Chickpea Taco Salad
on Mar 17, 2022
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Learn how to make this vegan taco salad in just 15 minutes using simple pantry staples! You will love this healthy, plant-based taco salad recipe with seasoned chickpeas.
Ingredients for Chickpea Taco Salad
Lettuce: I like to use cool, crunchy Romaine lettuce because it’s super refreshing alongside the warm seasoned chickpeas. Iceberg, mixed greens, or a combo of all three is good too!
Black Bean, Corn and Tomato Salsa: a simple mix of black beans, sweet corn, juicy tomatoes, fresh cilantro and lime juice tossed together with salt and pepper.
Tortilla Chip “Croutons”: Instead of croutons, I love sprinkling crushed tortilla chips on top of this salad to add texture and extra flavor.
Avocado: One of my favorite parts of this recipe: a generous helping of big, creamy chunks of avocado. Yum!
Chickpeas + Taco Seasoning: Toss canned chickpeas with a touch of olive oil and taco seasoning and warm through on the stove. It takes about 5 minutes and it makes this salad super hearty and satisfying!
Creamy Salsa Verde Dressing: This sauce takes about 30 seconds to whip up and it’s a great dressing or dip for everything from salads and grain bowls to tacos and taquitos! It’s basically mix of vegan sour cream or coconut yogurt with a salsa verde, lime juice and cilantro. So tasty!
Chickpea Taco Salad:
- creamy + crunchy
- savory
- tangy
- warm + hearty
- well balanced
- filling
RECIPE FAQs:
Can I make this recipe ahead of time? Definitely! Just keep the various elements separate so it doesn’t get soggy. For example, the Black Bean + Corn Salsa can be made up to 5 days in advance and stored in a separate container. The chickpeas can also be made in advance, just warm them up before serving. You can also prep the Creamy Salsa Verde Dressing ahead of time so all that’s left to do is assemble and dress the salad at meal time.
I don’t have salsa verde, can I use something else? Yep! Any salsa you like will work well!
I’m not a fan of cilantro, what should I use instead? I’d leave it out or sub chopped scallions.
What kind of vegan sour cream is best? I listed some of my favorites here!
More Hearty Salads, Tacos and Bowls You Might Like:
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Chickpea Taco Salad with Creamy Salsa Verde Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 head Romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1 cup chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp taco seasoning
- 1 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
- ⅔ cup corn, I use thawed frozen corn
- 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
- ⅓ cup chopped red onion
- ¼ cup fresh chopped cilantro
- ¼ tsp cumin, optional
- 1/2 lime
- 1 large avocado , chopped
- kosher salt and black pepper
- crushed tortilla chips for topping
Creamy Salsa Verde Dressing
- 1 cup vegan sour cream or plain coconut yogurt , I used Kite Hill Vegan Sour Cream
- ¼ cup salsa verde
- 1/2 lime
- ¼ cup choped cilantro
Instructions
Step 1: Make the Corn Salsa
- Combine the corn, tomatoes, and black beans in a mixing bowl with 2 tbsp of cilantro and chopped red onion. Squeeze the juice of half of a lime on top and season with cumin and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and set aside.
Step 2: Make the Creamy Salsa Verde Dressing
- Combine the sour cream, salsa verde, cilantro and the juice from the other half of the lime in another bowl and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste and set that aside too.
Step 3: Cook the Chickpeas
- Add the olive oil to a frying pan and heat to medium-high. Add the chickpeas and taco seasoning and cook for 3-5 minutes or until warmed through.
Step 4: Assmeble
- Tossed Method:Add the lettuce, avocado, Black Bean + Corn Salsa, and warm chickpeas to very large mixing bowl. Stir in half of the dressing and toss to coat. Top with the remaining dressing and crushed tortilla chips and serve!Plated Method:Divide the lettuce between two dinner plates. Distribute the avoado, Black Bean + Corn Salsa, and warm chickpeas onto each plate. Dollop the dressing on top and sprinkle with crushed tortilla chips. Enjoy!
