Vegan Mexican Chopped Salad with Avocado Dressing

Delicious vegan Mexican chopped salad with avocado dressing makes the perfect lunch salad or an easy side dish to any Mexican feast. This gluten free salad is packed with fresh veggies, dietary fiber and plant based protein.

If you’ve never had Mexican chopped salad, you’re in for a treat. It’s so delicious that you can eat it every day for lunch. Serve it up with your favorite fresh pico de gallo (or even chipotle corn salsa) and crispy tortillas and it’s an ideal filling yet fresh dinner, too.

Just imagine: tangy bell peppers, sweet grilled corn, fresh succulent tomatoes, rich earthy black beans, pungent red onions and scallions meet creamy avocado dressing spiced with cumin and acidified by freshly squeezed tangy lime juice.

Even better is that this Mexican salad is vegan and gluten-free, packed with dietary fiber and proteins, and it’s topped with a creamy avocado dressing that will make your mouth water!

Not only that, but it’s very easy to make and looks beautiful with it’s rainbow colors. That means it’s the perfect contribution to a cook out, pot luck, or a homemade meal to share with company.

Ingredients for the Salad

This is an ideal summer salad as the produce it uses is in season during the hot months, but you can enjoy it all year long. With tomatoes, bell peppers, corn, avocados, and scallions, it packs a delicious (and healthy!) punch of flavor that you’ll be ready to indulge in often.

The full ingredient list is below:

• cherry tomatoes (red and yellow);
• bell peppers (red and green);
• grilled or canned corn;
• black beans;
• avocados;
• red onions;
• scallions.

Why Is This Salad So Good For You?

Not only are the ingredients in this salad delightfully tasty, they’re very healthy for your body. It’s always good when you make your tastebuds sing and nourish yourself at the same time.

Black Beans

Black beans are an incredibly valuable source of protein, especially in a vegan meal. One cup of black beans contains 15 grams of protein, which makes them a delicious and frugal source of protein for your body.

They’re also a marvelous source of fiber, magnesium, and potassium which makes them healthy for your digestive system and bones (source).

Bell Peppers

Bell peppers are the perfect source of carotenoids, vitamins C, B6 and E, as well as health-supportive folates, sulfur, and antioxidants (source).

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are also very healthy. With fiber, choline, Vitamin C, and other nutrients, they are good for the heart and the rest of the body.

They contain lycopene and beta-carotene which has been shown to help prevent against prostate cancer and possibly other types, as well. These ingredients are also good for eye health (source).

Corn

Rich in Vitamin B12, folic acid, and iron, corn is a marvelous addition to a vegan diet that helps prevent against anemia by increasing red blood cell production. This is important to consider when eating a non-meat diet.

The fiber and nutrients in corn are known to be good for regulating blood sugar and helping with overall digestive health, too.

The vitamin C and lycopene in corn (also found in tomatoes and bell peppers) help stimulate the production of collagen, which is excellent for skin and muscle health (source).

Scallions

Scallions are excellent source of Vitamin K for your body, which is an essential nutrient for blood clotting. They also contain Vitamin C, folate, and fiber (source).

Avocados

Long accepted as a superfood, avocados not only have fiber and antioxidants, but are loaded with Omega-3 fatty acids.

They are incredibly rich in nutrients like pantothenic acid, copper, folate, potassium, vitamins B6, C, E and K (source).

How To Make The Salad

Mexican chopped salad gets its flavor from grilled corn, fresh raw veggies, and creamy dressing. The layering of cool and hot ingredients, fresh and grilled, creates a taste combination that you’ll crave again and again.

Grill The Corn

First, you will need to grill your corn. You can either use a broiler or a griddle pan to do this.

To do it on the griddle, simply heat a lug of olive oil over medium-high heat and grill the whole corn cob for 15 minutes, lid closed, turning every 5 minutes.

You’ll know it’s perfect when the cob has black burn marks here and there and the kernels are soft (you can check it by piercing the cob with a fork).

Let it cool a bit and remove the kernels with a knife. You won’t need any seasoning, as we will have a creamy avocado dressing to go with it.

Prep Your Fresh Veggies

While your corn is grilling, chop the raw vegetables.

While you can use any color of bell pepper and tomatoes here, to get even more of a flavor punch (and visual treat!) consider using a rainbow of ingredients: red and green bell pepper, red and yellow tomatoes, red onion, scallions and avocado.

Dice everything and arrange in four bowls or plates, creating sections (or just toss it all together if you prefer).

Top The Salad

Next, add already boiled (or canned and rinsed) black beans and the broiled corn kernels and your dressing.

Ingredients for the Dressing

• avocado;
• water;
• olive oil;
• lime juice;
• cumin;
• chili powder;
• salt and pepper.

How to Make The Avocado Dressing

This avocado dressing is simple and delicious (and you’ll enjoy it over and over for a variety of recipes!). Drizzle it over vegan tempeh tacos or grilled corn on the cob and enjoy!

To prepare the dressing, first, pit and peel the avocado. Scoop it into a mixing bowl.

Next, add chili powder, a pinch of cumin, salt, black pepper, lime juice, extra virgin olive oil, and water and process with an immersion blender until smooth.

