The perfect PCOS salad does in fact exist. This PCOS friendly salad idea is based on a traditional taco salad. It combines fresh ingredients with those delicious flavors you love, plus it’s easy to put together! It’s the perfect salad to meal prep for weekday lunches or throw together for an easy weeknight dinner.
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Why You’ll Love This
Who doesn’t love a good taco salad? The different textures and flavor combinations just hit differently than any other salad. Plus, a salad that tastes delicious and also manages PCOS symptoms? Sign me up!
This taco salad recipe is packed with a whopping 40 grams of protein and 17 grams of fiber! These two nutrients help to keep you feeling full, reduce cravings, and improve gut health. This nutrient combo can make weight loss goals more easy to attain too!
Plus, it’s packed with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties to lower chronic inflammation, which is commonly seen in women with PCOS.
This is a great prep-ahead meal for weekday lunches or a quick weeknight dinner!
Grab a free PCOS meal plan here: A Dietitian’s 7 Day PCOS Diet Plan PDF.
Ingredients You’ll Need
One of the things I love about this recipe is that it uses a lot of fresh ingredients to really bring out the natural flavors of these foods. I also used a few convenience foods too, but you can easily swap those for the whole food version if you prefer.
Here’s what you’ll need to make this PCOS friendly taco salad.
Cooked Ingredients:
- Ground Turkey – this is going to be your main protein source. In addition to protein, turkey is a great source of micronutrients such as B vitamins, choline, selenium, and zinc. I used 93% lean ground turkey to decrease some of the saturated fat content, but you could also substitute ground chicken or lean ground beef.
- Taco Seasoning – I took a shortcut and used a store-bought taco seasoning packet. You could make your own taco seasoning too if you have the spices on hand!
- Black Beans – beans are a great source of fiber, plant based protein, and micronutrients. I used one can of black beans and just drained and rinsed them…you could also use dry beans too if you prefer.
- Corn – another great source of fiber and micronutrients. You can learn more about the benefits of corn for PCOS here. I used one can of no salt added corn but frozen corn or fresh cut corn off the cob work too!
- Olive Oil – this provides healthy fats and will be used to toast the corn and is actually considered a PCOS superfood!
Raw Ingredients:
- Iceberg Lettuce – you can easily substitute any type of leafy green vegetables in here such as romaine lettuce…I just prefer the crunch of iceberg lettuce for a taco salad. I buy it already pre-shredded too to make life easier.
- Bell Peppers – You can use any color of bell pepper. I used red bell peppers that are packed with vitamin C, a potent antioxidant that can lower inflammation and also improve egg quality and boost fertility.
- Red Onion – not only do onions provide a unique flavor, but they’re a great source of prebiotic fibers that can improve gut health and metabolic health.
- Cherry Tomatoes – another great source of fiber, vitamin C, and other antioxidants.
- Avocado – this is another PCOS superfood, being rich in magnesium, fiber, monounsaturated fats, and potassium to maintain healthy blood pressure and lower insulin resistance.
- Queso Fresco – cheese has a low glycemic index. It also has quality protein and fat – two nutrients that can mitigate the blood sugar response. This soft cheese goes great on a taco salad! If you’re dairy-free, you can easily omit this ingredient.
How To Make It
This easy PCOS taco salad is best made in steps. There are three steps to make it:
- Toast the corn
- Cook the taco meat
- Assemble the salad
Toast The Corn
First, you’re going to toast your corn. You can absolutely skip this step if you want to decrease the prep time, but I think it adds a little something extra.
Heat the olive oil in a nonstick non-toxic pan over medium heat. Drain and rinse the corn if you’re using canned corn. Add corn to the heated oil and stir occasionally until corn turns slightly brown. Add salt to taste and transfer the toasted corn from the pan to a bowl.
Cook The Taco Meat
To make the taco meat, you’re going to cook the ground turkey over medium heat in the same pan you used for the corn. Using a wooden spoon or a silicone meat chopper, break up the ground beef while it cooks. It should be cooked for about 5 to 10 minutes or until it’s no longer pink. Drain any fat.
Drain and rinse the can of black beans and add it to the pan along with the taco seasoning and ground turkey. Stir until it’s evenly distributed. Cover the pan and turn the heat off.
Assemble The Salad
Assemble the salad ingredients: shredded iceberg lettuce, halved cherry tomatoes, chopped onion and bell pepper, diced avocado, and queso fresco. To make chopping your veggies easier, I love this veggie chopper, grape cutter, and avocado slicer.
Add the corn and the taco meat to the salad. Top with your favorite salad dressing. I love this PCOS friendly salad dressing on my taco salad but there’s lots of great options that work!
Store any taco salad leftovers in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. I’d recommend storing the meat and salad ingredients separately. This way, you can warm up the taco meat before adding it to the leftover salad.
Variations & Substitutions
- Switch up the protein with ground chicken or beef, chicken breast, or even plant based crumbles to make it vegan.
- Substitute shredded cheddar cheese or omit the queso fresco to make it dairy-free.
- If you prefer a spicy dish, add diced jalapenos or chiles to the salad or taco meat.
- For more flavor, add cilantro, salsa, plain Greek yogurt (sour cream substitute), and/or a squeeze of lime.
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Other Delicious Recipes You’ll Love
Beef and Bean Chili (PCOS Friendly)
Baked Feta Cheese Pasta with Chicken
Crispy Rice Chicken Salad Bowl (Sweetgreen Copycat Recipe)
If you make this PCOS Friendly Taco Salad, please leave me a rating and review on this blog post. This is the best way to support me! Tag me on Instagram so I can repost you! You can also follow me on Pinterest to save this recipe there!
Easy Taco Salad (PCOS Friendly Salad Recipe)
Ingredients
Toasted Corn
- 1 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 2 cup corn (frozen or canned) no salt added
Taco Meat
- 1 lb ground turkey lean
- 3 tbsp taco seasoning homemade or store-bought
- 15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed
Salad
- 16 oz iceberg lettuce shredded
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 red onion chopped
- 2 oz queso fresco crumbled
- 1 avocado diced
Instructions
Toast The Corn:
- Heat olive oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Add the corn (drained and rinsed if using canned corn) and stir occasionally until the corn turns slightly brown. Add salt to taste and transfer corn from the pan to a bowl.
Cook The Taco Meat
- Add the ground turkey to the same pan you used to toast the corn. Cook over medium heat, using a wooden spoon or a silicone meat chopper to break apart the ground turkey as it cooks. Cook for about 5 to 10 minutes or until no longer pink. Drain the fat.
- Add taco seasoning and drained/rinsed black beans. Stir until it's evenly distributed. Cover the pan and turn off the heat.
Assemble The Salad
- Combine all of the salad ingredients in a large bowl: shredded iceberg lettuce, halved cherry tomatoes, chopped onion and bell pepper, diced avocado, and queso fresco.
- Add toasted corn and taco meat to the salad. Serve with your favorite salad dressing.
Notes
Nutrition
The post Easy + Healthy Taco Salad (PCOS Friendly Recipe) appeared first on The PCOS Nutritionist Alyssa.