Southwestern Black Bean Salad with Chipotle Dressing

This vegan Southwestern Black Bean Salad with Chipotle Dressing is an easy lunch or weeknight meal.

Southwestern Flavors

After making my Black Bean Quinoa Salad with Avocado Cilantro Dressing, which doesn’t have any lettuce, I was craving a Southwestern salad. The lettuce variety that is.

For this vegan Southwestern Black Bean Salad with Chipotle Dressing, I used all my Southwestern favorites again: avocado, corn, tomato, bell pepper, onion, cilantro, and black beans.

Instead of jalapeño, I decided chipotle would add the spice, and give this salad a smoky touch. I also didn’t want to use the same Avocado Cilantro Lime Dressing, since I just ate a salad with it.

If you’ve never had chipotle in adobo sauce, they are smoked jalapeños in a spiced tomato sauce. Chipotle peppers are hotter than jalapeños because they are from fully-ripened jalapeños. As chiles ripen, the capsaicin (which cause their heat) increases.

I used inspiration from a previous recipe – my Black Bean Jicama Tacos with Chipotle Cream. I changed the chipotle cream recipe slightly to be the consistency of a dressing instead of a thick cream sauce. By itself it is spicy, but with only a small amount added to this salad, it is quite tame.

When I am lazy, and don’t want to doctor up my beans, I buy spicy canned beans. They taste great and have all the spices I would have added anyway.

Easy and Satisfying

This vegan salad is an easy lunch or weeknight meal. It is packed with flavor, and it is healthy and satisfying. The only thing that takes a bit of time is the dressing. If you are making this for lunch or a weeknight meal, I would make the dressing ahead of time.

The cashews have to soak in water to soften up. Other than that, this recipe comes together pretty quickly.

If you like roasted vegetables with a Southwestern flair, check out my Southwestern Buddha Bowl. It has roasted sweet potato, red bell pepper, zucchini, and red onion. Maple chipotle black beans, quinoa, and spinach round out the bowl, and the Chipotle Dressing that I used for this salad ties it all together.

Other Mexican Inspired Recipes You May Enjoy

• Cornmeal Baked Avocado Tacos
• Spinach, Tofu, and Pine Nut Enchiladas
• Teriyaki Tofu and Pineapple Tostadas with Sriracha Hummus
• Vegan Taquitos with Green Chiles

Southwestern Black Bean Salad with Chipotle Dressing

This vegan black bean salad is a hearty meal. Chipotle dressing adds a smoky spicy kick.

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This is the brand of chipotle in adobo I buy. It doesn’t have wheat like some other brands.

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Southwestern Black Bean Salad with Chipotle Dressing

This vegan Southwestern Black Bean Salad with Chipotle Dressing is an easy lunch or weeknight meal.

Course Salad

Cuisine vegan, gluten free

Keyword Southwestern black bean salad, vegan salad

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 2

Calories 175kcal

Author Willow Moon

Ingredients

Salad

• 2 cups lettuce mix - I used Super Greens
• 1/2 sliced avocado
• 1/4 cup canned spicy black beans - or regular black beans if you can't find spicy
• 1/4 cup grape tomatoes quartered
• 2 tablespoons chopped onion
• 1/4 cup chopped red or orange bell pepper
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup corn
• 2 tablespoons Chipotle Dressing recipe follows

Chipotle Dressing

• 1/2  cup raw cashews
• 1/2  cup water + 1/2 cup for soaking the cashews
• 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• 1 teaspoon adobo sauce
• 2 tablespoons vegan sour cream
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 teaspoon sriracha
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Chipotle Dressing: Soak cashews in 1/2 cup water for a least 1 hour, so that cashews soften. Discard water.
• Mix all ingredients in a food processor, and mix until smooth.
• Salad: Plate lettuce, then the rest of ingredients. Top with Chipotle Dressing.

Notes

Nutrition info includes the 2 tablespoons of Chipotle Dressing.

Nutrition

Calories: 175kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 13mg | Potassium: 497mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 60% | Vitamin C: 41.4% | Calcium: 2.1% | Iron: 5.9%

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*Note: Nutrition information should be considered an estimate only. Different nutrition calculators give you different results.