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 fare 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. (Yesterday’s black bean tacos make today’s taco salad a breeze.)
Let’s talk about that 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.
How to make a vegan taco salad
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.
Put the black bean mixture into the tortilla bowls along with the following toppings:
- Lettuce
- Tomatoes
- Red bell peppers
- Guacamole
- Pickled jalapeño peppers
If you’d like, finish with a drizzle of cashew salad dressing, cashew queso, cilantro chimichurri, vegan ranch dressing, pickled red onions, or a few generous dashes of hot sauce.
Make it your own
Change the ingredients and fillings to make this easy lunch or dinner your own.
Swap out the black beans with one of the following:
- Walnut taco meat
- Vegan refried beans
- Seitan chorizo & black beans
- Lentil & black bean mixture
- Chickpea filling
For a gluten-free option, use corn tortilla chips or vegan nacho chips instead of a tortilla bowl.
Swap out the lettuce for baby spinach.
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.
Vegan taco salad with spicy black beans
Ingredients
- 4 large wheat tortillas
- 1 teaspoon organic canola oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ¾ cup onion chopped small
- 1 ½ cups black beans 1 15 oz can, drained and rinsed
- 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
- Creamy cashew dressing optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Place each tortilla in a metal tortilla shell pan or glass oven safe bowl. Put them into the oven for 10 minutes or until crisp. (If you're using smaller tortillas, they may require less time in the oven. Check on them after 5 minutes.)
- While the tortilla is cooking, heat skillet to a medium heat and add oil to the heated pan. Sauté garlic and onions in pan until fragrant and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add drained black beans, cumin, ancho chili powder, oregano, coriander, paprika, lime juice, water, and salt to the pan. Use a spatula to fully combine the beans and spices. Once the bean mixture has warmed and any excess liquid has cooked off, remove from heat.
- Remove the bowls from the oven. Fill tortilla bowls with a scoop of spicy black beans, lettuce, tomato, red bell pepper, and guacamole. If you like, drizzle creamy cashew dressing on each salad and serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Content and photos updated September 2020. Originally posted September 2013.
Jennifer
Can’t go wrong with Taco Salads! looks GREAT!
Cadry
Thanks, Jennifer! Taco salads are always a win in my book too.
Bobbie {the vegan crew}
These spicy black beans sound like the perfect filling! We’ve enjoyed taco bowls at home a number of times since you posted about how to bake your own some time ago — such a great idea! I don’t know if we have room for any more dishes in our tiny kitchen (not that it’s ever stopped me), but I’m really digging the metal dish made specifically for taco bowls.
Cadry
It’s funny how just a change of shape from burrito to bowl makes the experience so much more fun, even though it’s the exact same tortilla. I probably wouldn’t have gotten the metal taco bowls either, but David actually really wanted them. So I gave them to him for Christmas last year. It does make taco salad night that much more inviting!
veganinbrighton
Who wouldn’t love a dish they could eat?! I love a good bread bowl!
Cadry
It’s true! I rarely see foods served in bread bowls anymore, let alone vegan foods. We need to start a restaurant selling vegan chili in bread bowls ASAP.
Becky
So cute, and I love the video!
Cadry
Thanks, Becky!
Kylie - FotV
Oh yummy! I loooooove black beans, so I need to try your spicy version. Where did you get the taco shell contraption?? I need one 🙂
Cadry
I bought them on Amazon. However, I’ve also seen them in lots of cooking stores, and so you should check in your area too. I bet you’ll find them there!
Richa
love the video. those metal bowls for the shape are so fun!
Cadry
Thanks, Richa! The perfect shape does make it that much prettier!
Joey
I think that taco bowl is really cute – am I being a bit retro with that? Still, with the beans in, no one can deny its awesomeness!
Cadry
Maybe they’re retro or maybe they’re timeless!
gigiveganville
why do I always forget lime? Thank you for reminding me with this great video! Larry wants a taco bowl now 😉
Cadry
I think Larry should keep his eye on the prize and find you first! Then taco salads for everyone!
gigiveganville
hahaha.
Herbivore Triathlete
Oh my God, I can’t even begin tell you how many late nights I spent at Perkins as a teenager! I also love bowls you can eat, bread or tortilla shells! This looks so delicious. Loving the video!
Cadry
Oh, that’s great that you spent many teenage nights at Perkins too. Interactive food (like being able to eat the bowl) is always more fun! Thanks for the kind words on the video!
ameyfm
so fun. It never occurred to me to make a tortilla bowl! I will totally try this. But, as you know, I am totally distracted by your immaculate kitchen. It would take me at least 3 days to get my kitchen that clean. I am AMAZED.
