Do you love chips and guacamole? This substantial California Guacamole Salad loaded with black beans, tomatoes, and crushed tortilla chips is the perfect way to make it a meal. Ready in 15 minutes, you can even pack it in mason jars to take on the go.
We often think of a vegan salad as a starter or side dish. But when you don't feel like cooking or want a cold meal, nothing beats this hearty Guacamole Salad.
It's like a taco salad, but with a simple creamy guacamole as the star, rather than an optional topping.
Along with tortilla chips and guacamole, it's made with mixed greens, tomatoes, green onions, corn, black beans, and cilantro. But you can also choose your favorite ingredients to make it your own.
It's wonderful as a complete meal for lunch or dinner.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- It's customizable and only takes 15 minutes to make.
- It makes 2 big satisfying servings, like what you would get in a restaurant.
- It's an easy no-cook complete lunch or dinner.
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. You can also use my 4-ingredient guacamole recipe.
- 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.
Variations
- Swap out the mixed greens for chopped romaine, kale, or spinach
- Skip the black beans and use seasoned sauteed chickpeas
- Add some vegan feta cheese or marinated tofu feta
- For extra protein, add in seasoned crumbled walnut meat
- Substitute fresh cherry tomato salsa for the chopped tomatoes, onions, and cilantro
- Use corn chips in place of tortilla chips
- Make it spicy with a sprinkle of cayenne pepper or some sliced jalapeño peppers
For the complete list of ingredients with measurements plus recipe instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Instructions
- In a large bowl, toss the salad greens with a little olive oil and lime juice. Add the black beans, corn, tomatoes, onions, and olives. Toss again and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the guacamole ingredients. Lightly mash everything together with a fork. Taste to adjust for salt.
- 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):
- black beans
- corn
- olives
- green onions
- tomatoes
- salad greens
- 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 your guacamole salad as an appetizer, you can easily make four or more servings from this recipe. They would go great with other Mexican-inspired recipes such as baked veggie fajitas, jackfruit taco soup, or cheesy quinoa casserole.
Storing
It's best to enjoy this guacamole 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.
Recipe FAQs
There's nothing more disappointing than slicing into an avocado and finding a mushy brown mess on the inside. While I can't guarantee this method will work 100% of the time, I've found that it's best to choose avocados that have a little piece of the stem still attached. If the stem is missing, don't buy it.
If you can't easily pull out the little stem, the avocado isn't ripe yet. I prefer to purchase avocados in this unripe state and let them ripen on my counter for a day or two.
If the stem comes out with no resistance, check the color of the small circle under the stem:
Brown: the avocado is mostly likely overripe.
Light yellow: it's not quite ripe yet.
Bright green: your avocado is ripe and ready to go.
I love using this easy method for storing guacamole so it stays green. Follow these simple steps:
1. In a bowl with a tight-fitting lid, pat down the guacamole with a spoon to remove any air bubbles.
2. Drizzle about ½ an inch of lukewarm water on top of the guacamole.
3. Put the lid on and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
4. When ready to eat, pour off the water from the top of the guacamole.
5. Stir well and enjoy.
Generally guacamole is made with smashed avocado along with lime juice, salt, and other ingredients such as onion, garlic, chili pepper, cumin, cilantro, and/or tomatoes. There are countless ways to make it. For a short-cut recipe, simply season the smashed avocado with lime juice, garlic salt, and a dash of hot sauce.
More vegan meal-sized salads
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 recipes, join the Vegan Mediterranean Diet Recipes Facebook group for support, inspiration, and fun.
If you love this recipe, please give it 5 stars! ★★★★★
📋 Recipe
California Guacamole Salad
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 4 cups mixed salad greens
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 1 can black beans, (15 ounces) rinsed and drained
- 1 cup corn, (defrosted if frozen)
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
- 2 green onions, sliced
- ¼ cup black olives, sliced
- 1 ounce tortilla chips, (about 13 chips) crushed
- cilantro, roughly chopped (optional)
For the guacamole:
Instructions
- 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.
- In a medium bowl, combine the guacamole ingredients. Lightly mash everything together with a fork. Taste to adjust for salt.
- 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.
Notes
- black beans
- corn
- olives
- green onions
- tomatoes
- salad greens
- cilantro
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimation only.
Heather Taylor
We absolutely love this salad! It is so easy to prepare and has simple ingredients but comes together so deliciousl;y. I have made this for friends and they allcannot believe how good it tastes. I also use the airfryer eggplant recipe and add that to the salad. Delicimo!
Amy Katz
I'm so happy you are enjoying it, Heather! Great idea to add eggplant.
Cheryl
Made this twice in one week. Too hot to cook. Left out olives and tomatoes (I don't like them) But it was delicious. Hubby and son enjoyed it too
Amy Katz
I'm so glad everyone enjoyed it, Cheryl!