Celebrate Taco Tuesday with a twist by skipping the standard tacos and making Taco Salad instead. This salad has all the components of a taco but has loads more vegetables without compromising on flavour. It’s easy to make and much better than takeout because it includes any toppings you like.
Taco Salad is one of those healthier meals that doesn’t feel like punishment when you eat it. You can only fit so much in a taco but a salad can be piled high with lots of veggies. The black beans add some extra nutritional value too because they’re high in fibre, protein and potassium. If you’re feeding this to kids or picky eaters, you can hide the black beans by smashing them up really well before you add them to the meat mixture. They won’t even notice!
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If you like regular tacos, you might like Blackened Pike Tacos too!
Easy Taco Salad
You can make a taco salad the easy way. Pick up a container of chili from a takeout joint or buy some in a can. Then tear up some lettuce and dump the chili over top and add sour cream, shredded cheese and salsa. Crush up some corn chips and you’ve got yourself an easy Taco Salad.
But making your own isn’t that hard. In a perfect world everyone in your home would like exactly the same toppings. But realistically that usually doesn’t happen so having a platter of toppings so people can dress their salad the way they like is a great solution. It may even tempt those picky eaters to add something they wouldn’t normally eat.
The meat mixture is more like beef taco filling than chili. Use lean ground beef so you don’t have too much fat and liquid in the pan. The small jars of taco sauce are the perfect size and they come in mild or hot so you can choose what’s best for your taste. If you can’t find the taco sauce, a good substitute is tomato sauce or tomato passata which is something I always have on hand. I don’t mind opening the jar since I use it for other recipes like Beef and Black Bean Enchiladas or Butter Chicken. If you use passata or plain tomato sauce, just increase the amount of dried spices.
Using your own spice mixture helps control the amount of sodium, thickeners and preservatives that are found in packaged taco seasonings. If you do choose to use a package, use only about half the amount. You might need a splash of water if the meat mixture gets too thick. You want the meat to be a little saucy, not pasty.
Rinse and drain the black beans before adding them to the meat. A typical sized can is a little too much so about half the can is enough. Let them heat up and soak up some of the flavour. Don’t worry about having a part can of black beans. You can make a Rice and Black Bean Bowl with the leftovers. Or Beef and Black Bean Enchiladas. which, ironically, have black beans and tomato passata.
Here are our favourite toppings for Taco Salad: cherry tomatoes, black or Kalamata olives, sliced avocado, green onion, red onion, pickled or fresh jalapeños and for me, lots of fresh cilantro. Any tomatoes will work but cherry tomatoes have the best flavour, especially off season. If you put all the toppings on a plate, everyone can dress their salad the way they like. The best lettuce to use is something sturdy like romaine because it keeps its crunch with all the toppings.
This wouldn’t be Taco Salad without some crunchy taco or tortilla chips. I like to warm them on a baking sheet in the oven right before serving so they taste like they’re just made. Use them as the base for your salad and layer the other ingredients over top, starting with the lettuce. Some people like to crush more chips over top. Go ahead! It’s your salad!
There’s no actual dressing for my Taco Salad. Instead, spoon some salsa and sour cream over top, squeeze a wedge of lime, then mix it around. It looks a bit messy but it tastes great. That’s why I didn’t include a picture. But I did calculate the nutritional value as best as possible. It’s not exactly a low calorie meal but it does have lots of good ingredients.
If you make. your own Taco Salad, consider leaving a comment or rating below. Here’s the recipe:
Taco Salad
Ingredients
Meat Mixture
- 1 lb ground beef lean is best
- 1 small onion, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- ½ can 540 ml black beans, rinsed and drained 540 ml or 18 oz can - use only half
- 1 jar taco sauce 215 ml or 7 oz, hot or mild
Taco Seasoning
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- pinch cayenne pepper optional, use more for more heat
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
Salad
- warm taco or tortilla chips
- 2 heads Romaine lettuce
- 1 carrot, julienned or shredded
- ½ cucumber, sliced
- ½ sweet red pepper, sliced
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Toppings - use as many as you like
- cherry tomatoes, halved
- sliced black or Kalamata olives
- green onion, minced
- red onion, thinly sliced
- avocado slices
- fresh cilantro
- pickled jalapeno peppers
Taco Salad Dressing
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup salsa hot or mild
- 1 lime, quartered
Instructions
- Chop onion. Brown ground beef, breaking up larger pieces as it cooks. Add onion while cooking beef to use fat from beef instead of adding extra oil. Mince garlic and add to beef for the last few minutes.
- Add chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper (if using) and salt and pepper to the meat. Cook for a minute or so to ensure spices release their best flavours.
- Rinse and drain black beans. Add to meat mixture and heat through. Add taco sauce and stir to combine and heat meat mixture.
- Arrange taco or tortilla chips on a baking sheet and warm in oven at 350 degrees for 5 minutes if desired.
- Prepare salad by shredding or cutting lettuce, carrots, cucumber and sweet red peppers. Prepare other desired toppings and arrange on a platter.
- To assemble salad, place a layer of chips on a large plate, add lettuce mixture and top with warm beef mixture. Add shredded cheese and desired toppings. Drop sour cream and salsa by spoonfuls over salad. Squeeze fresh lime over top.
I am definitely going to make this. I love taco salad but typically buy the packages of taco seasoning which aren’t nearly as healthy as your spices.
Marci, also want to mention that I made your celery seed bread to accompany homemade Italian soup when my sister and brother in-law stayed with us a week ago. They loved it!
Celery bread is a big deal around here! I’m glad they liked it.