A composed taco salad with a spicy dressing
Just because you might not eat grains or gluten any longer doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the flavors of a taco salad. Here, I made up a spice mix for the ground beef, adapted from one by Stephanie Manley of Copykat Recipes. Then I created a spicy dressing from hemp seeds, so it’s dairy free but still adds that creamy component that cheese or sour cream would normally provide. The platter is loaded up with vegetables, including bell pepper and green onions sauteed in the meat pan. If you’re vegan or vegetarian, just substitute 16 ounces of soy crumbles, beef substitute, crumbled tempeh, or TVP (1 cup dry plus 1 cup boiling water, let sit until absorbed) for the grass-fed beef. Otherwise, the recipe is vegan. If you are not on the migraine diet, my smoky-creamy almond sauce would be a fabulous dressing.
Suitable for:
low-sodium, migraine, gluten-free, reduced-sugar, nut-free, dairy-free diets. Vegan option given.
You might also like:
Homemade taco seasoning from Copykat Recipes
Chipotle chicken taco salad from Cooking Light
Tasty taco salad with creamy cilantro-lime dressing on Stupid Easy Paleo
Paleo taco salad
Ingredients
Creamy spicy dressing
- 2 ounces hemp seeds (1/2 cup) raw, soaked for at least 4 hours
- 2 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin)
- 2 tbsp water (filtered or spring)
- 1 tbsp white vinegar use lemon juice if not on the migraine diet
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (pimenton)
- 1/2 tsp cumin (dried)
- 1 sprig Italian flat-leaf parsley (fresh) or cilantro
- 4 small cherry tomatoes
Taco seasoning
- 2 tbsp chili powder preferably California chili powder
- 2 tbsp smoked paprika (pimenton)
- 1 tbsp cumin (dried)
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder (omit for migraine diet)
- 1/2 tsp oregano (dried)
- 1/4 tsp chipotle powder or cayenne
Salad
- 16 ounces beef (grass-fed) ground (see above for vegan substitutes)
- 2 bell peppers (capsicum), red and yellow, thinly sliced
- 2 onions (green) scallions, spring onions, sliced on the diagonal
- 4 cups romaine lettuce salad greens, spring mix
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1 avocado
- 3 radishes thinly sliced, or jicama cut into sticks
Instructions
Creamy spicy dressing
- Soak the hemp seeds in filtered water for at least four hours. Drain and rinse thoroughly.
- Place all dressing ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
Taco seasoning
- Mix all ingredients together until one color. This makes enough for two recipes.
Salad
- Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef, breaking up with a spoon and cooking until no longer pink.
- Sprinkle 3 tbsp taco seasoning evenly over the beef and add one cup (200 ml) of filtered water. Stir to mix thoroughly. Continue to cook over medium heat until the moisture is gone and beef is cooked. Remove beef to a warm plate. Do not wipe out the pan.
- Add 1 tbsp (15 ml) coconut oil, extra-virgin olive oil, or rendered bacon fat to the pan, tilting to coat evenly.
- Sauté the peppers and the green onion for 10 minutes until golden and fairly limp.
- To serve as shown, lay out ingredients on a large platter with the dressing on the side.
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Dear Stephanie, I am so glad I found your blog! Was at my wit’s end with trying to find delicious recipes that accommodate so many food restrictions: gluten free, low tyramine, and food allergies. A particular challenge for me is having snacks that are easy and graceful to bring with me on shopping trips, et cetera. Your pull-down options for traveling and dining out tips leads to “cat list” instructions that I’m afraid I don’t understand. Could you clarify how to go about getting this info? Many, many thanks for this website. I’m so happy at the prospect of eating delicious food again!
Hi Lati,
Thanks so much for your sweet message and I am so glad you found us too! Thanks for letting me know that there was an issue… it’s fixed now! Please make sure you join my enews list. I’ll be launching my new membership site very soon that is specifically for people with migraines and Menieres disease, and there will be great discount codes for the first year’s membership for my enews subscribers.
Best,
Stephanie
Stephanie, I can’t wait to try your taco spice mix! I have one but we’re ready for something new to jazz up our taco night!
Thanks Lisa, this was a super yummy salad. Let me know if you try the spice mix and what you think.