Cadry
Aw, thanks, Amey! As a person who was known for the first 27 years of her life as being the messy one that really tickles me!
Mel
Taco bowls are such a great idea – I love the thought of having an edible bowl. What’s up your sleeve next Cadry? An edible nacho hat like the one Homer wore on The Simpsons!
Cadry
I like the way you think! I could have nachos with me everywhere I go. 🙂
luminousvegans
Great video! These taco bowls look awesome. I love bowls since visiting Portland. But including a bowl I can eat is like whoa, taking bowls to the next level! I never even thought to make the bowl/shell at home. That’s so smart!
Cadry
Thanks, Ketty! It’s so easy too and makes salad night a lot more interesting. After you do it the first time, I bet you’ll be hooked!
Bianca- Vegan Crunk
We have Perkins down here too, and that was MY PLACE back in the day. I’m from a small town in Arkansas, where not much is going on ever, so my high school friends and I (we called ourselves The Freaks b/c we were artsy and “misunderstood” ha!) spent hours drinking endless pots of coffee and smoking cigarettes (back when smoking was allowed in restaurants!). I used to order the fries or the chocolate chipper sundae all the time.
Cadry
Our groups would have had a lot in common, I think! I went with lots of different people to Perkins, but whenever I went with other drama kids we sat in the smoking section since a lot of them smoked. (It’s funny now to think of that glass partition that separated the smoking from non-smoking section and how little use that would be since smoke rises.) We called ourselves The Benchers, because there were these crappy red benches in the drama room where we would hang out and talk.
Susmitha - Veganosaurus
The taco salad looks fantastic, Cadry! And I love your recipe video. 🙂
Cadry
Thanks, Susmitha!
veganmiam.com
Awesome video! Thanks for the terrific steps! I love spicy salads, especially the black beans & these gorgeous avocados & cilantro/green scallions. I look forward to reading about one of my favorite bloggers, Jackie <3<3
Cadry
Thanks so much! You’re going to love Jackie’s interview! She is hilarious.
Andrea
Now, of course, I’m obsessing over the tortilla bowl bakers. People who love kitchenware should not be allowed to watch videos like this. You should have posted a warning. 😀
Cadry
I’ll see if David can add some kind of warning and siren noise for those with the similar kitchenware addictions! 🙂
Hannah
You so purrrrrrdy.
Cadry
Aw, you’re too kind! 🙂
Maggie Muggins
I had no idea making one of those tortilla bowls was so easy! I have to make this for lunch, I haven’t had taco salad in years! The last time I had one was also at one of those chain diner restaurants, just the Canadian version 🙂
Cadry
I know! It really couldn’t be simpler!
Shell
I love the video! It makes it look so easy. I’ve been really interested in your black bean recipe, but was intimidated. I’m not anymore!
Cadry
Thanks, Shell! It is super easy. Maybe you can add it to your Sunday repertoire! 🙂
Randi (laughfrodisiac)
Oh wow I want to make this for dinner tomorrow, most definitely. It looks so fresh and joyous.
Ahh, memories of Perkins, how lovely 😛 They all smell the same, like Subways do, right?!
Cadry
Probably! With all of those chickens’ eggs they’re frying and pies they’re baking, I bet they all smell about the same. It is weird how Subways smell the same everywhere. I passed by one a couple of weeks ago and was amazed that the smell emanating out its doors was so omnipresent and standard.
clairesuellentrop
Isn’t it funny how much time in high school is spent stuffed in chain diner booths? Sounds like our experiences were similar–though I usually ended up at IHOP or at Village Inn. Anyway, this taco bowl sounds fabulous.
Cadry
It is funny! I spent so many nights there in those days, and now I haven’t been inside of a Perkins in probably ten years. Thanks for the kind words about the taco bowl!
Marti Mïllër Häll
This looks YUMMY! We do a lot of taco salads, taco bowls, taco whatevers… I can’t stand the taste of canned beans though, but fortunately we usually have a stash of cooked, or cooked and frozen ones avaiilable.
Cadry
I bet our freezers look very similar! Mine is always full of beans made from scratch in a variety of types that I freeze for future use. I don’t use canned beans either, but I know a lot of other folks do.
Mandee
Yum! This looks so fresh and delicious, definitely my kind of meal!
Cadry
Thanks, Mandee!