This fully loaded Vegan Taco Salad gets a flavor punch from spicy, tangy, herb-packed blender chimichurri sauce. It's a total crowd-pleaser!
This Vegan Taco Salad recipe is based on my favorite order and one of my favorite restaurants here in Atlanta: El Myriachi. They have a ton of amazing vegan options on their menu, and I love their taco salad!
It's a pretty simple salad as-is, but what makes it special is that you can use any of the sauces on their menu as the dressing. And I get it topped with their chimichurri every time.
About Chimichurri
Chimichurri is a spicy, vibrant, herb-packed Argentinian sauce. Normally, you see it as a marinade for meat, but its bright flavors go really well with veggies, too!
Normally, you make chimichurri by mincing up all of the ingredients and stirring them together with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, and pepper.
In my version, you just toss everything into the blender. This method takes only a few minutes and turns out such a flavorful sauce!
How to Make Vegan Taco Salad
The rest of the taco salad is just as easy to make. Pop open a box of spring mix, and divide it between your bowls, then arrange on the other toppings.
You can use the same salad toppings as I do or use what you have -- or what you are craving -- to customize.
This taco salad recipe uses:
- black beans
- corn
- tomato
- avocado
- bell pepper
- red onion
- tortilla chips
Just drain the beans, prep the veggies, and add everything to your bowls.
I recommend serving the dressing on the side. Since it is a bit spicy, different people might want to use more or less, to taste.
Make it a Meal Prep
This salad makes a great meal prep! Instead of dividing the salad ingredients between your bowls, divide them between your meal prep containers.
Use a sauce container to keep the dressing on the side, and pour it on at lunchtime, just before you eat.
How to Store
If you have leftovers, you can toss the beans, corn, and veggies together. Store them separately from the dressing, because the greens will get soggy if you mix the sauce in before storing.
The salad will keep for 4-5 days in the refrigerator, in an airtight container. Any leftover chimichurri will keep for about a week in an airtight container in the fridge.
Vegan Taco Salad with Chimichurri Dressing
Ingredients
For the Chimichurri
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ cup red wine vinegar
- ½ cup fresh parsley leaves - Some stems are OK, but get rid of any large, woody stems.
- ½ cup fresh cilantro - Some stems are OK, but get rid of any large, woody stems.
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano - or 2 tablespoons fresh
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 medium shallot - quartered
- 1 Fresno, serrano, or jalapeno pepper - see note
- salt and pepper - to taste
For the Taco Salad
- 8 cups spring mix - or baby spinach
- 1 15-ounce can of black beans - drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen corn - thawed
- 1 cup halved grape tomatoes - or chopped tomato
- 1 Haas avocado - chopped
- 1 orange pepper - diced
- ½ cup diced red onion
- 4 ounces tortilla chips
Instructions
For the Chimichurri
- Combine all of the sauce ingredients in your blender, except the salt and pepper, and puree until you have a somewhat-smooth mixture. A little bit of texture is totally ok!
For the Taco Salad
- Divide the spring mix between 4 large salad bowls. Top with the beans and veggies, and serve with the chimichurri on the side.
Equipment
Video
Notes
- You will probably only need about ½ of the chimichurri to dress your salad. The nutritional information assumes that you use half of the sauce. The leftover sauce will keep for about a week in the fridge in an airtight container.
Have a question? Tried this recipe? Share your thoughts!