Colorful Vegetarian Taco Salad

Tacos, enchiladas, burritos, quesadillas, nachos—those foods show up at least once a week on our dinner table. Not only because they are alsbsolutely yummy, but also because they are some of the best meatless meals in the world (in my humble opinion).

When having a meatless meal, it’s important to substitute the meat with other foods that have a high protein content, such as beans, lentils, mung beans, or avocado. Protein is what makes your belly feel full and helps you not get hungry too soon.

This Colorful Vegetarian Taco Salad has two of those protein options: beans and avocado! I’ve used red, white, pinto, and black beans before. I’ve also experimented with both avocado chunks or guacamole. Pick the options that your crew likes best, because everything tastes yummy!

Here’s one trick that you will thank me for: combine the taco seasoning with the salsa and other liquids (like guacamole or sour cream) first. This ensures that the seasoning gets evenly dispursed instead of clumped—trust me, I know this from experience! Then I like to stir the grated cheese into that mixture. Finally, I toss everything together in one large bowl. For an extra crunch, sprinkled gently crushed tortilla chips on top.

Additional add-ins:

• Fresh cilantro
• Jalapeno
• Sun-dried tomatoes
• Corn chips
• Lime juice
• Corn
• Refried beans
• Rice