Tex Mex Salad with Corn Chips

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If you’re looking for a salad that is packed full of flavour, crunch and all-round awesomeness, then my Tex Mex Salad is here for you. Sweet corn, avocado and black beans, drizzled with a honey lime dressing, I highly recommend scooping this salad up with white corn tortilla chips.

Contents:

This salad is perfect for meal prep (I’ll pop some tips for how to meal prep this salad further down in the post) but also perfect for a quick mid-week meal or a side salad for your weekend barbecue. I love that this salad can be a complete meal as the black beans provide protein. For more salad recipes that I know you will love, try my Chickpea and Chicken Salad, Roasted Sweet Potato and Avocado Salad or my Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Salad.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

You know I love healthy cooking and this salad is no different. There is so much to love about my Tex Mex Salad recipe!

• it is filled with plant-based protein thanks to the black beans.
• my Tex Mex Salad is filled with fresh flavours of lime, cilantro and red onion.
• this healthy salad is made using simple ingredients.
• can be eaten as a main course or side dish.
• this delicious salad is perfect for family dinners.

Salad Ingredients Notes & Substitutions

• fresh corn kernels – I’ve used beautiful, fresh and juicy corn kernels cut straight from the cob. There is no need to cook them, just add the raw kernels straight in.
• avocado – I have used Hass avocadoes but you can use whichever variety is in season for your area. I like to dice the avocado for this salad.
• black beans – using canned black beans is definitely quicker and easier. If you have time to cook your own black beans then go for it! Make sure to thoroughly rinse the canned black beans under running water before using.
• red onion – I recommend slicing the red onion very thinly so that it offers pops of flavour but isn’t overpowering.
• fresh cilantro – being a tex mex salad, you really can’t go without cilantro (also known as coriander). But I know that there are many of you that don’t like cilantro, so instead you could use a mixture of fresh oregano and fresh flat leaf parsley.
• corn chips – I like to use white corn tortilla chips, however you can use whichever corn chips or tortilla chips are your favourite.

Tex Mex Salad Dressing Ingredients

For the honey lime dressing you will need:

• avocado oil or extra virgin olive oil
• fresh limes (including lime zest and lime juice)
• garlic clove
• sea salt and cracked black pepper
• honey

For ingredient quantities, see the recipe card at the bottom of the page.

Method 

To make this salad add the corn kernels, rinsed black beans, thinly sliced red onion and roughly chopped cilantro to a large mixing bowl. Toss to combine. Then add the avocado and drizzle with the salad dressing and toss lightly to combine. Just be careful to squash the avocado as we want the avo to hold it’s shape. 

Tip: it’s best to get a “just ripe” avocado and not an overly ripe avocado so it is still quite firm. 

Divide this salad between your chosen serving plates with a side of corn chips to scoop up the salad with. 

Variations

I truly love my tex-mex salad as it is, however here are some fun ways to get creative with this recipe.

• Tex Mex Chicken Salad – If you’re wanting some extra protein, adding some grilled chicken would be so delicious. As a quick guide, season some chicken breasts with spices like chili powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, garlic powder and oregano and fry in a greased large skillet on a medium-high heat on both sides until cooked through. Slice and serve on top of the delicious tex mex salad. 
• Spicy – add some spice to this salad by adding small pieces of chipotle peppers, thinly sliced fresh red chilli or green bell pepper. 
• Vegan – to make this salad vegan simply use pure maple syrup to sweeten the salad dressing instead of honey. 
• Ranch – Skip the honey lime dressing and use your favourite ranch dressing instead. 

Meal Prep Tips

Here are some tips for if you are preparing this salad in advance for lunches throughout the week:

• when making the salad do not add the avocado and dressing. 
• divide the salad among four – six airtight containers (I prefer a glass airtight container). 
• Divide the salad dressing into individual serving sized containers (you can buy salad dressing containers especially for this reason). Place the lid onto each container and place each container into a salad container. Place the lid onto the salad containers and store in the fridge for up to 4 days. 
• On the day of eating, take your salad out of the fridge and dice a half of an avocado per serve and add to your salad. 
• Store each serve of corn chips in individual containers or ziplock bags.