Every bowlful of this Mexican Chopped Salad is bursting with an array of colorful vegetables. Topped with fried tofu and Chipotle Lime Vinaigrette, this hearty salad is the perfect fit for weekday lunches or as a simple side dish.
We would all love to eat healthier, right? This Mexican Chopped Salad makes it easy! Loaded with delicious, yet healthy and easy-to-find vegetables, fried tofu, and Chipotle Lime Vinaigrette, you can turn to this salad whenever you need an easy vegan meal prep idea or a nutritious dinner.
Just like my Curried Quinoa Salad and Mexican Street Corn Salad, this chopped Mexican salad is filling enough to eat on its own. It also happens to be:
- Naturally vegan and gluten free.
- Zesty, tangy, smoky, and just a little spicy.
- Very flexible. Top it with anything you like!
- More than just a salad. Stuff it into wraps or pita to take it on the go.
Whether you serve it next to vegan tacos on Taco Tuesday or roll it up in a tortilla for an on-the-go lunch, you’re sure to love this Mexican salad!
Jump to:
What goes in a chopped Mexican salad?
This Mexican salad is on the heartier side and bursting with color. I kept the ingredients fairly simple but you can play with them any way you like:
- Fried tofu - Extra firm tofu is pressed, then cut into cubes and fried. The crispy golden brown pieces give the chopped salad more substance and protein, making it an ideal option for hearty lunches and meal prep.
- Lettuce - Romaine is my lettuce of choice.
- Vegetables - Canned corn, bell pepper, tomatoes, red onion, and cilantro are finely diced and added to the salad.
- Beans - I used black beans but pinto beans, chickpeas, or white navy beans could also be used.
- Chipotle lime vinaigrette - This vibrant and smoky salad dressing features lime juice, adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers, jalapeno brine, red wine vinegar, oil, and a handful of simple seasonings.
- Tajin - This chili lime seasoned salt is a must-have flavor-enhancer. It’s used to season the fried tofu and gives the finished salad an added zing.
How to make a Mexican chopped salad
This is an easy salad you can put together right before the potluck, picnic, or barbecue. Here’s how it’s done:
- Fry the tofu: Slice the pressed tofu into cubes before frying them in an oiled skillet over medium heat. For a more hands-off approach, air fry the tofu instead. Toss the fried tofu pieces in Tajin when they’re done.
- Make the Mexican salad dressing: Whisk all of the dressing ingredients in a bowl until the sugar is dissolved.
- Assemble the salad: Toss the lettuce, vegetables, beans, cilantro, and fried tofu together in a large salad bowl. Drizzle the dressing over top and toss to coat.
- Plate and enjoy: Scoop some salad into individual bowls, tortilla wraps, or pita bread. Season with Tajin or eat it with tortilla chips and enjoy! For full ingredients and instructions see printable recipe card below.
Tips for success
- Not a fan of raw onion? It can be quite strong when eaten raw. You can tone down a red onion’s strong flavor by soaking the chopped pieces in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes.
- About fried tofu - The fried tofu pieces make this salad a meal. Leave them out if you’d like a lighter side salad or swap the tofu for vegan chicken, marinated tempeh, soy curls, or vegan taco meat.
- Double the dressing - Keep the second batch in your fridge to use on quinoa salads, pasta salads, and more!
- Serving suggestions - Enjoy it as a traditional salad served in a bowl, stuff it into large tortilla wraps or in pita bread, or scoop it up with tortilla chips instead of a fork (just like cowboy caviar).
What else can you add to a vegan Mexican salad?
- Jicama
- Avocado
- Mango
- Cucumber
- Shredded vegan cheese
- Guacamole
- Red salsa
- Green salsa
- Cabbage
- Quinoa
- Pepitas
- Pico de gallo
- Sunflower seeds
- Tortilla strips or crushed chips
Making ahead and storing
Make ahead: The dressing, vegetables, and fried tofu can be prepared 1 or 2 days in advance. Keep everything in separate containers in the fridge. When it’s time to eat, toss it all together in a large bowl and enjoy!
Storing: The assembled salad should be eaten within 1 day or else it will become too liquidy.
