Taco Salad with Walnut & Cauliflower "Meat" Crumbles

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This taco salad tastes just like a restaurant style take out treat, but it's made with minimally processed plant based ingredients so you can feel even better about making it an everyday kind of meal that will keep you feeling happy and healthy.  

I first tried a vegan taco salad made with raw walnut meat at a local raw vegan cafe near by and it completely blew my mind. The flavored walnut crumbles reminded me of the fast food tacos from my childhood, with all the right spices and the perfect crumbly texture.

While it was super delicious, it was also covered in oil and contained way more walnuts in a single serving than I would normally consume, and my skin was not happy about it. Since that version was a little too nut heavy for me, I set out to create my own more vegetable-based recipe using riced cauliflower and a moderate amount of walnuts and it turned out to be just as good!

I didn't feel like using my food processor this time, so I chose to use thawed frozen riced cauliflower and I quickly chopped the walnuts by hand. Then I mixed them together in a bowl with some spices and tamari. 

If you are working with whole fresh cauliflower then all you'll need to do it chop it into florets then add it into the food processor and pulse a few times until crumbly, then place in a bowl. Next add the walnuts to the food processor and pulse a few times before adding them to the same bowl, then stir in the tamari and spices.

Spread this mixture out in a thin layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 30 minutes then give it a stir and bake for another 10 minutes until lightly golden brown. 

To make this taco salad, I started with a bed of chopped spring mix, but any kind of lettuce or tender greens will work. Then on top of that I added guacamole, my roasted corn salsa, shredded purple cabbage, the walnut cauliflower crumbles, a drizzle of cashew sour cream and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. It's the perfect zesty summer salad!

This taco meat replacement is also amazing in actual tacos. in grain bowls with rice or quinoa, added to tomato sauces to make a meaty bolognese sauce, in wraps, or pile it in a big lettuce or cabbage leaf instead of a taco shell- the possibilities are endless!

What are some of your favorite summer salad recipes? If you try out this recipe I'd love to hear what you think of it! 

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Walnut & Cauliflower Taco Filling

Roasted Garlic Quinoa Tabbouleh with Tofu Feta [Oil-free, Vegan]

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Tabbouleh is a kind of zesty chilled grain salad full of fresh herbs and vegetables. In this version, I used fluffy white quinoa as my grain and fresh vegetables like cucumber, cherry tomatoes, green onions, and bell pepper. For extra flavor I tossed everything in a simple but flavorful dressing made with roasted garlic, fresh lemon juice, and tahini. 

Though this dish could be served without it, the tofu feta is such a nice touch and makes this salad much more filling. I've been making a feta cheese alternative using tofu for the past few months and I feel like I finally have discovered the perfect marinade sauce. The tofu cubes end up tasting eerily similar to how I remember feta cheese tasting with just the right amount of herbs, tang, and saltiness. 

For the best results with the tofu feta, prepare it the day before you plant to make the tabbouleh so it has at least 8-24 hours to marinate before being added to the salad. For a firmer, more feta-like texture, freeze the block of tofu first then thaw it to release all the water or just press the water out of the tofu first using a tofu press or alternative method. This also allows the tofu to soak up more flavor before being chopped and added to the marinade. 

Once your tofu has marinated and you've cooked your quinoa, the tabbouleh comes together really quickly. Blend together the dressing, chop your fresh veggies and herbs, then toss together and let chill for at least a couple of hours in the fridge to let the flavors develop. 

This makes a perfect meal to take on the go or to add to a packed lunch. 

Recipe below!

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Prepare Ahead:

Herbed Tofu Feta

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Roasted Garlic Quinoa Tabbouleh

White Bean, Cherry Tomato & Heart of Palm Salad with Refreshing Lemon Basil Dressing

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If you love refreshing and zesty salads and are looking for a healthy alternative to fresh mozzarella, you'll love this salad recipe!

I have been loving heart of palm as a mozzarella replacement in salads lately. The texture and mild flavor is similar to fresh mozzarella and with the right dressing it can taste very similar. For convenience, I like to use canned heart of palm which is readily available and easy to drain, slice, and serve. 

I added in white beans for extra protein and fiber along with fresh cherry tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, and sliced green onion.