Feel free to double or triple the batch (believe me, it’s worth it) and refrigerate in an air-tight container or jar for up to 3 days so you can enjoy it on other salads or as a dipping sauce.

What to Serve with This Mexican Salad

Serve this chopped salad as a side dish to your favorite Mexican food. It is perfect with:

• tacos (make sure to check these 5-minute vegan tacos and vegan tempeh tacos);
• burritos and burrito bowls;
• vegan carnitas;
• quesadillas;
• enchiladas;
• fajitas;
• empanadas;
• bean soups and chilis;
• alongside nachos, corn on the cob, pico de gallo, corn salsa or other dips.

Cook’s Tips

• This salad is best eaten fresh. If you want to make it ahead, prepare the dressing and chop the veggies. Drain the veggies before assembling the salad since the tomatoes will give a lot of liquid. Store the dressing in a separate jar. When ready to serve, assemble the salad. It will take you 5 minutes to put everything together.
• The dressing can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
• Use the dressing for other dishes like vegan tempeh tacos or grilled corn on the cob.

Recipe Variations

• Use lemon juice or apple cider vinegar instead of lime juice in the dressing.
• Add a bit of garlic powder to the dressing for an extra zing.
• Use any cherry tomatoes and bell peppers for this recipe. The more colorful the better!
• You can use canned corn and canned black beans.
• If the taste of raw red onion is too powerful for you, don’t add onions to the salad.

Video Tutorial

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Be sure to leave a comment below when you make your Mexican chopped salad and give it a star rating so others will know how delicious it is! And leave a comment – I would love to know how it turns out for you.

I adjusted the recipe a bit according to the comments. I tested it again and again to make sure it’s really THE BEST vegan Mexican chopped salad ever. You’ll love the dressing, believe me.

Here is the full recipe of my vegan Mexican chopped salad with avocado dressing. I hope you and your family will enjoy it and make it one of your go-to salads.

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3.67 from 275 votes

Vegan Mexican Chopped Salad with Avocado Dressing

Delicious vegan Mexican chopped salad with avocado dressing makes the perfect lunch salad or an easy side dish to any Mexican feast. This gluten free salad is packed with fresh veggies, dietary fiber and plant based protein.

Course Salad

Cuisine Mexican

Keyword Mexican chopped salad, Mexican salad, vegan salad, vegetable salad

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 4 servings

Calories 347kcal

Author Elena Szeliga

Ingredients

For the vegan Mexican chopped salad:

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 ear corn husks and silk removed
• 2 bell peppers red and green
• 4 medium-sized tomatoes red and yellow
• 1/2 red onion
• 2 scallions
• 1 avocado
• 170 grams or 1 cup black beans pre-boiled or canned

For the avocado dressing:

• 1 avocado
• 80 ml or 1/2 cup water (more to adjust the consistency)
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions

• GRILL YOUR CORN: Use a broiler or a griddle pan to grill corn. Heat a lug of olive oil over medium-high heat and grill the whole corn cob for 15 minutes, lid closed, turning every 5 minutes, until the cob has black burn marks here and there and the kernels are soft (you can check it by piercing the cob with a fork). Let it cool a bit and remove the kernels with a knife.
• CHOP THE VEGGIES: While your corn is grilling, chop the veggies. Dice red and green bell pepper, red and yellow tomatoes, red onion, scallions and avocado and arrange in four bowls or plates, creating sections (or just toss it all together if you prefer). Add already boiled (or canned and rinsed) black beans and the broiled corn kernels.
• MAKE THE DRESSING: Pit and peel avocado, add water, olive oil, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper and process with an immersion blender until smooth. Pour the dressing over the salad. Enjoy!

Notes

Cook’s Tips

• This salad is best eaten fresh. If you want to make it ahead, prepare the dressing and chop the veggies. Drain the veggies before assembling the salad since the tomatoes will give a lot of liquid. Store the dressing in a separate jar. When ready to serve, assemble the salad. It will take you 5 minutes to put everything together.
• The dressing can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.
• Use the dressing for other dishes like vegan tempeh tacos or grilled corn on the cob.
• Serve the salad with tacos (make sure to check these 5-minute vegan tacos and vegan tempeh tacos); burritos and burrito bowls; vegan carnitas; quesadillas; enchiladas; fajitas; empanadas; bean soups and chilis; alongside nachos, corn on the cob, pico de gallo, corn salsa or other dips.

Recipe Variations

• Use lemon juice or apple cider vinegar instead of lime juice in the dressing.
• Add a bit of garlic powder to the dressing for an extra zing.
• Use any cherry tomatoes and bell peppers for this recipe. The more colorful the better!
• You can use canned corn and canned black beans.
• If the taste of raw red onion is too powerful for you, don’t add onions to the salad.

Nutrition

Calories: 347kcal | Carbohydrates: 30g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 184mg | Potassium: 1132mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin C: 108.8mg | Calcium: 51mg | Iron: 2.2mg

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Other Mexican-Inspired Recipes You’ll Love:

• Fresh Tomato Salsa (Pico de Gallo)
• 5-minute Easy Vegan Tacos
• Chipotle Corn Salsa
• Homemade Whole Wheat Tortilla
• Easy Homemade Taco Seasoning