Food Friday: Mango Salsa Salad

Zach and I have always loved the mango pineapple salsa our friend Jenn makes. Any time we went to a potluck event with her Zach would text her and request that she bring the awesome salsa and chips just for him (side note: Jenn always brought the Whole Foods homemade tortilla chips that you can find in the salad bar area. Not only are these the BEST CHIPS EVER, they go especially well with this dip). Well a few years ago Jenn moved away and the amazing salsa and chips left our lives (we miss Jenn too, but mostly her yummy snack). Right now Zach is in a mango kick, so I thought it would be nice to try to turn this salsa he used to love into a salad for dinner tonight.

I began by making the salsa the night before since letting it sit overnight helps the flavors mix for a more delicious end product. Also, it made dinner prep go by quickly.

All those colors mixed together look so yummy…

I cooked up some taco “meat”  with crumbled tempeh, taco seasoning, and some splashes of soy sauce.

I was hoping it would get crispy, but that didn’t work out – probably because I wasn’t using oil.

I blended half of the mango salsa to make a dressing. You can add pineapple juice reserved from the canned pineapple or water to make it runnier if you want.

The beautiful colors turned into a brown goo, but it was still delicious.

Assembling the salad was easy. I mixed together spinach, black beans, chopped tomato, chopped avocado, the taco “meat,” and the remaining mango salsa. Then I topped it all with the dressing.

I wish I had taken a picture before adding the brown goo – I promise it looked much tastier.

I thought this salad was really easy to put together and yummy. Zach loved the salad too and immediately recognized it as a throwback to the snack he once obsessed over.

Here’s the recipe (I know it has a lot of ingredients, but it’s not that hard to put together, especially if you make the salsa ahead of time):

Manga Salsa Salad

4 servings, vegan, sugar-free, oil-free

Mango Salsa

·         2 mangoes, diced

·         1 20 oz. can pineapple tidbits (drain and reserve juice)

·         Juice from 2 small limes

·         2 jalapenos, diced

·         ½ red onion, diced

·         1 red bell pepper, diced

·         ½ cilantro leaves, chopped

·         1 bunch green onions, chopped

Vegan Taco Meat

·         2 8oz pkgs tempeh

·         Splashes of soy sauce to taste

·         4-6 T Taco seasoning (you can buy this or make your own)

Taco Seasoning (makes about 4 Tbsp)

·         4 tsp chili powder

·         2 tsp cumin

·         1 tsp smoked paprika

·         1 tsp cayenne powder

·         1 tsp oregano

·         1 tsp onion powder

·         1 tsp garlic powder

·         1 tsp salt

·         ½ tsp black pepper

Salad

·         1 can black beans

·         2 handfuls chopped spinach

·         2 tomatoes, diced

·         1-2 avocados, diced

1.       To make salsa - mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

2.       To make taco “meat” - heat crumbled tempeh in a pan on medium heat along with a few splashes of soy sauce, 2-3 tablespoons taco seasoning, and ¼ cup water.

3.       To make dressing - blend half of the salsa together. Add pineapple juice (reserved from can of pineapple tidbits) or water to thin dressing if desired.

4.       To assemble salad - mix spinach, beans, tomatoes, avocado, remaining salsa, taco meat, and dressing together in a large bowl.