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Vegetarian black bean taco salad with corn, tomato, cotija, pepitas and chipotle yogurt crema
Emily Carter

High Protein Black Bean and Pepita Taco Salad

5 from 1 vote
A vegetarian taco salad with 38g of protein and 18g of fiber per serving. Black beans, toasted pepitas and corn over romaine with a chipotle Greek yogurt crema.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Servings: 2
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Mexican
Calories: 538
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Salad
  • 300 g 1¾ cups canned black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 150 g 3 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
  • 100 g ⅔ cup cooked corn kernels
  • 100 g 1 medium tomato, diced
  • 60 g ½ cup cotija cheese, crumbled
  • 30 g ¼ cup pepitas
  • 15 g ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
Chipotle crema
  • 200 g generous ¾ cup plain 2% Greek yogurt
  • 30 g 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 15 g 1 tablespoon chipotle in adobo, finely chopped
  • 3 g 1 teaspoon ground cumin

Method
 

  1. Toast the pepitas in a dry pan over medium heat for about 2 minutes, moving them constantly, until they pop and smell nutty. Tip them out of the pan immediately.
  2. Drain and rinse the black beans thoroughly under running water, then shake them dry.
  3. Whisk the Greek yogurt with the lime juice, chopped chipotle and ground cumin to make the crema. Taste and adjust the chipotle before serving.
  4. Chop the romaine and dice the tomato.
  5. Build the bowls in layers: romaine, then beans, corn and tomato.
  6. Spoon the crema over and finish with the cotija, toasted pepitas and cilantro. Do not toss.

Notes

  • Rinsing the beans removes about 159 mg of sodium per serving and gets rid of the metallic canning liquid, which is very noticeable against a yogurt dressing.
  • Feta is the closest substitute for cotija and behaves almost identically.
  • The crema keeps 3 days and improves overnight. Assembled bowls do not keep.