The dressing is what makes this salad so delicious and zesty. It's super easy to throw together quickly in the blender. First, add to the blender the lemon juice, water, vegan cashew parmesan (or nutritional yeast), garlic, and mustard and blend until combined. Then, add in the basil leaves and pulse a few times until shredded into small pieces. 

It's amazing how flavorful this dressing is with no oil needed! The lemon juice and fresh basil in combination with cherry tomatoes, avocado, and heart of palm makes for a deliciously healthy fresh salad that's actually so filling and satisfying. 

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Refreshing White Bean Cherry Tomato & Heart Of Palm Salad With Lemon Basil Dressing

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Almond Butter Tempeh Salad With Miso Ginger Dressing [Oil-Free, Vegan]

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This salad with marinated almond butter tempeh and creamy miso ginger dressing has been my go-to salad recipe for the past few weeks. It's filling and savory from the marinated tempeh but also refreshing and spicy from the creamy dressing made with fresh ginger and fermented miso paste. 

I used to think I hated tempeh, no matter what I did it always tasted bitter. Eventually I learned that tempeh really needs to be steamed first to remove the bitter flavors, but even then I didn't know what to do with it. Then I found this recipe for marinated peanut butter tempeh by Minimalist Baker and that changed everything for me. I adjusted the recipe to be oil free and also slightly lower in sodium, but still maintain that delicious flavor, and now I can't get enough of it. I love adding it to fresh salads, but it's also wonderful in warm grain bowls with rice and steamed greens, as shown below. 

I like the tempeh cut into little triangles. Cut the tempeh in half the long way first and then cut the thin pieces into triangles. 

Making the marinade for the tempeh is really easy. Just mix together the marinade ingredients in a bowl and gently stir or toss the tempeh until it's fully coated. 

If I have time I try to let it sit in the marinade for as long as possible (2-24 hours), but usually I only have about 15 minutes. Even in that small amount of time the tempeh still picks up a lot of flavor. 

Lay out the marinated tempeh pieces on a lined baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees until golden brown. 

If you like ginger, you're going to LOVE this salad dressing recipe. As always it's oil-free, vegan, and made with healthy whole food ingredients. It's got quite a kick to it and goes so well with the almond butter tempeh in this salad bowl. All you need is a high speed blender or food processor. Add all of the ingredients and blend until it's super creamy and no chunks remain. Store the dressing in a sealed container in the fridge and it will keep for 4-5 days for use in salads all week. 

I hope you enjoy this flavorful salad recipe! 

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Almond Butter Tempeh Salad With Creamy Ginger Dressing

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Crispy Chickpea Salad with Creamy Caesar Dressing [Vegan, Oil-Free]

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This colorful salad with roasted chickpeas and creamy caesar dressing is the perfect way to start off the new year feeling nourished and glowing from the inside out. 

The chickpeas are seasoned with a cheesy onion flavor that makes them taste like croutons. The spice paste, which makes the flavors fully coat the chickpeas, is made with the liquid from the can of chickpeas rather than oil. This makes for a much healthier option which still packs a ton of flavor. I've adapted this brilliant chickpea roasting method from this recipe by A Virtual Vegan. These chickpea croutons are perfect in a salad but they also make a great snack to enjoy on their own!

The dressing is super simple and requires no blending! It takes only 5 minutes to prepare and tastes so creamy and delicious. It's similar to a creamy caesar dressing; tangy, thick, and salty, but made almost entirely with unrefined whole food ingredients. 

Store bought dressings are made to sit on a shelf for months so they are often filled with questionable preservatives and processed oils. To pour one of these dressings over an otherwise nutrient-packed healthy bowl of fresh vegetables would undo a lot of the health benefits of eating a salad in the first place. Now that I've learned how to make my own dressings, I can't imagine ever going back to store-bought, especially when they are this easy to make!

Feel free to choose any of your favorite crunchy veggies for this salad. My go-to salad ingredients lately tend to be romaine lettuce, purple cabbage, carrots, radish, and green onions or scallions. I love adding avocado to this salad bowl, but if you don't have any it's perfectly delicious without it too. 

This is a great recipe to meal prep for a week of healthy salads. Double the batch of crispy chickpeas and allow them to sit inside the oven while it cools to make them stay extra crispy for longer. Then store them in a glass jar and add them to salads and whole grain bowls all week. Make sure to make an extra large batch of the creamy dressing too! 

