From time to time, people I know will bring up my blog and say things like, “All of your recipes look great, but I think they’re too complicated for me.” While the word “complicated” when referring to cooking is very subjective, and I feel like most of my recipes are not all that difficult or time consuming, I do understand that some people don’t enjoy preparing a meal or care to be savvy in the kitchen, and simply want to be able to eat something they can feel good about that took 15 minutes or less to make.
Guess what? Healthy eating does not have to be time consuming. Sure, it may take more work than, say, pulling through a drive-thru, but it doesn’t need to be a huge, intricate task to make a nutritious dinner. In fact, a lot of my dinners are thrown together really easily. I have a rotation of meals that are on my go-to list when I’m lacking creativity and feel my belly grumbling with hunger, which is how I feel half the time after I workout in the evening. One meal heavily in rotation in my household these days is this salad….
I thought of making the black bean burger and ranch dressing from scratch when I shared this with you guys, but then I thought, let’s just keep it simple. Since I’ve been using a frozen black bean burger and store-bought dressing, I’m keeping it real and sharing exactly how I’ve been throwing this salad together with you today. If you’re looking for a healthy, delicious dinner that can be ready fast – 10 minutes tops – this is a meal idea for you.
First, you need a black bean burger on hand to cook. The kind that I buy often is Morningstar, and I always have some hanging out in my freezer:
As for the veggies, you’ll need lettuce and carrots – and if you want to go the really simple route, as I usually do, you can just buy a bag of spring greens and shredded carrots (minimal chopping necessary!). Avocado is a nice addition to the salad but is optional.
For the cheese, a high-quality cheddar pairs really well with the black bean burger.
Although for most of my salads, I make a simple olive oil/lemon juice/balsamic dressing, for this salad combo, ranch is divine. I’m not crazy about the egg yolks regularly found in ranch ingredient lists, so sometimes I buy vegan ranch. But if we’re being honest here, I nabbed a regular low-fat dressing last time, and it has just been tasting better to me. So you’ve got vegan, low-fat, fat-free, or full fat regular ranch options to choose from.
Combine all of the ingredients together in a big ole salad bowl, and voila! A healthy, delicious, balanced meal in 10 minutes flat (probably less).
Black Bean Burger Salad with Cheddar & Avocado
Ingredients
- 2 cups spring mix salad greens
- 2 oz shredded carrots
- 1 frozen black bean burger
- 1 oz avocado
- 1 oz sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 TBSP ranch dressing I used light
Instructions
- Cook the black bean burger according to directions (I prefer throwing it on a pan and sautéing it).
- Meanwhile, combine the spring lettuce mix and carrots in a large bowl. Cut the avocado and cheddar into bite sized pieces, and throw it into the mix.
- Cut the bean burger into chunks, and add to salad. Top with ranch dressing. Voila!
Nutrition
Tell me… What’s one of your go-to meals? What salad combo is your current favorite?
Love it! Adding a veggie burger is such a quick way to add protein to a salad in a pinch.. I often do that for lunch when I don’t have any other protein on hand 🙂 what’s your fave flavor?
Awesome, I always have some hanging in the freezer to help throw together a last-minute meal. I’ve been loving the brand Gardein lately (and these black bean burgers!).
This looks delicious and even I could do it! 😀 Im currently loving salads with chicken, dried cranberries and walnuts. I go through phases with this particular salad where I eat it til I get sick of it, and then wont touch that particular combination for the next few months.
Look at you being all seasonal with cranberries and walnuts! 🙂 I hear ya, I do that sometimes with meals too!
Love this! I love really easy meals that take no time to put together. I try to aim for meals that take 30 minutes or less to make. Buying some pre-made items definitely helps. I’m a sucker for pre-chopped veggies, especially onions!
Definitely! Sometimes I throw veggies in the food processor for quick chopping… my hubby does the dishes so then he has to clean it 😉
This looks good – any salad with avocado makes me happy!
Avocado is YUMMY!
I love me some avocado! I would put it on everything and be happy! haha This salad looks delicious!
Thanks girl! Yeah I’m a huge avo fan, and my hubby now loves it too!
I think Morning Star farms was the first brand of veggie burger I ever ate! Like when I was 16.
I haven’t bought them in a while but you’re making want one on a salad now! It doesn’t get easier than this!
Me tooooo, I was all about Morningstar Farms when I first became a vegetarian (17 years ago now!!). I stopped buying a lot of their stuff because of their super long ingredient lists, but their black bean burger list isn’t bad at all.
I’m craving a burger so bad right now! I love them with ranch!
Both the burger and salad look amazing – so hearty and wholesome! Love <3 Inspiring food photos I must say 🙂
Thanks for reading, Tash!
I am all about the veggie burgers lately… and I def add them to salad, so thanks for the idea of new add ins (CHEDDAR! AVO!)