Quinoa Taco Salads (From The Complete Plant Based Cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen)

Salads are a great way to get a lot of vegetables into one meal. However, salads often leave me feeling unsatisfied and hungry when not constructed correctly. This quinoa taco salad was a great example of what a salad should be! There was a lot of flavor, different textures, and lots of great ingredients.

The main focus of this salad was white quinoa. I toasted the quinoa in a saucepan until it became fragrant and started popping. I removed that from the pot and started sauteing onion. I added canned chipotle and adobo sauce, tomato paste, and cumin. I stirred in vegetable broth and let that simmer until tender. After about 25 minutes, I removed it from the heat and let it sit with the lid on for another 10 minutes. I removed the quinoa from the pot and placed it on a baking sheet to cool. I sauteed corn on the stove until it began to get some color. I prepared my lettuce, rinsed black beans, quartered cherry tomatoes, cut up avocado, sliced scallions, and divided cilantro. In a large bowl, I whisked together lime juice, pepper, oil, and salt together. I added the beans, tomatoes, avocado, scallion, and cilantro to that bowl and tossed to combine. I tossed in the lettuce. I transferred the lettuce to bowls and topped with the quinoa and corn. I did also add some crushed tortilla chips to the top for texture.

This recipe makes an incredible taco salad. I loved feeling full and satisfied after I ate it! I love how it had a lot of fresh veggies, a simple dressing, and flavorful quinoa. The quinoa was slightly spicy and had a great taco-like flavor. The recipe did make enough for 4, so Jacob and I had half for dinner. We saved the other half for lunch the following day, but the lettuce did get soggy. The salad was still delicious the following day, but it did lose some of the texture.

Taste: 10/10!

Notes for next time: I added some crushed tortilla chips on top and I loved the little bit of crunchy texture that it added to the salad.