🌮 Vegan Taco Salad in a Jar
A colorful, meal-prep-friendly vegan taco salad layered in mason jars. The key is to keep the dressing at the bottom and lettuce at the top so the greens stay crisp.
🥗 Ingredients — 4 jars
Taco filling
- 1½ cups cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1½ cups cooked lentils or vegan taco meat
- 1 cup corn, drained
- 1–2 tbsp taco seasoning
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Salad
- 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup diced red onion
- 1 avocado, diced
- ½ cup diced bell pepper
- ½ cup shredded vegan cheddar
- ¼ cup sliced jalapeños, optional
- Fresh cilantro, optional
- Crushed tortilla chips, for serving
Creamy taco dressing
- ½ cup vegan sour cream or unsweetened vegan yogurt
- ¼ cup salsa
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
- ½ tsp taco seasoning
- Pinch of chili flakes, optional
👩🍳 Instructions
- Make the taco filling: Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add lentils or vegan taco meat, black beans, corn, and taco seasoning. Cook for 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let it cool completely.
- Make the dressing: Whisk together vegan sour cream, salsa, lime juice, and taco seasoning until smooth.
- Prepare the jars: Use 4 clean mason jars. Add about 2 tablespoons of dressing to the bottom of each jar.
- Layer: Add ingredients in this order:
dressing → onion → tomatoes → bell pepper → beans/taco filling → corn → vegan cheese → avocado → lettuce.Keeping the dressing at the bottom and lettuce at the top helps prevent the greens from becoming soggy. - Seal and refrigerate: Close the jars tightly and refrigerate. For best texture, keep avocado and tortilla chips separate if preparing several days ahead.
- Serve: Pour the contents into a bowl, toss well, and top with crushed tortilla chips, jalapeños, cilantro, and an extra squeeze of lime.