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Crispy Chickpea Caesar Salad

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Maple Ginger Roasted Kuri Squash Salad Bowl

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If you've never tried squash in a salad before, you're in for a treat! Winter squash are in season right now so I've been adding them into everything I can think of. Having roasted squash in a salad might sound a little strange, but the maple ginger glaze gives the squash a wonderful flavor that's perfectly suited for a salad topping. 

Something about the leaves being bright golden-yellow right now makes me want to try all of the beautiful squash varieties that keep popping up at our grocery store even more. 

Behold, the kuri squash. It's a lot like a pumpkin but without the ridges and shaped more like a little tear drop. Like some pumpkin varieties, you can actually eat the skin, which makes preparing this squash a whole lot easier. 

I've never particularly enjoyed the dangerous task of slicing into a whole rock hard squash, so I like to give it a good wash then roast it whole for 20 minutes at 400 degrees fahrenheit before even attempting to get a knife in there. This softens the squash enough that it makes it super easy and much more safe to slice. 

Once you have your squash sliced in half, scoop out the seeds then cut into little half moons. 

In a large bowl, make the maple ginger glaze by grating about a tablespoon and half of fresh ginger and mixing it with a bit of maple syrup and some herbs. We won't be using the whole squash for this recipe, so pick out 6-7 pieces to use in the salad and put the rest away for another recipe. 

Dip the squash one piece at a time into the maple ginger glaze until well coated, then place on a silpat or parchment paper lined baking tray. 

Roast your sliced and marinated squash slices at 400 degrees until they start to turn golden brown around the edges and fully soften, about 20-25 minutes. 

These squash slices are tasty enough to eat on their own, but I love having them in a salad with a creamy dressing. 

In every salad I make I always try to include plenty of whole food starches. Salads with only watery low-carb vegetables are not satisfying at all and you'll be hungry again an hour later. The key to a good salad is always having at least one starchy vegetable, such as squash or potatoes, and always include a bean or legume of some type, such as chickpeas. Whole grains are also a great option to add in if you have time to cook them or have some leftovers, but for this salad I found that the squash and the chickpeas added just the right amount of starchy filling ingredients, so I left the grains out of this one. 

I made a very simple dressing from raw cashew butter, lemon juice, and more maple syrup. I ripped up the roasted ginger glazed squash into bite size pieces and tossed it with some fresh romaine lettuce, purple cabbage, carrots, green onions, and chickpeas. The result was this super creamy and delicious lunch bowl. 

I hope you find a beautiful kuri squash and try out this autumn recipe! Other squashes like pumpkin or kabocha may also work, but I haven't tested them out yet and cooking times may vary. Full recipe below!

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Maple Ginger Roasted Kuri Squash Salad

Sweet Potato & Cabbage Salad with Miso Tahini Dressing

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Cabbage and sweet potatoes have been the focus of nearly all of my recent recipes, but this salad has taken my enthusiasm for both of them to the next level. Crunchy raw cabbage, carrots, and bell pepper tossed with a creamy miso tahini dressing is the perfect combination. Add in some roasted sweet potatoes and you have a filling meal that almost couldn't get any healthier. 

I've never been that into salads- mainly because of lettuce. It's watery, low in nutrients, and in order to fill up on it I feel like I'd have to eat tons. So I tend to stick to vegetable soups, but raw vegetables have amazing nutritional benefits that I'd be missing out on if I didn't include them in my meal rotations.

Purple cabbage is one of the most nutritionally dense foods you can eat, as are sweet potatoes, so these two foods in the same meal make for an amazingly healthy combination. They are high in antioxidants, fiber, calcium, and many other important vitamins and minerals. 

This miso dressing is completely oil-free, but still so creamy and savory, and it totally changes the cabbage flavor for the better. The raw veggies lose that bitter taste and simply lend their fantastic crunchy texture to the savory flavors of the sauce. 

This recipe is perfect for lunch or as a side salad to be served with dinner. It will serve 2 people for lunch or 4 people as a side dish, and the best part- it's ready in under 30 minutes! 

Recipe below!

Sweet Potato & Cabbage Salad With Miso Tahini Dressing

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