Tempeh Taco Salad

A fresh, vibrant and hearty Mexican themed salad with homemade crunchy tortilla chips and a tangy coconut sour cream dressing. Easy to make with simple ingredients while being protein-packed and gluten-free and plant-based.

Salad season is fast-approaching, and I am so excited. As much as I love soups, stews and curries, I think salad and nourish bowls are my favourite kinds of food.  You can just get so much goodness, flavour and texture into one bowl. This Tempeh Taco Salad is a new firm favourite made with easy to find ingredients and it’s really adaptable to what you have in the house. It was originally inspired by a new tempeh product I found for taco flavoured tempeh bites which are amazing, but you can also use original flavoured tempeh and spice it up with some paprika, tamari soy sauce and syrup for a lovely glaze. Tempeh is a great source of plant-based protein and I love the texture, but you can also use chickpeas or tofu cubes instead.

Tempeh Taco Salad

The base of this Tempeh Taco Salad is a Mexican themed kale salad with black beans, sweetcorn and tomatoes – a few of my favourite things. I am really into Mexican flavours and salads at the moment and have made so many Mexican Salsa Stuffed Sweet Potatoes, Mexican Salsa Hummus Flatbreads and other salads like my Mexican Mango Salsa Salad. Toss it all together and you’ve got a winning flavour combination.

Another inspiration behind this Tempeh Taco Salad was a few fibre-filled tortilla wraps. Instead of making a wrap or burrito, I decided it was more fun to make tortilla chips – they are even better than you’d think. Chop them up into small triangles and toss in some oil and crisp them up in the oven. Flavour-wise I’ve added smoked paprika, cumin, salt and pepper but play around with your favourite herbs and spices. They are great for dipping into hummus and other bean dips, too, or my latest Baba Ganoush.

Tempeh Taco Salad

Tempeh Taco Salad

Serve this salad piled high with goodness all drizzled in a DIY sour cream made from lime or lemon juice and coconut yoghurt. It’s so simple but adds such a great freshness! Whip this salad up in no time at all and you’ve got a healthy, hearty and flavour-packed lunch or dinner.

It is full of colour, flavour and texture with lots of plant-based protein, healthy fats and vegetables. it is great for meal prep, although the tortilla chips are best kept separately and enjoyed the same day or the following day.

If you are looking for more simple salads, how about my Roasted Cumin Carrot Salad with Cashew Cheese, Nutty Rice Salad, Tahini Noodle Satay Salad or Rainbow Quinoa Salad.

Tempeh Taco Salad

• Servings: 4
• Time: 20 minutes
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

A fresh, vibrant and hearty Mexican themed salad with homemade crunchy tortilla chips and a tangy coconut sour cream dressing. Easy to make with simple ingredients while being protein-packed and gluten-free and plant-based.

Ingredients

• 4 tortilla wraps
• ½ tsp cumin
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• 400g seasoned/flavoured tempeh cubes (*to use plain tempeh follow notes below).
• 1 tin black beans, drained and rinsed (240g)
• 1 tin sweetcorn corn, drained (80g)
• 4 spring onions, chopped small
• 2 large tomatoes (100g), chopped small
• 1 bunch fresh coriander or parsley, chopped
• 160g kale, stems removed
• 2 tbsp lemon or lime juice
• 2 tbsp coconut yoghurt or vegan mayonnaise
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 2 avocados, sliced
• To serve: cooked rice, chilli flakes, pomegranate, extra yoghurt/mayonnaise

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 160Fan/180*C and line 2-4 baking trays with parchment paper. Lightly grease the paper with some oil. Chop the tortilla wraps into small-medium sized triangles and add to a bowl. Add in 1 tbsp olive oil, the cumin, paprika and some salt and pepper. Toss everything together with your hands. Lay the tortilla triangles onto the trays, trying not to overlap. Bake for 10-12 minutes, flipping over halfway through until crisp and brown.
2. Using the same bowl, add the kale along with 1 tbsp more olive oil, 1 tbsp lemon or lime juice and a pinch of salt. Massage with your hands for 1 minute. Now stir in the coconut yoghurt or mayonnaise.
3. In a second bowl, stir together the black beans, sweetcorn, spring onions, tomatoes and fresh herbs. Season with salt and pepper.
4. If necessary, cook the tempeh cubes in a frying pan with some oil until crisp. (*if using plain tempeh, add the cubes to a hot pan with some oil and fry in 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tbsp tamari soy sauce, 1 tbsp syrup and some salt and pepper. Fry for 5 minutes, flipping over until crisp).
5. Stir the black bean and sweetcorn salsa into the kale and divide between four bowls. Top with the cooked tempeh, avocado slices, and some cooked rice, pomegranate, extra yoghurt or mayonnaise, if desired.

Tempeh Taco Salad

I hope you will love this Tempeh Taco Salad and I look forward to hearing what you think, let me know in the comments below. if you make this salad, tag me in your creations, I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest  – please say hello!

With tempeh taco love x