This Carne Asada Salad Bowl with Pico de Gallo and Black Beans is a PCOS-friendly recipe with 494 calories, 41.2g protein, and 31.4g carbs per serving. Ready in 30 minutes. High in fiber (13.1g), which supports insulin sensitivity.
Nutrition per Serving
Carne asada is grilled, citrus-marinated steak, the star of any Mexican taqueria. This bowl slices it over crisp romaine and red cabbage with black beans, avocado and fresh pico de gallo, whose juices double as the dressing. Each bowl has about 494 calories and 41g of protein, and it packs well for lunch the next day.
Grocery list:
- Flank steak
- Limes
- Garlic
- Tomato
- White onion
- Jalapeno
- Fresh cilantro
- Romaine lettuce
- Red cabbage
- Canned black beans
- Avocado
- Ground cumin
- Chili powder
- Olive oil
Nutrition notes: Figures are per bowl (half the recipe), worked from USDA SR Legacy values for every ingredient except the spices, cilantro and salt. Steak is counted as raw lean flank, and all the marinade is counted, though some stays in the dish.
Keeps: Sliced steak and pico de gallo keep 3 days in the fridge in separate tubs. Assemble the bowl when you eat so the greens stay crisp.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Mix the marinade ingredients with a good pinch of salt. Coat the steak and leave it for at least 20 minutes, or up to 8 hours in the fridge.Make the pico de gallo: mix the tomato, onion, jalapeno, lime juice and cilantro with a pinch of salt. Set aside.Heat a heavy pan or grill until very hot. Brush with the oil. Sear the steak for 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium rare. Rest it for 5 minutes, then slice thinly across the grain.Split the romaine and red cabbage between two bowls. Add the black beans and avocado.Lay the sliced steak on top and spoon over the pico de gallo and its juices. They work as the dressing.
Why this works for PCOS
A carne asada plate from a taqueria often comes with rice, wraps and sometimes fries. The steak is not the problem; the starch around it is. This bowl keeps the steak front and centre and swaps the starch for salad and a portion of black beans.
That gives each bowl 41g of protein and 31g of carbs, with 13g of fibre. A lunch built on protein and fibre is less likely to leave you hungry and tired by mid-afternoon.
The ingredients doing the work
- Flank steak: a lean cut with lots of protein, plus iron and zinc.
- Black beans: fibre and slow carbs.
- Pico de gallo: fresh tomato, onion, chilli and lime. It is the dressing, so you do not need a bottled one.
- Romaine and red cabbage: crunch and volume for very few calories.
Make it your own
Use skirt steak for a more classic carne asada. Swap the steak for chicken thighs marinated the same way. Add sliced radishes for more crunch.
How this fits a PCOS week
Bowls like this are easy to repeat with different proteins. PCOS Meal Planner builds a week of them around the food you cook, leaves out what you avoid, and gives you one shopping list.
Why this Carne Asada Salad Bowl with Pico de Gallo and Black Beans works for PCOS
With 41.2g of protein per serving (about 33% of calories), this Carne Asada Salad Bowl with Pico de Gallo and Black Beans sits at the top end of the 25-35g per-meal range that the 2023 International PCOS Guideline recommends for managing insulin resistance and supporting lean mass. Higher-protein meals also blunt the glucose response when carbohydrates are included, which matters for women with PCOS because chronic insulin elevation drives androgen excess and irregular cycles.
The 31.4g of carbohydrates here come paired with 13.1g of fibre, which slows glucose absorption and produces a flatter post-meal blood sugar curve. Fibre is one of the most under-rated tools for PCOS: it feeds gut bacteria that produce short-chain fatty acids linked to improved insulin sensitivity, and it modestly lowers circulating androgens by binding bile acids in the gut.
Fat makes up about 44% of calories in this dish. Dietary fat plays a load-bearing role in PCOS because sex hormones are synthesised from cholesterol, and very-low-fat eating can suppress hormone production over time. The 2023 PCOS guideline does not specify a strict fat target, but most clinicians recommend at least 25-35% of calories from a mix of monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and saturated sources.
Lunch is where most PCOS meal plans either succeed or collapse. A meal like this Carne Asada Salad Bowl with Pico de Gallo and Black Beans that combines adequate protein, fibre-rich carbs, and fat keeps blood sugar stable for the rest of the workday and reduces the late-afternoon energy crash that drives sugar cravings around 3-4pm.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, this Carne Asada Salad Bowl with Pico de Gallo and Black Beans recipe is designed to be PCOS-friendly. At 494 calories per serving with 41.2g of protein, it supports balanced blood sugar and hormonal health. It also provides 13.1g of fiber, which helps with insulin sensitivity.
This recipe takes about 30 minutes total. Prep time is 20 minutes and cook time is 10 minutes. It makes 2 servings, so you can meal prep for multiple days.
Per serving: 494 calories, 41.2g protein (33%), 31.4g carbs, 24.1g fat. Plus 13.1g fiber. PCOS meal plans typically aim for 30% protein, 35% fat, 35% carbs to support insulin sensitivity.
Yes, this recipe works well as a PCOS-friendly Lunch. At 494 calories, it fits within typical PCOS meal plan targets for Lunch. Pair it with other PCOS-friendly foods throughout the day for balanced nutrition.
This recipe can be part of a structured PCOS meal plan. It makes 2 servings, making it great for meal prep. For a complete weekly plan tailored to your PCOS type, take our free 60-second quiz at pcosmealplanner.com/pcos-quiz to get a personalized 7-day meal plan.
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