Vegan Mexican Fiesta Salad w/ Mango Black Bean Salsa & Creamy Avocado Lime Dressing
Healthy Recipes
Summer is officially here and with it scorching temps reaching into the 90’s (make fun all you want, that’s a BFD for Seattle in June).
We also definitely don’t have AC, so I’m not about to be slaving over the stove in this heat.
Good thing I started this Summa-time Salad Series, because I know these recipes are gonna be on repeat all season long.
This week’s salad is heavily influenced with Mexican flavors (because who doesn’t love Mexican food?!) and super seasonal summer produce like corn, red bell peppers and mango. It’s got black beans and grilled tempeh for tons of additional flavor and protein, cilantro (which removes metals and toxins from the body) and a creamy dressing that gets it’s rich texture and taste from heart-healthy avocado and lime.
Yeah, it’s also as good as it sounds and only requires a bit of grilling, with the rest of the ingredients raw to keep the dish fresh, light and allows for maximum absorption of nutrients. If you’re not a fan of tempeh, sub for any other light protein (prawns or chicken could work well). The MLF (meat-lovin’ fiance) likes it grilled tempeh style with extra dressing.
Mexican Fiesta Salad (Vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free)
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 package organic Tempeh, prepped and marinated
- 1 large or 2 very small heads of romaine, rinsed and chopped
- 1 can organic black beans (no salt added), rinsed and drained
- 2 ears of corn, shucked
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
- ½ large mango, peeled, pitted and chopped
- ½ jalapeno, seeded chopped
- ¼ red onion, chopped
- 1 large bunch cilantro, chopped
- olive oil
- rice vinegar
- 1 lime
- sea salt and pepper
Creamy Avocado Lime Dressing
- 1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped
- ⅓ cup fresh lime juice
- ¼ cup filtered water
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- ¼ jalapeno, chopped (or more depending on your spice level)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp cumin
- pepper to taste
Preparation
- Prep Tempeh and marinate over night if possible. Preheat Grill.
- Toss together rinsed black beans and chopped bell pepper, mango, red onion, jalapeno and cilantro. Toss with lime juice, a drizzle of olive oil and rice vinegar, and sprinkle of sea salt and black pepper. Set aside.
- Rub corn in a bit of olive oil and sea salt and place both tempeh and corn in foil on the grill. Grill for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. (If you don't want to grill corn you can also leave it fresh).
- While tempeh and corn is grilling blend all dressing ingredients together.
- Once corn is done grilling, shave off the cob with a knife and toss into bean and pepper mixture. Place chopped romaine on two plates and top each with black bean corn mixture (you will have extra). Top with grilled tempeh and drizzle generously with creamy avocado lime dressing.
Total party in your mouth.
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