This post was sponsored by the California Prune Board. This post contains no affiliate links.
An Easy Vegan Taco Salad sounds right up my alley these days for 2 reasons:
- I love tacos (who doesn’t?)
- They're meat free
I'm slowly (oh so slowly) transitioning away from meat for different reasons - (all personal, of course because food choice is a personal choice.) And I’m all about finding recipes that promise taco-like goodness in a meat-free form.
Plus, I find the unique combination of this "taco mixture" so yummy: sun-dried tomatoes, walnuts and the secret ingredient - wait for it...California prunes!
I developed this recipe from one I found in a Clean Eating magazine about a year ago. I ripped the page out of the magazine and put it in the "to make" pile. It’s a big pile so I’m just getting to it now.
When I told my husband I was inspired by a meat-free taco recipe and was going to use prunes as an ingredient, not one to mince words, he asks, “won’t that taste awful?”
I had to quickly defend my choice, but I wasn’t really sure it was going to work out. Needless to say, this was an experiment, as recipe development tends to be. Some you win, and some you don’t (see my attempt at vegan flourless chocolate torte. It tasted like a quiche with cocoa powder. I’ll keep working on that one.)
I love having prunes on-hand (I keep them on the counter in a mason jar) because they're healthy, naturally sweet, good for digestion, and even support bone health, which is pretty cool.
Since my mom was over this weekend for her 74th (!) birthday, I made sure she was doing her resistance training (3 times a week) and let her know to add prunes to snacks and meals because they’re high in vitamin K and are a source of manganese.
The combination of these two nutrients contribute to the maintenance of normal bones. In fact, post-menopausal woman can actually help to slow bone loss by consuming a serving of 5 to 6 prunes daily. Good to know - and good for Nana to practice.
Plus, the fibre in the prunes keeps gut bacteria nice and happy 🙂
So back to these meat-free tacos that turned out sooooo good…
I also love that you can make the mixture up to 3 days before you plan to actually eat it - which is exactly what I did.
In this recipe, I chose iceberg lettuce for crunch and hydration, but you could use romaine, even spinach.
And it’s all about the toppings when putting a taco together: pico de gallo, guacamole, lime, cilantro.
This recipe is great because it packs well, too - great for a lunch on-the-go. I made up a container of the salad for supper at 2pm and generally felt like a rockstar.
I’m not going to say it takes like beef, because it doesn’t (obviously) but for the mouthfeel and satiety of a vegan meal? It’s dang delicious. And hubby likes it too, noting the hint of sweetness from the prunes. Yay this one’s a keeper!
I hope you try this Easy Vegan Taco Salad and love it.
~April
Ingredients
- Prep time: 20 minutes
- Total time: 40 minutes
- ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes dry-packed tomatoes, not the ones in oil
- ⅓ cup California prunes
- 2 cups cremini mushrooms
- 1 cup unsalted walnuts
- 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 yellow pepper sliced
- ½ head ice berg lettuce
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes chopped
- Whole grain tortilla chips
Toppings:
- cilantro
- pico de gallo
- guacamole
- limes
Instructions
- Put the sun-dried tomatoes in a glass bowl (or other heat-proof bowl) and cover with boiling water. Let stand for 30 minutes until they're softened. Drain. 2. To a Ninja or food processor, add the dried tomatoes, prunes, mushrooms, walnuts, soy sauce, coriander, cumin and salt. Pulse until coarsely chopped. 3. If serving right away, assemble salads on individual plates: add lettuce, chopped tomatoes, yellow peppers and a scoop of the taco mixture. Add desired toppings (guacamole, pico de gallo, cilantro, and limes.)
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