Want more vegan salad recipes?
- Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad
- Jennifer Aniston Salad
- Vegan Caesar Salad
- Mediterranean Orzo Salad
- Cold Thai Noodle Salad
Enjoy everyone! Happy Day! Please feel free to comment below and give this recipe a rating. Your feedback is greatly appreciated!
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Print
Mexican Chopped Salad with Chipotle Lime Vinaigrette
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 Servings
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Every bowlful of this Mexican Chopped Salad is bursting with an array of colorful vegetables. Topped with fried tofu and Chipotle Lime Vinaigrette, this hearty salad is the perfect fit for weekday lunches or as a simple side dish.
Ingredients
For mexican salad:
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7 to 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce, bite size pieces (approx. 2 small romaine hearts- 8 oz)
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¾ cup canned corn
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½ cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained
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½ cup diced orange bell pepper (or any color)
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½ cup grape tomatoes, quartered, or equivalent of chopped and seeded tomatoes
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¼ cup red onion, diced small
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¼ cup chopped cilantro
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1 package extra firm tofu, pressed (opt)*
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1 teaspoon or so Tajin for seasoning tofu (opt)
Dressing:
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2 tablespoons oil, any neutral oil
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Zest of one lime
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2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
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2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
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2 teaspoons pickled jalapeno juice
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3 teaspoons sugar, or sweetener of choice
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2 teaspoons adobo sauce from can of chipotle peppers*
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½ teaspoon ground cumin
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½ teaspoon garlic salt (not powder)
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½ teaspoon onion powder
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¼ teaspoon salt
Toppings (optional)
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Pita chips, croutons or corn tortilla chips, whole or broken up
Dressing easily doubled
Instructions
- Tofu: heat oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Fry the pressed tofu in a single layer a couple minutes on each side until crisped to your liking. Remove from the heat, toss with the tajin. Set aside.
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Dressing: whisk ingredients in a bowl until sugar is dissolved or add to a sealable jar and shake to combine.
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Assemble Salad: add the lettuce, veggies, tomatoes, beans, cilantro and tofu to a large salad bowl. Pour over the dressing. Gentle toss to combine.
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Enjoy: Plate it up! Serve with some croutons, pita chips or corn tortilla chips, a sprinkle of tajin if you like and dig in! You can also assemble in individual bowls, and drizzle on the dressing. Or stuff into large wraps or pitas! Step by step photos, Tips, suggestions and more in above post and notes*
Notes
- Add ins or substitutions: chopped avocado, seeded and chopped cucumber, jicama, little shredded cabbage, pepitas or sunflower seeds, etc,.. Even mango!
- Tofu is optional but highly recommended, add warm or cold, could sub chopped vegan chicken
- Dressing: For a less spicy dressing swap 1 teaspoon or so of chili powder for chipotle sauce.
- Make ahead: Can prepare everything 1 to 2 days ahead, store separately in fridge and toss together when needed -perfect for meal prep!! Potlucks, bbq, camping etc,..
- Store: Once salad is dressed I recommend serving right away as it will get soggy if stored in the fridge.
- Serves 4 as a meal or 6 to 8 side salads (approx.) Enjoy as a side salad without the tofu or add protein rich tofu and make it a meal.
- Prep Time: 30 Minutes
- Category: Salads, Mains
- Method: chop and mix in bowl
- Cuisine: Mexican, American, Canadian
Keywords: Mexican chopped salad, chopped Mexican salad, vegan Mexican salad
Terri S
We really enjoyed this salad for dinner a couple nights ago. The dressing was very light and flavorful. Fresh and delicious dinner salad. I did something a little different with the tofu (pressed it, cubed it, mixed up no chicken base better than bouillon, low sodium soy sauce, taco seasoning, cornstarch, tossed tofu in this mixture to coat, airfry for 15 mins tossing halfway through). Thanks for the awesome recipe.
★★★★★
Verna Rindler
So happy you all enjoyed the salad. The tofu seasoning sounds delicious! Thanks for the wonderful feedback 🙂
Rita
This was so good last nite for dinner
★★★★★
Verna
Yay!! That's awesome glad you all enjoyed the salad.