Black Bean Taco Salad With Lime Vinaigrette

Sherri35's Note:

This recipe came from Cooking Light magazine. Even though it has a lot of ingredients, it's still quick and easy to pull together for a weeknight meal.

• Total Time: 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 0 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

Vinaigrette

• 1/4 cup chopped seeded tomato
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon grated lime rind
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 garlic clove, peeled

Salad

• 8 cups thinly sliced iceberg lettuce
• 1 1/2 cups chopped cooked chicken breasts
• 1 cup chopped tomato
• 1 cup chopped green pepper
• 1 cup finely diced red onion
• 1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 4 cups tortilla chips

Directions:

1. To prepare vinaigrette: combine first 11 ingredients in a blender or food processor, process until smooth.
2. To prepare salad: combine lettuce and remaining ingredients except chips in a large bowl.
3. Add vinaigrette; toss well to coat.
4. Serve with chips.
5. Note: to prepare vinaigrette without a food processor, just crush the garlic clove and vigorously whisk it and all the other ingredients together.
6. This is what I do.

Reviews

[RugratMommy]

Absolutely delicious!! I have made this recipe many times for my family and also for parties and everyone loves it! It is light, but surprisingly filling and I usually serve it by itself with just fruit for dessert for my family. I've found that if you mix the dressing with the salad and then serve, it is enough dressing as written , but if I ever serve the salad to individuals and let them put on the dressing, I double the dressing recipe. After making it several times, I have added a few twists to suit my taste, but it is great as is. I usually add about 1 cup of cooked sweet corn, 2 diced avocados, and substitute red pepper for the green pepper. I also always add seeded diced tomato to the salad and use about half of the lettuce amount( only because it makes it a little easier to mix everything together). I have made it with chicken or without and it's great either way. Just FYI, I use Tostitos Artisan Recipes Roasted Garlic and Black Bean tortilla chips to pile the salad on - they are the perfect complement to the flavors of the salad. In short, this is a delicious, versatile recipe that I would highly recommend to anyone, especially when great produce is in season.

[brownshawver]

Wonderful! My girls had it wrapped in a tortilla and my husband and I ate it as a salad with tortilla chips on top. I did feel there wasn't enough dressing and will double the amount next time. I also added avocado and grilled my chicken with some southwest chipolte spice. Yummy! Very healthy and very delicious!

[Luvmylawyer]

Absolutely delicious! Last summer I was pregnant and between it being meltingly hot and not being able to stand cooking smells, we ate a LOT of cold salads. I made this--subbing corn for the chicken--at least once a week. I even made double- and triple batches of the vinaigrette in advance so I could throw this together if I was at a loss for what to make for dinner. The other ingredients are kitchen staples for us, so with the premade dressing, I could have this on the table in 15 minutes. Thanks so much for a terrific recipe!