Farro—used as the "meat" in this Ultimate Vegan Taco Salad recipe—packs a major health punch in a tasty way. It's got great texture and lots of protein!
Surprise "Meat"
There are recipes where you look at them and think, "Oh, that looks good." And there are recipes that make you feel excited. The recipes that fall into the latter category for me are ones that use ingredients in ways I hadn't thought of before. Cookie Monster Cooking's Crockpot Barley and Bean Tacos is one of those recipes. Because who would think to use barley as a taco filling?! But it makes so much sense—whole grains like barley, steel-cut oats, farro and wheat berries have a nice, chewy texture that makes them a great substitute for ground beef; because they're whole grains, they have protein too.
About the Recipe
Using Ashley's idea as inspiration, I decided to try using farro as the "meat" for this vegan taco salad. My little shortcut taco filling is black beans simmered in salsa—because why bother with tomatoes and onions and garlic and jalapeños when a jar of salsa has all those things? So after cooking the farro, I added mild salsa and taco spices like chili powder and cumin. I went back and forth about the amounts of spices quite a bit (which means we ate a lot of taco salad for a few weeks—those were a glorious few weeks), but settled on the quantities below—before adding the farro to the salad, the taco "meat" tastes a little bit over-seasoned, but eaten as part of the salad, it's perfect.
Like any salad recipe, this one is highly customizable—make it your own! I wanted this to be a meal salad, so I added fire-roasted corn, black beans and tortilla chips. If you don't have time for soaking the cashews, a simple olive oil and lime juice dressing will work or use a store-bought ranch dressing if you're not vegan. (But if you have the time, make the Creamy Lime Dressing—it's so good!) You can serve this with the farro warm or cold and if you're making it for lunches, it will last several days in the fridge.
Photos by Emily Caruso.
Recipe
Ingredients
For the Farro Taco Meat:
- 1 cup farro cooked according to package instructions and drained (about 2 ½ cups cooked)
- ½ cup mild salsa
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- salt to taste
For the Creamy Lime Dressing:
- ½ cup raw cashews soaked in water for 4–8 hours and rinsed
- ¼ cup fresh lime juice
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- salt to taste
For the salad:
- 2 medium heads romaine lettuce chopped
- 1 large tomato diced or 1 cup halved grape tomatoes
- 1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen fire-roasted corn kernels thawed (regular frozen corn is fine if you can't find fire-roasted)
- 1 cup broken tortilla chips
- ½ cup sliced green onions
- cilantro lime wedges, salsa and/or guacamole for serving, if desired
Instructions
To make the Farro Taco Meat:
- Combine the farro, salsa, chili powder, cumin, paprika and cayenne in a medium pan over medium heat.
- Cook about 5 minutes or until heated through, stirring often, then season to taste with salt.
- Set aside.
To make the Creamy Lime Dressing:
- Place ingredients in a mini-blender or food processor. Blend until completely smooth.
To assemble the salad:
- Divide the lettuce onto 4 plates.
- Top with the tomato, black beans, corn, farro, tortilla chips, and green onions.
- Drizzle the dressing over the salad, and add the optional garnishes if you're using them.
Christy@SweetandSavoring says
What a great idea! I love farro but haven't purchased it to make at home yet. I love the chewiness and I think it would work really well with all of these tex/mex ingredients!
Leslie says
Yum! I love meatless meals, I showcased some on Monday. They're my favorites.
arnella kajtezovic says
Im drooling, this looks delicious!
Mandy says
This looks delightful!!! I love taco salads!
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
Mmm.... this looks so comforting!!
Nicole @ Foodie Loves Fitness says
This salad looks lovely! I feel like I need to get out of my comfort zone and experiment more with vegan salads instead of always putting cheese in them.
dishing up the dirt says
Pinned! Can't wait to make this Kiersten!
Sarah @ Making Thyme for Health says
Taco salads are my favorite! I love the idea to use farro and that dressing sounds amazing!
Heather Mason @NuttyNutrition says
what a cool replacement for taco meat! and that cashew dressing sounds amazing!
Ashley says
I love this! Plus, I think I actually like farro more than barley 🙂 This salad sounds delicious!
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
This looks amaaaazing! LOVE the idea of using the farro as taco meat, I've never seen that before! Great idea.
Jennifer @ Delicious Everyday says
This is such a wonderful idea! Thank you for sharing this recipe. I'd be making it this week, for sure!
Joanne says
This is DEFINITELY something to get excited about. To be honest, i've never used grains as meat substitutes, but I will now! Starting with this salad.
cricketj says
Made it this weekend and had rave reviews from the fam! Thanks for the recipe.
Marina D says
Perfection! I cannot wait to try this! 🙂
Kristina says
Kiersten...this looks great! So filling...love a taco salad! Thanks!
Anamae Ford says
I LOVE Farro, this is def a must try, SOON!!!! Can't imagine how amazing this will taste since i adore mexican food!
Laurie says
What a fabulous idea! I just love the idea of using something a bit different, I'm totally going to try this, thanks!
Laura says
This would be great on a weekend night with a margarita! Thanks for sharing!
Sue says
Thank you for t his phenomenal recipe! I don't know how i found your blog, but thankfully i did! i fist made this salad 2 weeks ago. And this week i made it twice! i think the lime dressing is the best part, But others in the family love the farro the best. Can't wait to explore more of your recipes!
Lori Kearns says
I think this is both. that looks good and makes me excited. I have been craving taco salad so a quick google search and this came up. I am still amazed at how easy it is to make your favorite recipes vegan.
ann says
This was awesome! I replaced the farro with pan-cooked tempeh and doubled the delicious cashew lime dressing.