Tempeh Taco Salad Meal Prep Bowls
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Published May 01, 2017, Updated Jul 11, 2023
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Looking for an easy on-the-go option for lunch? These tempeh taco salad meal prep bowls are perfect! The combo of protein-packed tempeh taco meat, black beans and veggies makes for a delicious and satisfying plant-based meal. Plus they’re vegan and gluten-free.
This tempeh taco salad recipe is a mash-up of two of my favorites — salads and meal prep bowls. Oh, and Mexican food, another fav of mine lately!
The real star of this recipe is the tempeh taco meat. Seriously though, I’ve been wanting to figure out a recipe for tempeh taco meat for ages. It finally came to fruition with this recipe and it’s super simple! Just a little oil, homemade taco seasoning and tomato sauce and you’ve got yourself a flavorful plant-based protein option for all things Mexican — tacos, enchiladas, chalupas, salads or anything else that uses taco meat.
Just in time for Cinco de Mayo!
If you’re new to cooking with tempeh, no worries. This recipe is a great place to start because it’s really easy.
I’ve tried a ton of different tempeh varieties and Lightlife is definitely my favorite for a few reasons: it’s organic, gmo-free and easy to find a mainstream stores. I gravitate towards the Three Grain variety because it is the mildest in terms of taste, but I like the Original, Garden Veggie, Wild Rice and Flax too!
For this particular recipe I used the tempeh taco meat to create three meal prep bowls with crunchy romaine lettuce, black beans, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, lime, avocado and salsa. The bowls are easy to toss together as part of your weekly meal prep to have on hand for a weekday lunch or a quick dinner. Of course, you don’t have to turn this recipe into meal prep bowls — it works great as regular ol’ lunch/dinner recipe too.
If you do pack the bowls for lunch be sure to bring a side container with salsa to use as your dressing. I also highly recommend bringing a handful of tortillas chips. They’re perfect for dipping into any extra salsa or as a crunchy topping for the salad. Just crush the chips up a bit and toss a few on the salad.
If you’re feeling extra ambitious you can make a batch of my healthy guacamole to go along with the bowls as well! Enjoy!
Looking for More Ways to Use Tempeh?
- Tempeh Bolognese Sauce
- Tempeh Stir-Fry
- Tempeh Veggie Burger
- Maple Balsamic Tempeh Bowls
- Garlic Teriyaki Tempeh and Broccoli
- Sweet and Sour Tempeh
- Curried Tempeh Salad
More Meal Prep Bowls
- Easy Salmon Meal Prep Bowl
- Grilled Chicken and Quinoa Meal Prep Bowls
- Maple Mustard Tempeh Meal Prep Bowls
- Turkey Taco Meal Prep Bowl
- 10 Mason Jar Salads to Meal Prep This Summer
- Meal Prep Detox Salad
- Asian Noodle Bowl (for Meal Prep)
Be sure to check out all of my tempeh recipes here on EBF!
Tempeh Taco Salad Meal Prep Bowls
Ingredients
Tempeh Taco Meat
- 8 oz package of Lightlife tempeh, any variety
- 1 Tablespoon olive or avocado oil
- 1 1/2 Tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, oregano, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup canned tomato sauce
- 1 Tablespoon water
Meal Prep Bowls
- 6 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, diced
- 1/4 cup red onion, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 3/4 cup cooked black beans
- 1 lime, segmented into three pieces
- 1 avocado, sliced
- fresh salsa, hot sauce and tortilla chips for serving
Instructions
- Take tempeh out of the package and use your hands to crumble it into a bowl. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Once hot add crumbled tempeh and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add spices, tomato sauce and water into the skillet and toss to combine. Cook for another 3-4 minutes or until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Remove tempeh from stove and let cool.
- While tempeh is cooking toss together the tomatoes, red onion, cilantro and sea salt in a small bowl.
- Grab three meal prep containers and add the following ingredients to each: 2 cups romaine lettuce, 1/3 of the tomato and onion mixture, 1/2 cup tempeh, 1/4 cup black beans, one lime slice. You can add the avocado at this time, but it will likely turn brown so I recommend adding it right before you enjoy the bowl.
- Serve salad bowls with fresh salsa and hot sauce as the dressing and tortillas chips on the side.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was created as part of the Lightlife Blogger Ambassador Program. Thank you for supporting the brands that make EBF possible.
Hi Brittany,
I love the aesthetic of your
Blog and your organization! I’m new to your blog and haven’t tried any recipes yet but definitely plan to!
Sending good vibes,
Kaitlin
Great recipes!
Is tempeh an acquired taste? Is there a taste?
very yummy . good job
When using these as meal prep, what’s they typical shelf life? I couldn’t see it feeling fresh more than a day or so with the avocado. Curious what you/others have seen there.
Thanks
If you’re meal prepping the recipe I recommend adding the avocado right before serving as it will get brown after a day of two. The rest of the ingredients should stay fresh for 4-5 days in the fridge.
Came for the baby food and now I’m learning what tempeh is 🙂
Love it! Thanks for the review, Laurin 🙂
These look great! How long do they last on the fridge?
Leftovers should last 3-4 days in the fridge.