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This easy taco salad recipe is made with seasoned ground beef, crisp romaine lettuce, and flavorful toppings. An easy, healthy weeknight dinner!
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Taco salad was a common dinner at our house growing up. This is one of our favorite taco salad recipes. It is such a quick dinner to throw together and it can easily feed a crowd. It’s like a giant taco in a bowl. We love using ground beef with our taco salad because it only takes minutes to cook but it can also be made with chicken or shredded beef. Try this recipe with our homemade taco seasoning mix for a great alternative to store-bought seasoning.
Taco Salad Ingredients
Just a few basic ingredients for the taco meat. This is also a delicious filling in ground beef tacos.
- Ground beef (ground turkey can also be used)
- Onion
- Taco Seasoning
- Chopped Romaine, green leaf, or iceberg lettuce
The possibilities are endless when it comes to taco salad toppings. Toss in any or all of these optional ingredients for a flavor filled salad.
- Cheddar cheese
- Mexican cheese blend
- Tomatoes
- Sliced black olives
- Green onion
- Red onion
- Black beans
- Red beans
- Pinto beans
- Corn
- Red onion
- Diced bell pepper
- Avocado
- Guacamole
- Sour cream
- Salsa
- Pico de gallo
- Tortilla chips/strips
Taco Salad Dressing
Ask three different people what their favorite taco salad dressing is and you will likely get three different answers. Currently, we love using cilantro-lime ranch dressing or no dressing at all (it’s great with just salsa and sour cream). Growing up, my husband’s family always used thousand island dressing over their taco salad. When we were growing up, the topping of choice in our family was (do I dare admit this?) ketchup. Here are some more popular dressings to use (feel free to add your favorite dressing in the comments below):
- Creamy Southwestern BBQ
- Thousand island dressing
- Lime juice + oil
- Sour cream + salsa
- Guacamole + ranch dressing
Add some veggies!
It’s easy to sneak in some added vegetables and nutrients to the taco meat without sacrificing taste or texture. We like adding some shredded zucchini or carrots with the ground beef and onions. You won’t even be able to tell they are there!
Questions
This comes down to personal preference. I prefer the meat to be warm but to do this, it needs to be eaten soon after the salad is made or it can make the lettuce lose its crispness. If you are making a large tossed-style salad, it may be best to serve it cold.
This recipe can easily be made into a keto-friendly, low-carb recipe! Just take out the beans and chips and you are set.
This recipe is a gluten-free recipe when you use GF taco seasoning. Not all taco seasonings are gluten-free so be sure to read those labels or use our homemade taco seasoning recipe (get the link in the recipe notes below).
Read Next: Easy Ground Beef Recipes
What To Have With Taco Salad
There are lots of great dishes that you can serve along with taco salad. Whether you are making a big meal for a crowd, a potluck, or just want to add another dish to your family dinner, you can’t go wrong with any of these great recipes:
Easy Taco Salad
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 onion diced
- 1 zucchini shredded, optional (see tip above)
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning (get the link to our homemade seasoning below)
- 1 15-ounce can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 pound chopped romaine lettuce washed and rinsed
- 1 cup shredded cheese
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 avocado diced
- 1/2 cup sliced green onion
- 1/3 cup sliced olives
- 2 cups crunchy tortilla strips
- 1 cup salsa
- 2/3 cup sour cream
Instructions
- In a large skillet, brown ground beef with chopped onion and shredded zucchini (optional) on medium-high heat.
- When onion becomes soft and transparent and beef is cooked through, stir in taco seasoning and black beans and cook on low until heated through.
- If the mixture becomes too dry, add a few tablespoons of water. Keep on warm until ready to serve.
- Place lettuce in a large bowl (or individual bowls). Top with ground beef mixture and remaining toppings.
- Serve plain or with salad dressing (see options above).
Notes
- To make this recipe gluten-free, make this recipe with our homemade taco seasoning mix. An easy, gluten-free taco seasoning that can be made in minutes!
- To make this recipe low-carb, eliminate the black beans and tortilla strips.
- Keep any leftovers in the fridge.
Easy & delicious! One of my families favorite meals growing up was taco salad. I haven’t had homemade taco salad in ages! This is almost exactly like what we had when I was growing up. Hearty, good seasoning, delicious, & so easy! <3
This is packed full of flavors! Everyone at my house loved it!
Thanks for the tip about adding the shredded zucchini. I peeled mine, and the kids didn’t notice it was in there! I served mine without beans or chips, and it was the perfect keto meal!
This was such a big hit here and so tasty! My family and I love love loved it! Going to make this again!
This is super easy to make and is so good it’s going on the weekly menu!
I just started the keto diet, so I made it without the beans and chips. I used your homemade taco seasoning, and it was amazing! I actually stirred a bit of the seasoning into the sour cream for extra flavor. So good!