choose to serve it, here are some recipes that pair nicely with the taco salad:
- Grilled Corn and Mango Salsa
- Crock Pot Mexican Chicken
- Baked Chicken Taquitos
- Grilled Flank Steak
- Roasted Poblano Cilantro Quinoa
More Black Bean Recipes:
In these Chicken, Black Bean, and Spinach Enchiladas, corn tortillas are filled with tender, shredded chicken, black beans, and fresh spinach. Then they’re smothered in both roasted tomatillo salsa and a tangy sour cream sauce.
Breakfast Bowls like these Southwest Protein Breakfast Bowls with Sweet Potato and Black Beans are a great way to enjoy a quick protein-packed, creative meal at home on busy weekday mornings.
Pumpkin and Turkey Black Bean Chili is a great fall chili recipe with tons of flavor. Even better, it’s super easy to make!
This Black Bean Soup with Andouille Sausage has just a bit of spice with the andouille sausage that is enough for me. I loved the hint of smokiness from the smoked paprika and ancho powder.
Black beans, sweet potatoes, fire roasted salsa, and poblanos pair with black beans in this hearty, easy meatless Black Bean and Sweet Potato Chili.
If you don’t see what you’re looking for here, make sure you browse the recipe index; you can find all of the black bean recipes here.
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Black Bean Taco Salad with Lime Dressing
Drizzled with a homemade citrus vinaigrette and loaded with black beans, corn chips, and veggies, this Black Bean Taco Salad is a quick and easy meatless dinner idea!
Ingredients
Vinaigrette:
- 1/4 cup chopped seeded tomato
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon grated lime rind
- 1 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
Salad:
- 8 cups thinly sliced romaine lettuce
- 1 cup chopped tomato
- 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 1 cup finely diced red onion
- 1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels
- 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 4 cups organic blue corn tortilla chips (about 4 ounces)
Instructions
- To prepare vinaigrette, combine first 11 ingredients in a blender or food processor; process until smooth.
- To prepare salad, combine lettuce and remaining ingredients except chips in a large bowl.
- Add vinaigrette; toss well to coat. Serve with chips.
Notes
adapted from Cooking Light.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 402Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 293mgCarbohydrates: 58gFiber: 11gSugar: 10gProtein: 12g
GoodLifeEats.com offers recipe nutritional information as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although GoodLifeEats.com makes every effort to provide accurate information, these figures are only estimates.
Erin says
Many years later, this is still a favorite!
Katie says
I’m so glad!!
Terry says
What beautiful and colorful photos!
Erin says
I made this for dinner tonight – SO good! My son pronounced it his second favorite salad ever!
Dana says
Looks delicious to me! I love the colors.
simply_hibiscus says
you and i are on the sa,me kind of mind set when we make our food right nowi’mdoing the japanese setjust finished misosoup and now finishing my rice with soy sauce in seaweed paper soooo darn good
FishMama says
Looks beautiful AND yummy!
Maria says
Love Mexican flavors, great dinner idea!
RecipeGirl says
Looks delicious. Can’t wait to try it out!