EASY Taco Salad Recipe (20 minutes!) - I Heart Naptime (2024)

Jamielyn Nye
Updated March 27, 2024

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Fresh, flavorful and easy taco salad is made with seasoned ground beef, loaded with toppings then served over chopped greens with your favorite salad dressing.

This recipe is so versatile you can customize the taco meat, use shrimp instead or even make a shredded chicken taco salad!

EASY Taco Salad Recipe (20 minutes!) - I Heart Naptime (2)

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Why You’ll Love It
Taco Salad Ingredients
Substitutions Variations
How to Make Taco Salad
Favorite Salad Toppings
Recipe Tips
FAQs
Make Ahead and Storage
More Delicious Mexican Dinners
Taco Salad Recipe Printable Recipe

Why You’ll Love It

When the days are long, I’m sometimes tempted to pick up fast food instead I often make this easy taco salad recipe for a quick and simple meal. It has all the ingredients from my ground beef tacos but is served in a bowl.

My kids help place all the salad toppings in separate bowls and layer their salad greens with all their taco favorites. They love to do this with BBQ chicken salad and this Mexican salad, too!

Taco Salad Ingredients

Simple ingredients go into this salad making it one of the best recipes that anyone can nail for an easy dinner.

EASY Taco Salad Recipe (20 minutes!) - I Heart Naptime (3)

Find the fullprintable recipewith specific measurements below.

Lean ground beef: I like to use 80-90% lean beef.
Onion: Adds savory taste to the ground beef.
Taco seasoning: To season your meat, you can use store bought or homemade.
Salsa: Adds plenty of moisture and flavor to the browned taco meat.
Lettuce: I love romaine lettuce as it adds both a crisp, crunchy texture but green leaf, iceberg lettuce or spinach all work.
Rice: You will need cooked rice. For extra taste, use cilantro lime rice or Mexican rice.
Corn: Fresh corn, canned or frozen thawed. Leftover Mexican street corn salad is delicious, too!
Black beans: I cup of canned black beans that have been rinsed and drained.
Cherry tomatoes: Adds color and juicy, sweet taste.
Salad dressing: I love using homemade salsa, avocado lime dressing or a cilantro lime dressing to add additional flavor.

Substitutions Variations

Protein. Feel free to make a healthy taco salad recipe by swapping your meat to a leaner protein, like ground turkey. Or try replacing 1/2 the ground beef with shredded chicken or grilled flank steak.
Baked taco salad shell. You can serve your salad in a crispy taco shell like they do at an authentic Mexican restaurant. Simply spray a flour tortilla with cooking spray, then place the tortilla in an oven safe bowl. Bake the tortilla until crispy, about 10 to 15 minutes. Then layer the salad ingredients into the crispy tortilla.
Vegetarian. Omit the meat to make this a vegetarian dish. Double up on black beans and rice or add extra toppings like avocado and vegetables.
Skip the dressing. Instead of piling on sour cream or a creamy dressing, use only salsa instead!
More veggies. Why stop at just the veggies listed? Add raw bell peppers or fajita veggies and pickled onions, too.

How to Make Taco Salad

You will love how quickly this taco salad recipe can be on the table! Meal prep your rice ahead and then the only cooking you will have to do is to make your ground beef.

EASY Taco Salad Recipe (20 minutes!) - I Heart Naptime (4)

Make taco meat. Cook and crumble your ground beef with onion in a large skillet, drain grease and then stir in taco seasoning, salsa and water. Simmer and cook for a few minutes to allow for flavor development.
Prepare remaining salad ingredients. To a large bowl, individual salad bowls or plates, layer the lettuce, beef mixture, rice, corn, beans and tomatoes.
Drizzle with dressing. Drizzle the bowl with your preferred salad dressing or serve it on the side with all your favorite toppings.

Favorite Salad Toppings

One of the best parts about making a taco salad is that you can layer on as many toppings as you’d like, the more the merrier, in my opinion. :) Below are some topping ideas to add to your salad:

Shredded cheddar cheese
Sliced avocado or guacamole
Tortilla strips or tortilla chips
Pico de gallo
Sour cream
Chopped onion
Mango salsa
Sliced black olives
Cilantro lime crema
Salsa verde
Chopped jalapenos

EASY Taco Salad Recipe (20 minutes!) - I Heart Naptime (5)

Recipe Tips

Grilled corn. Adding grilled corn instead of microwave corn on the cob makes a big difference in flavor. If you have the time, I highly recommend it.
Lime juice. Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice over top of your salad for an extra fresh taste.
Doritos. Instead of serving over lettuce, add your ingredients inside a mini bag of Doritos or Fritos to make walking tacos. My kids love those too and they are just as easy! You can also crush up some Doritos and mix them in with your salad.
Double the recipe. Sometimes I’ll double the taco meat recipe so that I have leftovers the next day. Use the extra meat tomake a totally new lunch or dinner the next day, like stuffed bell peppers or these easy taco pockets.

FAQs

What do you serve with taco salad?

While this is a great one bowl dinner, no one ever turns down homemade baked tortilla chips and fresh salsa with queso blanco. If I am serving a crowd I often make this 7 layer dip, too.

