Most of you probably already make this in your own way. If you haven’t made it in a while, let me just remind you that this is great quick meal idea. This hearty vegan taco salad, made with a seasoned mixture of beans and rice instead of meat, had us all walking away from the table feeling very full and satisfied.
We worked with the pot of black beans we made the night before (see Working with Dried Beans). Just season the beans and rice and assemble your favorite taco salad ingredients together.
How to Season the Beans & Rice
In a large skillet, warm up 2 cups of beans and 1 cup of rice with enough liquid to almost cover.
Add 1 Tablespoon of chili powder and 1-2 teaspoons of ground cumin. Add salt to taste. (Always taste it to make sure you like it). If you want a more tomato tone to it, add an 8 oz. can of tomato sauce or tomato paste. If it needs a little acidity, add a bit of lime or taco sauce.
Once the beans and rice are seasoned and warmed up, assemble your plates something like this:
I use spinach instead of lettuce for almost everything calling for some greens, and this is just one of the applications. It’s easier to work with, has more nutritional value and provides the same crispy texture that lettuce does. (And it’s a prettier green, don’t you think?) It also stores easily if I want to use the spinach for several dinners.
We topped this with 3-Minute Fiesta Dip and ALDI’s prepared guacamole.
Add veggies of choice, some Daiya brand cheddar-flavor shreds if you have them, some taco sauce and it’s an easy dinner. Enjoy!
Safe Eats 