Crunchy Tex Mex Salad with Pinto Beans
and honey-adobo dressing
A classic taco salad is one of our favorite back-pocket meals. This version is vegetarian with spiced pinto beans, corn, and a sweet and spicy dressing. It's a great meal if you're cooking for one or two, but you can also set everything out like a taco bar, making it an easy meal to DIY if you've got a house full of people.
Smarts: Don't hesitate to customize this meal. Taco salad makes a great base for leftover vegetables, your favorite protein, and extra toppings.
Ingredients
- Vinegar, red wine - 1 1/2 Tbsp
- Adobo sauce - 1 Tbsp (usually found with canned chipotle peppers)
- Honey - 1 Tbsp
- Paprika, smoked - 1/2 tsp
- Oil, cooking - 3 Tbsp
- Cumin - 1 tsp
- Coriander, ground - 1 tsp
- Paprika, smoked - 1 tsp
- Garlic powder - 1/2 tsp
- Salt - 1/2 tsp
- Bell peppers, any color - 1, diced
- Lettuce, any crisp variety like iceberg or Boston leaf - 8 oz, shredded
- Tomatoes, Roma - 4, chopped
- Avocados - 1, diced
- Olives, black and sliced (4 oz / 113 g) - 1 can, drained and rinsed
- Beans, pinto (14 oz / 397 g) - 1 can, drained and rinsed
- Corn kernels, frozen - 1 cup
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
- Cheese, Colby Jack or cheddar - 4 oz, shredded (look for pre-shredded to save time)
- Tortilla chips - 4 cups
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Make honey-adobo dressing - Whisk together vinegar, adobo sauce, honey, paprika (portion for dressing), and oil (portion for dressing). (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Make spice mix - Combine cumin, coriander, paprika (portion for salad), garlic powder, and salt. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Bell peppers - Dice bell peppers. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Lettuce / Tomatoes / Avocados - Prep as directed.
- Olives - Drain and rinse.
- Beans - Drain and rinse.
- Corn - Defrost corn.
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Make
- Heat a skillet with oil (portion for taco salad) over medium heat. Add beans and corn. Saute for 1 minute to heat through. Add spice mix and saute for 1 to 2 minutes more, until spices are fragrant.
- Assemble salads by forming a bed of lettuce and topping it with bell peppers, tomatoes, avocados, and olives. Top with beans, corn, and cheese.
- Dress salads with honey-adobo dressing. Serve with tortilla chips (you can crumble these over the top or use them to scoop up the other ingredients). Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
17 reviews
Very tasty! But lots of chopping. Unless you do the prep, it’s easy but not that quick. Quick clean up, though. And everyone loved it.
0 HelpfulFabulous! We are trying to eat two vegetarian meals a week and this was our first from CS. It was truly excellent!
0 HelpfulI had extra meat so I doubled the spice mix and the dressing amount, which gave plenty of flavor to the dish. My husband, who usually is so-so on Mexican food, gave this high marks and by making extra portions I had an easy quick salad option for another meal.
0 HelpfulI was skeptical about how filling this would be, but I was surprisingly full. I will definitely do this again and make a little more sauce.
0 Helpful