Mexican Salad with Kidney Beans & Avocado
Cold, crunchy, and done before your coffee cools. Kidney beans, sliced avocado, and cucumber tossed in a cumin-lemon dressing over mixed greens, with two slices of whole wheat bread on the side.
22 grams of fiber from a plate that never touches a stove. 24 grams of protein, all plant-sourced. The dressing ties it together: olive oil, lemon juice, and a pinch of ground cumin that makes the whole bowl unmistakably Mexican.
Five minutes of slicing and tossing. Nothing to cook, nothing to wait for. 651 calories ready to travel.
Cold, crunchy, and done before your coffee cools. Kidney beans, sliced avocado, and cucumber tossed in a cumin-lemon dressing over mixed greens, with two slices of whole wheat bread on the side.
22 grams of fiber from a plate that never touches a stove. 24 grams of protein, all plant-sourced. The dressing ties it together: olive oil, lemon juice, and a pinch of ground cumin that makes the whole bowl unmistakably Mexican.
Five minutes of slicing and tossing. Nothing to cook, nothing to wait for. 651 calories ready to travel.
Ingredients
- kidney beans 168 g
- avocado 0.5
- lemon juice 10 ml
- cucumber 0.5
- olive oil 23 ml
- ground cumin 1 g
- mixed salad 30 g
- bread, whole wheat 2 slices
Method
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Rinse the kidney beans in a colander with cold water.
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Slice the avocado and drizzle it with some lemon juice. Slice the cucumber.
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Make a dressing with the oil, lemon juice and the ground cumin. Season with salt and pepper.
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In a bowl, toss together the kidney beans, mixed salad and cucumber. Arrange the avocado on top of the salad and drizzle the dressing over it.
Drizzle the lemon juice onto the avocado slices the moment you cut them. The acid slows the browning that turns avocado grey within the hour, which matters when this salad is heading to work in a sealed bowl.
Why This Works
Behind this recipe
Can I use black beans instead of kidney beans?
Yes. Black beans have a similar protein and fiber profile, so the macros stay close to the original 24 grams of protein and 22 grams of fiber. The texture changes: black beans are smaller and softer, making the salad less chunky. Either bean works with the cumin-lemon dressing.
Is 24 grams of plant protein enough for a meal?
It depends on your daily target. Research on plant protein found that plant sources can support muscle protein synthesis when total daily intake is adequate. This salad's 24 grams covers a meaningful portion of most people's daily target from plants alone.
Read the full evidence reviewHow long does this salad keep if I take it to work?
The kidney beans, cucumber, and dressing are sturdy and hold up well in a sealed container through a morning commute and into lunch. The avocado is the weak link. It starts browning once cut. The lemon juice in step 2 slows this down, but for the best texture, keep the avocado slices on top and separate from the dressing until you eat.