Is taco salad healthier than a taco?

While the term health means something different to everyone, it really depends on how you top it. If you are eating it plain with just salsa and veggies, it will most likely be healthier than a taco loaded with toppings. Regardless how many toppings you decide to add to your salad, you are still eating an extra serving of greens which is always nutritious.

Can I make it ahead?

Yes! This salad also makes a great meal prep lunch or dinner. Layer the ingredients into meal prep containers (keep the dressing separate) and then drizzle on top right before serving.

What type of taco seasoning is best to use?

You can use either a store bought packet of taco seasoning or make your own taco seasoning! I love to make my own homemade taco seasoning with just a few simple spices like garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, chili powder and a few other common spices as it doesn’t contain any extra fillers like cornstarch.

EASY Taco Salad Recipe (20 minutes!) - I Heart Naptime (6)

Make Ahead and Storage

Make ahead.For convenience, make the ground beef ahead of time. I like to make it the day before so that I can assemble my salad in just 5 minutes!

Store: Store leftover ground beef taco meat separately from the other salad ingredients in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. Reheat the meat in a skillet on the stove or in the microwave until warmed through.

Need more healthy Mexican recipes for taco Tuesday? Try these chicken stuffed peppers, chicken fajitas or this taco casserole!

More Delicious Mexican Dinners

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One Pot Sweet Potato Bowls
EASY Fajita Salad Recipe
See Also
Leftover Pork Roast Recipes: 7 Delicious Meals from 1 Roast Healthy Sweet Potato Nachos Recipe - Lauren's Latest Doritos Chicken Casserole Recipe
Taco Lettuce Wraps
Taco Casserole

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Taco Salad Recipe

5 from 16 votes

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Author: Jamielyn Nye

Fresh, flavorful and easy taco salad is made with seasoned ground beef, loaded with toppings then served over chopped greens with your favorite salad dressing.

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 20 minutes mins

Servings: 4

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Ingredients

Taco Meat

▢ 1 pound 80-90% lean ground beef
▢ ½ cup finely chopped onion
▢ 1-2 Tablespoons taco seasoning , plus more to taste
▢ ½ cup salsa
▢ ¼ cup water

Salad

▢ 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
▢ 1 cup cooked rice
▢ 1 cup corn
▢ 1 cup black beans
▢ 1 cup cherry tomatoes , halved

Optional toppings: Avocado, Tortilla strips, Shredded cheese, Lime

Dressing: Cilantro lime dressing, Salsa, or Ranch

Instructions

Taco Meat

In a large skillet, sauté the ground beef and onion over medium heat until browned, stirring occasionally to break up any large pieces. Drain excess grease. Stir in the taco seasoning, salsa, and water. Bring to a light simmer. Add more water if the mixture gets too dry.

Salad

In a large bowl or 4 individual bowls, layer the lettuce, meat mixture, rice, corn, beans, and tomatoes.
Top with desired toppings. Squeeze fresh lime juice, if desired, and drizzle your choice of dressing over the top.

Notes

Variations:

Healthy swaps. Feel free to make healthier swaps, like using ground turkey instead of beef, loading on extra veggies and using salsa as your dressing.
Taco salad shell. You can serve your salad in a crispy taco shell like they do at an authentic Mexican restaurant. Simply spray a flour tortilla with cooking spray, then place the tortilla in an oven safe bowl. Bake the tortilla until crispy, about 10 to 15 minutes. Then layer the salad ingredients into the crispy tortilla.
Doritos. Instead of serving over lettuce, add your taco salad ingredients inside a mini bag of Doritos or Fritos to make walking tacos. My kids love those too and they are just as easy! You can also crush up some Doritos and mix them in with your salad.
Vegetarian. Omit the meat to make this a vegetarian dish. Double up on rice and beans or add extra toppings like avocado and more chopped veggies.

Cooking tips:

Make the meat ahead.For convenience, make the taco meat ahead of time. I like to make it the day before so that I can assemble my salad in just 5 minutes! If I don’t have time to cook taco meat, sometimes I’ll use rotisserie chicken instead.
Grilled corn. Adding grilled corn instead of microwave corn on the cob makes a big difference in flavor. If you have the time, I highly recommend it
Lime juice. Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice over top of your taco salad for an extra fresh taste.
Taco seasoning. If you don’t have any on hand, make your own homemade taco seasoning with just a few simple spices (that I bet you already have in your pantry).
Taco salad dressing: I love using homemade salsa, avocado lime dressing or a cilantro lime dressing to add additional flavor.
Meal prep. This salad also makes a great meal prep lunch or dinner. Layer the ingredients into meal prep containers (keep the dressing separate) and then drizzle on top right before serving.
Leftover meat. Sometimes I’ll double the taco meat recipe so that I have leftovers the next day. Use the extra meat tomake a totally new lunch or dinner the next day, like stuffed bell peppers or these easy taco pockets.

Nutrition

Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!

Categorized as: 30 Minute Meals, American, Beef, Cinco De Mayo, Dinner, Meal Prep, Mexican, Salads, Stovetop

Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is also the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook. Here you will find easy family-friendly recipes for every occasion.

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