California Guacamole Salad

Do you love chips and guacamole? This substantial salad loaded with black beans, tomatoes, and crushed tortilla chips is the perfect way to make it a meal. You can even pack it in mason jars to take on the go.

Jump to:

• Why you'll love this recipe
• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Mason jar meal prep option
• Serving suggestions
• Storing
• FAQ
• More meal-sized salads
• 📋 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

We often think of salad recipes as starters or side dishes. But when you don't feel like cooking or want a cold meal, nothing beats a huge salad filled with your favorite ingredients.

Ingredients

• Lettuce: I start with mixed salad greens I buy at the market. Of course you can use any type of lettuce you want, but sometimes I like the convenience and variety of the ready-to-go packages.
• Salad toppings: I like to add cherry tomatoes, black beans, corn, green onions, and black olives. But you can use whatever ingredients are your favorites. Some other possibilities are radishes, red onion, and kidney beans.
• Guacamole ingredients: I make the guacamole with avocados, lime juice, jalapeno, fresh garlic, and salt. But feel free to add tomatoes, onions, and cilantro, if you like. Or take a short cut and simply use avocados, lime juice, garlic salt, and a dash of hot sauce.
• Tortilla chips: I love adding some crushed corn tortilla chips to my salad for extra crunch.
• Fresh cilantro: I really enjoy adding cilantro to Mexican-inspired dishes, but this is strictly optional. If you don't care for the herb, leave it off.

For the complete list of ingredients with measurements plus recipe instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, toss the salad greens with the olive oil and lime juice. Add the black beans, corn, tomatoes, onions, and olives. Toss again and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the guacamole ingredients. Lightly mash everything together with a fork. Taste to adjust for salt.
3. Divide the salad among two bowls or plates. Add half the guacamole to the top of each salad. Top with the crushed tortilla chips and cilantro, if using. Serve immediately.

Mason jar meal prep option

Add half the olive oil and lime juice to the bottom of 2 mason jars. Then add the rest of the salad ingredients in the following order (half in each jar):

1. black beans
2. corn
3. olives
4. green onions
5. tomatoes
6. salad greens
7. cilantro

Place the top on each jar.

Prepare the guacamole and divide it between two small containers with lid. Pat down the guacamole with a spoon to remove any air bubbles. Drizzle about ½ an inch of lukewarm water on top of the guacamole. Put the lid on and refrigerate for up to 3 days.

When ready to eat, pour off the water from the top of the guacamole. Stir well and enjoy on top of the salad along with some crushed tortilla chips.

Serving suggestions

This recipe makes two large meal-size salads. I'm talking really BIG salads, like the ones you get in restaurants and may not be able to finish eating all at once.

But if you want to serve these salads as appetizers, you can easily make four or more servings from this recipe. They would go great with other Mexican-inspired recipes such as the following:

Storing

It's best to enjoy this salad right away instead of making it in advance. However, you can prep the ingredients ahead of time and store them in the refrigerator in separate containers until you're ready to eat.

FAQ

More meal-sized salads

Looking for more substantial salads you can enjoy for lunch or dinner? Try some of these vegan favorites:

And be sure to check out my best-selling Vegan Mix & Match Salads eBook Cookbook for even more ideas and recipes.

And for even more delicious vegan recipes, join the Vegan Mediterranean Diet Recipes Facebook Group for support, inspiration, and fun.

If you love this recipe, please give it 5 stars! ★★★★★

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