Crunchy Tex Mex Salad with Pinto Beansand 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.
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!
Reviews
This meal has 10 reviews
Really tasty. Easy and different!
Quick, easy and tasty. I loved the dressing. Some of my kids dressed the salad with ranch instead of the adobo dressing.
My husband actually really liked this. We added ground beef and it was delicious.
So delicious and easy to make! Loved the dressing!
Quick to put together! The sauce was too hot for my preschooler but I enjoyed it
Served with roasted cauliflower on the side to bulk it up. (seasoned with cumin, coriander and smoked paprika while I had them out)