This Taco Salad is loaded with seasoned ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, red bell pepper, corn, cheese, and nacho cheese Doritos for the finishing touch. Be sure to add this recipe to your next taco night menu! If you are looking for more amazing salads, make sure to try my buffalo chicken salad and my cheeseburger salad!
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Ground Beef: When making taco salad, using meat with higher fat content, such as an 80/20 ratio, is typically preferred as it will better absorb the taco seasoning. However, if you prefer leaner meat, you can still achieve the same effect by adding water to the pan while cooking.
- Taco Seasoning: If you don’t have any on hand, make your own homemade taco seasoning for the most flavor!
- Vegetables: There are many options for vegetables in this salad. I added lettuce, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, red bell pepper, corn, and onions to the mix. I will give you more ideas to try below.
- Chips: Nacho Doritos are the perfect crunch to add to the salad. Not only do they add texture, but they also add more flavor to each bite. Reserve some chips for topping. You could also substitute tortilla chips or leave out the chips if preferred.
- Toppings: Be sure to provide salsa, sour cream, and French or Catalina dressing for toppings. Each adds its own additional flavor to the salad.
Variations for Taco Salad
Taco toppings options are endless. While I put the basics on my taco salad, there are plenty of ideas for how you can spice things up. Here are a few options you can try:
- Black Olives
- Black Beans
- Pickled Jalapenos
- Refried Beans
- Green Pepper
- Scallions
- Cilantro
- Green Chilis
- Taco Sauce
How to Store Taco Salad
Although Taco Salad is best assembled right before serving, you can store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container. It will last 2-3 days. If you want to get a head start on the salad, get the vegetables cut up to a day in advance. You can also get the taco meat made and stored in the refrigerator. In addition, if you are storing the assembled salad, keep the chips separate if possible, and add them when serving the salad.
Taco Salad
Ingredients
Taco Meat
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 4 tablespoons taco seasoning
Taco Salad
- 2 heads romaine lettuce, diced
- 2 medium jalapeño peppers, diced
- 2 medium roma tomatoes, diced
- 1 small red bell pepper, diced
- 1 can (15.25 ounces) corn kernels, drained
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 bag (9.75 ounces) Nacho Doritos, slightly crushed, reserving a few for topping
Optional Toppings
- salsa
- sour cream
- French or Catalina dressing
Instructions
Taco Meat
- In a large skillet over medium heat, cook ground beef until no longer pink (8-10 minutes).
- Add taco seasoning, stirring to combine. Set the meat aside.
Taco Salad
- In a large bowl combine lettuce, jalapeño pepper, tomatoes, red pepper, corn, onion, cheese, taco meat, and Doritos. Toss to combine.
- Serve fresh with salsa, sour cream, and French or Catalina dressing as optional toppings.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
Hi Amanda
I absolutely love your recepies. My hobby is collecting recepies and trying them to see what works for me and what does not.
Thank you
Susan
Thank you, Susan! Hope you find some favorites!
Ihave made this a lot of time. It great during summer its light and tasty
Thank you Amanda for all your recepies. I try some of them but it’s amazing to see all the ingredients you have in USA.
But I try to use some equals ingredients and…
Thank you I keep on following you on Facebook and on Instagram
Have a nice day
Florence (I’m from Paris-France)
Add Catalina dressing for an amazing new taste.
I love your recipes but I can never ‘cut and paste’ them the way I do all my other recipes. Why do you make it so hard to do this?
I’m not sure what you are referring to. You can also use the PRINT button.
Looks awesome. I haven’t made that in years. Thank you
I love it,gonna try it
Love your recipes!
Silly question – is the taco meat warm right off the stove into the salad mix?
A childhood favorite! Our local Broadway department store served this in their cafe. My mother added kidney beans and used Thousand Island dressing instead of sour cream and salsa, which would have been too avant-garde for Orange County in the ‘60s!!