This vegan Southwestern Black Bean Salad with Chipotle Dressing is an easy lunch or weeknight meal.
After making a black bean quinoa salad, 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.
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
- Cornmeal Baked Avocado Tacos
- Spinach, Tofu, and Pine Nut Enchiladas
- Vegan Taquitos with Green Chiles
Recipe
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.
Southwestern Black Bean Salad with Chipotle Dressing
Ingredients
Salad
- 2 cups lettuce mix - I used Super Greens
- ½ sliced avocado
- ¼ cup canned spicy black beans - or regular black beans if you can't find spicy
- ¼ cup grape tomatoes quartered
- 2 tablespoons chopped onion
- ¼ cup chopped red or orange bell pepper
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- ¼ cup corn
- 2 tablespoons Chipotle Dressing recipe follows
Chipotle Dressing
- ½ cup raw cashews
- ½ cup water + ½ 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
Instructions
- Chipotle Dressing: Soak cashews in ½ 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
*Note: Nutrition information should be considered an estimate only. Different nutrition calculators give you different results.
Sarah says
Found this through Pinterest. Delicious!! Thinking about adding more cashews and some nutritional yeast to my leftover dressing to make a creamy chipotle dip.
Willow Moon says
Thanks Sarah, I’m so glad you like it! That sounds like a great idea to make the dressing into a dip!
sign4baby says
This sounds like my kind of salad! Pinning and will be sure to make in the near future.
Willow Moon says
Thanks, I hope you enjoy it!
Erik Miller says
Looks amazing! Can't wait to make this. Thanks for sharing!
maxandmylesstyle says
Sounds delicious! I am pinning it!
Diana says
That looks yummy! Thanks for sharing, xo.
HerTwenties says
Omg this looks delicious! Will definitely be pinning this for future use!
Willow Moon says
Thanks!