Vegan BLT Salad with Avocado & Tempeh Bacon

Created by Minimalist Baker

A note from Claudia

The “Amateur Vegan Chef”

This salad is hard to get out of my house if Steve knows what's in the bowl. For someone who professes not to be vegan, I would say that this is one of Steve's favorites as well as David's.

Don't leave out the tempeh bacon - It makes this salad a total winner. I use Lighttlife and will brown in a skillet to crisp up. Additions to the recipe - 1 red pepper diced, 1 12-ounce bag of coleslaw, no red onion (unless you're a red onion fan).

Check out Dana's "Easy Vegan Ranch Dressing" for this salad. You'll only need to make 1/2 recipe for this salad.

Here to help you find happiness eating your veggies in a variety of ways.

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Ingredients

• 1 batch tempeh bacon (or store-bought such as Lightlife)

• 2/3-3/4 cup vegan ranch dressing (or store-bought)

• 1 head romaine lettuce, washed, dried, and chopped (1 head yields ~6-8 cups or 360 g)

• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered (1 pint tomatoes yields ~2 cups)

• 1 medium English cucumber, chopped (1 cucumber yields ~2 cups or 280 g)

• 1 large avocado, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

• 1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced (1/2 medium onion yields ~1 cup or 100 g)

For serving optional

• Croutons (or store-bought // gluten-free as needed)

Instructions

1. TEMPEH BACON: For homemade tempeh bacon, prepare according to this recipe. If using store-bought, cook according to package instructions. Once cooked and slightly cooled, crumble the strips into ~1/4 inch pieces.

2. RANCH: Meanwhile, if making homemade vegan ranch, prepare it at this time.

3. CROUTONS (optional): If adding homemade croutons, prepare them at this time.

4. To a large mixing bowl, add chopped romaine lettuce, quartered cherry tomatoes, chopped cucumber, diced avocado, and thinly sliced red onion. Pour the vegan ranch dressing (starting with the lesser amount) on top of the salad and toss to combine. Add more dressing if desired.

5. Divide the salad between serving bowls and top with tempeh bacon crumbles and croutons (optional). Enjoy!

6. Salad without avocado or dressing will keep for up to 2-3 days. Dressing and tempeh bacon will keep stored separately for up to 4-5 days. Not freezer friendly.

Notes

*Prep time and cook time assume using store-bought tempeh bacon and ranch and do not include making optional croutons.
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with the lesser amount of dressing and without optional ingredients.