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    Oh My Veggies » Vegetarian Recipes » Salads

    The Ultimate Vegan Taco Salad

    Published: Feb 18, 2019 · by Nicole · Updated: Sep 16, 2021 · This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    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.

    Farro Taco Meat

    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

    The Ultimate Vegan Taco Salad Recipe

    The Ultimate Vegan Taco Salad

    Farro replaces the ground beef in this vegan taco salad with creamy lime dressing.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe Email Recipe
    Prep Time: 40 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 45 minutes minutes
    Course: Main Course, Side Dish
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Vegan, Vegetarian
    Keyword: vegan salad recipe, Vegan Taco Salad
    Servings: 4 big salads
    Calories: 504kcal
    Author: Oh My Veggies

    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
    US Customary - Metric

    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.

    Notes

    Prep time includes time for cooking farro.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 504kcalCarbohydrates: 77gProtein: 13gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 6gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gSodium: 457mgPotassium: 669mgFiber: 13gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 2230IUVitamin C: 13mgCalcium: 118mgIron: 5mg
    Craving more veg-friendly recipes? Shop our collection of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, including our new Vegan Thanksgiving and Vegan Christmas cookbooks!
    « Creamy Vegan Pumpkin Soup with Cauliflower Rice
    Cream of Cauliflower Soup »

    Salads, Vegan Main Dishes, Vegan Recipes, Vegan Salads, Vegetarian Main Dishes, Vegetarian Recipes farro, Make it Meatless Series, salad

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Christy@SweetandSavoring says

      February 25, 2015 at 11:02 am

      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!

      Reply
    2. Leslie says

      February 25, 2015 at 11:30 am

      Yum! I love meatless meals, I showcased some on Monday. They're my favorites.

      Reply
    3. arnella kajtezovic says

      February 25, 2015 at 11:31 am

      Im drooling, this looks delicious!

      Reply
    4. Mandy says

      February 25, 2015 at 3:08 pm

      This looks delightful!!! I love taco salads!

      Reply
    5. Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says

      February 25, 2015 at 5:35 pm

      Mmm.... this looks so comforting!!

      Reply
    6. Nicole @ Foodie Loves Fitness says

      February 25, 2015 at 11:00 pm

      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.

      Reply
    7. dishing up the dirt says

      February 25, 2015 at 11:50 pm

      Pinned! Can't wait to make this Kiersten!

      Reply
    8. Sarah @ Making Thyme for Health says

      February 26, 2015 at 12:04 am

      Taco salads are my favorite! I love the idea to use farro and that dressing sounds amazing!

      Reply
    9. Heather Mason @NuttyNutrition says

      February 26, 2015 at 12:26 pm

      what a cool replacement for taco meat! and that cashew dressing sounds amazing!

      Reply
    10. Ashley says

      February 26, 2015 at 9:23 pm

      I love this! Plus, I think I actually like farro more than barley 🙂 This salad sounds delicious!

      Reply
    11. Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says

      February 27, 2015 at 1:21 pm

      This looks amaaaazing! LOVE the idea of using the farro as taco meat, I've never seen that before! Great idea.

      Reply
    12. Jennifer @ Delicious Everyday says

      March 01, 2015 at 10:46 pm

      This is such a wonderful idea! Thank you for sharing this recipe. I'd be making it this week, for sure!

      Reply
    13. Joanne says

      March 05, 2015 at 10:55 am

      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.

      Reply
    14. cricketj says

      April 06, 2015 at 5:35 pm

      Made it this weekend and had rave reviews from the fam! Thanks for the recipe.

      Reply
    15. Marina D says

      April 14, 2015 at 9:38 pm

      Perfection! I cannot wait to try this! 🙂

      Reply
    16. Kristina says

      April 21, 2015 at 4:19 pm

      Kiersten...this looks great! So filling...love a taco salad! Thanks!

      Reply
    17. Anamae Ford says

      April 27, 2015 at 1:35 pm

      I LOVE Farro, this is def a must try, SOON!!!! Can't imagine how amazing this will taste since i adore mexican food!

      Reply
    18. Laurie says

      April 28, 2015 at 12:00 pm

      What a fabulous idea! I just love the idea of using something a bit different, I'm totally going to try this, thanks!

      Reply
    19. Laura says

      April 28, 2015 at 5:37 pm

      This would be great on a weekend night with a margarita! Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
    20. Sue says

      July 10, 2015 at 9:30 pm

      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!

      Reply
    21. Lori Kearns says

      October 22, 2016 at 5:13 pm

      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.

      Reply
    22. ann says

      June 06, 2017 at 9:29 am

      This was awesome! I replaced the farro with pan-cooked tempeh and doubled the delicious cashew lime dressing.

      Reply
    23. Sue says

      May 16, 2023 at 1:59 pm

      5 stars
      still making this and enjoying it after all these years! It's a great recipe. Thanks Nicole.

      Reply
    5 from 4 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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    Nicole is a life long vegetarian and the author of the popular vegan cookbook, Weeknight One Pot Vegan Cooking. She loves sharing her recipes and showing the world just how easy and delicious meatless meals can be!
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