I love a good salad, but unless it’s really good, I oftentimes prefer to enjoy my veggies sans lettuce. That might sound weird to some, but it was exactly what inspired me to come up with my latest go-to dinner recipe. That and the fact that I love Mexican food but my standard Taco Tuesday meal was getting old (I think it was one of the very first meals I started making when my husband and I moved in together five years ago).
So the other night, I threw together tomatoes, red onions, avocados, black beans, corn and cilantro, then topped with with a super simple lime vinaigrette to make this Healthy Mexican Salad recipe. I’ve already made it twice, and each time I topped it with taco seasoned ground beef. Next time I plan on adding either shrimp or chicken – you can easily mix it up! Also, feel free to play around withe the proportions. I like to throw in a bit of extra avocado and tomatoes because I just love them so much.
Read on for the recipe and enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 10.5 ounces cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1/2 red onion, diced
- 1 cup cooked corn, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 lime, juiced (approx. 2 Tbsp)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper, as needed
- 1 pound ground beef or chicken breast with taco seasoning (optional)
Directions:
- Combine tomatoes, red onion, corn, black beans and cilantro together.
- Combine lime juice and olive oil together; stir well and pour over salad mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add avocado before serving (note: the lime juice should keep it from browning if you choose to enjoy as leftovers, but adding last will definitely prevent this).
- Enjoy on its own or top with your favorite seasoned protein, such as ground beef, shrimp or pulled chicken.
