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Dense Bean Taco Salad
This dense bean taco salad has three kinds of beans, massaged kale, charred corn, and Cotija, tossed in a smoky chipotle lime vinaigrette. It’s the kind of salad that actually gets better as it sits in the fridge. This one is meal prep gold!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: No Cooking
- Cuisine: American, Mexican
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Units
Scale
DRESSING
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons lime zest
- 2 teaspoons diced chipotles in adobo (or more to taste)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 3 cloves garlic, finely grated with a microplane
- Kosher salt
- fresh cracked black pepper
SALAD
- 4 cups finely chopped kale
- 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 15 ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups cooked, cooled, shelled edamame
- 2 cups cooked, cooled, charred corn
- 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
- 1 jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed, finely diced
- 1/2 cup finely diced red onion
- 1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
FOR SERVING
- crumbled Cotija cheese
- sliced avocado
- cilantro lime sauce
- tortilla chips
Instructions
- MAKE DRESSING. Add olive oil, apple cider vinegar, lime juice, honey, lime zest, chipotles in adobo, cumin, Dijon, garlic, and a couple large pinches of salt and pepper to a medium bowl. Whisk until well combined and emulsified.
- WILT KALE. Add chopped kale to a large bowl and drizzle with a couple tablespoons of the dressing. Gently massage the kale with your hands for a minute or two, until it turns brighter green and begins to wilt.
- ASSEMBLE SALAD. Add black beans, pinto beans, edamame, corn, bell pepper, jalapeño, red onion, and cilantro to the bowl of kale.
- DRESS + TOSS. Drizzle with dressing and toss to coat everything evenly.
- CHILL. Transfer the salad to the fridge and let it chill for at least 2 hours, or up to overnight before serving. This allows the flavors to really meld and marry.
- GARNISH + SERVE. Toss salad once more to coat everything in the dressing. Serve with crumbled Cotija cheese, sliced avocado, a drizzle of cilantro lime sauce, and tortilla chips. Enjoy!
- SHARE THE LOVE. If you loved this recipe, please leave a 5-star rating and review below.
Notes
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- Massaging the kale is a must. If you’re not massaging your kale, you are missing out! It mellows both the flavor and the texture of the kale, and it adds a delicious freshness to this dense bean taco salad recipe.
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- Add more or less chipotles in adobo based on your personal preference. It’s a smoky heat that really lends itself well to this veggie-packed salad, and it’s not super spicy when mixed with all the other ingredients. If you’re wary, add just 1 teaspoon at first and then add more to taste.
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- If you have an immersion blender, use it to make this dressing super smooth and creamy.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/8 of the salad
- Calories: 316
- Sugar: 7.4 g
- Sodium: 233.9 mg
- Fat: 16.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 34 g
- Fiber: 10.4 g
- Protein: 11.9 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Find it online: https://midwestfoodieblog.com/dense-bean-taco-salad/
