Vegan taco salad with spicy black beans

Name: Vegan taco salad with spicy black beans
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 4 large wheat tortillas; 1 teaspoon avocado oil (or your preferred neutral-flavored cooking oil); 2 garlic cloves (minced); ¾ cup onion (chopped small); 1 (15-ounce) can black beans (drained and rinsed (1 1/2 cups)); 1 teaspoon cumin; 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder; ½ teaspoon oregano; ½ teaspoon coriander; ½ teaspoon paprika; 1 Tablespoon lime juice; ¼ cup water; Salt (to taste); 4 cups chopped romaine (or green leaf lettuce); 1 large tomato (chopped); 1 red bell pepper (chopped); 1 batch guacamole (or 2 avocados); Creamy cashew dressing (optional, or your preferred salad dressing)

Updated: Jul 30, 2025 · Published: Sep 23, 2020 by Cadry Nelson · This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. · 47 Comments

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Vegan taco salads include everything you need for a filling lunch or dinner in a bowl you can eat!

There's spicy black beans, lettuce, tomatoes, and a generous dollop of guacamole.

Crack some of the shell into the salad while you eat for extra crunch.

One word makes everything better.

Taco.

Walking is nice. Walking tacos are better.

Breakfast is great. Breakfast tacos are greater.

Think pizza can't be improved upon? Make taco pizza.

Even salad, which has its fair share of detractors, come around when it's taco salad.

It has all of the flavors of everyone's favorite Tuesday night meal in a crispy tortilla bowl.

That's why vegan taco salad should be on your regular lunch or dinner repertoire. Not only is it super easy to make, it's also a great way to repurpose leftovers.

(Leftover black bean tacos make taco salad a breeze.)

In this post:

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Baked tortilla bowl
Ingredients
Step by step instructions
Make it your own
📖 Recipe

Baked tortilla bowl

While restaurants often use the deep fryer for the tortilla bowl, baking is less messy, healthier, and easier.

If you have a tortilla bowl maker, obviously, use that. You can find them online or in the kitchen section of most home goods stores.

But if you don't have them, use any oven safe bowl.

I have a stacking set of glass oven safe bowls that I've used many times in a pinch.

Simply place the tortilla into a bowl, and press it against the sides.

Depending on the material of the bowl, and size of the tortilla, the cooking time may vary a little bit. So it's good to keep an eye on it, and check for when the edges are browning.

To easily pull out the tortilla bowl without burning yourself, grab your trusty toast tongs.

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients you will need to make this recipe.

Tortillas: Choose large, burrito-sized tortillas (as opposed to the smaller taco size). Whole wheat is my preferred option, but white tortillas also work.

Oil: Avocado oil is my go-to, but any neutral-flavored cooking oil works well here.

Produce: Garlic, onion, tomato, red bell pepper, and lettuce. Then finish with your choice of avocados or guacamole.

Black beans: Either homemade or canned beans will work for this recipe. You’ll need one 15-ounce can of beans (drained and rinsed), or 1 ½ cups of cooked black beans.

Seasonings: Cumin, ancho chili powder, oregano, coriander, paprika, and salt.

Ancho chili powder is made with one ingredient – dried ancho chilies. It is flavorful but not hot. It can be replaced with standard chili powder, which is a blend of seasonings.

Lime juice: Choose freshly squeezed over bottled for the best flavor.

Salad dressing: Although it’s not strictly necessary, a delicious dressing can bring it all together. My favorite options are creamy cashew dressing, creamy onion & garlic dressing, or ranch dressing. Sriracha mayo is also tasty here!

Step by step instructions

This section shows how to make this recipe at a glance with process photos of the steps. For complete ingredient amounts & instructions, keep scrolling to the recipe card below.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Put tortillas into metal taco bowls or oven safe glass bowls. Bake for 10 minutes (or less if the tortillas are small).

Bring a skillet to a medium heat with oil. Sauté onions and garlic.

Once fragrant, add the following:

Drained black beans
Cumin
Ancho chili powder
Oregano
Coriander
Paprika
Lime juice
Water
Salt

Combine everything fully with a spatula.

Let any excess liquid cook off while the beans heat.

Black beans with onions, garlic, and spices in skillet.

Put the black bean mixture into the tortilla bowls along with the following toppings:

Lettuce
Tomatoes
Red bell peppers
Guacamole
Quick pickled jalapeños

For even more flavor, add any of these optional toppings:

Make it your own

Salad with spinach leaves, tomatoes, and bell pepper.

Change the ingredients and fillings to make this easy lunch or dinner your own.

For a gluten-free option, use corn tortilla chips instead of a tortilla bowl.
Swap out the lettuce for baby spinach.
Swap out tomatoes for roasted tomato salsa.
Add a dollop of non-dairy sour cream, a sprinkling of shredded vegan cheese, and/or a handful of black olives.
Instead of or in addition to all of the raw vegetables, use grilled vegetables from this veggie fajitas recipe.

If you like, swap out the black beans with one of the following:

More Salads

About Cadry Nelson

Cadry Nelson is the writer, recipe creator, and photographer behind Cadry’s Kitchen, and the author of Living Vegan For Dummies, 2nd Edition. Since launching her blog in 2009, Cadry has been making plant-based cooking approachable, and reimagining classic comfort foods. Her work has been featured in NBC News, Buzzfeed, Yahoo, Parade, VegNews, and more. She regularly appears on local TV shows, demonstrating to a broad audience how easy vegan cooking can be.

Comments

5 from 3 votes (1 rating without comment)