Black Bean Taco Salad is an easy quick meal to prepare and has been one of my favorites over the years. It comes together so fast with fresh flavors and fun textures and is really a treat in the mouth and satisfying to the tummy.
I enjoy this taco salad for lunch or dinner. It is super delicious and nutritious. Some suggestions for different diet variations: If you are following a certain diet like Trim Healthy Mama, then you can serve this dish with blue corn chips or homemade baked Joseph’s pita / tortilla crisps / chips. If you are following a diet like The Fast Metabolism Diet then leave out the chips and instead serve this salad with sliced veggies like cucumbers, jicama, or large wedges of peppers, etc. If you are following a Low Carb Diet, leave out the black beans and chips and serve with low starch veggie slices or just on romaine lettuce. If you are on a Nourishing Foods or Eat Fat Loose Fat plan, add in a spoonfull of geletain powder and a spoonful of coconut oil to your pan while it cooks and serve with full fat sourcream and fermented Pico de Gallo and serve with sprouted corn chips. All of these methods are delicious variations you will not be dissappointed with.
This meal comes together fast and takes less than ten minutes to throw together if you keep a batch of Pico de Gallo in the fridge or freezer and canned beans on hand for quick meals. If not, then it will take you about another five minutes to chop those veggies and throw in the pot. If cooking beans from scratch, you will need to plan ahead and soak them overnight and plan to cook for an hour on the stove the next day before using in this recipe as dried beans should always be soaked for at least seven hours and drained before cooking to neutralize the phytic acids. This truly is a fast food meal. I like to make a batch of Pico de Gallo ahead and keep it in the fridge and some in quick meal packs in the freezer for fast meals when I don’t feel much like cooking or making a big mess in the kitchen.
The best part of all in making this meal is that my kids enjoy it and they don’t complain about eating it, and that makes the effort of putting this nutritious meal together for them so worth it!
Black Bean Taco Salad
Ingredients:
1 cup Pico de Gallo (fresh or frozen). Check out my Pico de Gallo recipe at the bottom of this post.
1 can black beans drained and rinsed.
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder or a fresh clove of garlic minced
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup shredded romaine lettuce
1/4 cup shredded cheese
Optional (for crunch) serve with:
1 cup tortilla chips or 1 cup sliced raw veggies
Directions:
In a pan heat the Pico de Gallo on medium heat until the onions are tender, add in beans, garlic and spices till heated through and no moisture from the veggies remains. Scoop the taco filling onto plate and serve with lettuce, cheese, and tortilla chips. Add sour cream or guacamole if desired.
Nutrition Data: Calories 415; Protein 25 g; Fat 11 g; Fiber 20 g; Carbs 58 g; Sugars 8 g; Vit A 6105 IU; Vit C 42.2 mg; Vit K 66.7 mcg; Calcium 303 mg; Iron 5.4 mg; Thiamine .6 mg; Folate 610 mcg; Magnesium 159 mg; and so much more. This meal is packed with vitamins, minerals, and antioxidents and is very nutrient dense. Data figured for the taco salad filling, plus lettuce and cheese, but without the optional chips or raw veggies.
This basic meal is very versatile. You can serve the taco filling in crunchy taco shells, on tostada shells, or inside soft tortillas too. It works for tacos, burritos, and enchiladas if you just change up the sauce or shell you are working with. I also love to add in already cooked rice for a delicious meal of rice and beans or to also fill a variety of shells. The kids love to add the taco filling, rice, cheese, and crunchy corn chips inside a soft tortilla shell for their own homemade version of FRITO BURRITOS from Taco Bell. If you want to use the taco filling as a dip, then just blend it in the blender until desired smoothness or chunckiness and serve with veggies or tortilla chips or spread on the inside of bread or tortillas for variety to sandwiches. Also for a creamy mexican soup, after blending the taco filling, this it with water or milk (real milk, almond milk, coconut milk, cashew milk, etc) and reheat the soup on top of stove, then garnish the soup bowl with sour cream, or more Pico de Gallo when serving if desired. This basic recipe is very versatile and you can get a lot of different meals from it.
Homemade Pico de Gallo
1 medium chopped onion (red or white)
2 medium chopped tomatoes with seeds removed
1 small chopped jalapeno with seeds removed
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro or 2 Tbsp dried cilantro
1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lime or lemon juice
1/2 tsp sea salt
Toss everything together and store in fridge or freezer and use for adding to meals (tacos, burritos, eggs, soups, etc.) or as a garnish. Pico de Gallo is basically a fresh salad made from uncooked salsa. It is traditional in Mexican cooking, comes together quick and easy and makes meals POP with flavor and texture. I highly recommend keeping batches of this awesome food in the fridge and freezer for various uses. I love to make quick breakfasts by adding a few tablespoons of Pico de Gallo in a skillet, sauteing with chopped spinach and then piling all of that inside a delicious omelet. The best omelets ever!!! If desired, you can also ferment Pico de Gallo in a glass canning jar for one to three days on the counter, and then for another week or so in the fridge before using just by adding in 2 Tbsp of liquid whey when preparing a fresh batch. It will turn out similar to Kimchi (Kimchi is a raw fermented Asian spicy salad) but without the cabbage and red chili peppers. It is amazing what you can do with ferments. The Lactobacillus in the liquid whey helps safely ferment the veggies and activates lots of enzymes and good bacteria that are beneficial to the digestive and immune systems. Whether you eat it fresh, cooked, or fermented, Pico de Gallo is YUMMY!!!
