Easy Taco Salad Recipe – A delicious 15 minute meal that’s perfect for busy weeknights! Load them up with your favorite taco salad toppings and dig in!
It’s no secret that I love Mexican food and eat it all the time! While I love classic Mexican dishes like enchiladas and taquitos, I also love to make healthier alternatives that are loaded with fresh veggies and protein. This taco salad is one of my healthier go-to’s, as well as my easy fajita salad, taco lettuce wraps, Mexican chicken casserole, crockpot salsa chicken and chicken tortilla soup.
Taco salad
I’ve shared a few different variations of taco salad (like my favorite BBQ chicken salad or shredded chicken taco salad), but today I wanted to share one of my family’s favorite QUICK dinners. We’re talking done in 15 minutes!
Weeknights can be crazy with after school activities and homework to finish. When the days are long, I’m sometimes tempted to pick up fast food. Let’s be honest, occasionally I just give in…but I often make this easy taco salad recipe when looking for a quick and simple meal.
My kids love being in the kitchen with me and this recipe is the perfect meal for them to help with. They place all the taco salad toppings in separate bowls and layer their salads with all the ingredients they like. So easy and customizable. They gobbled them right up too! Surprisingly my kids love salad.
Taco salad ingredients
You don’t really need a recipe for these taco salads because you can just add in your favorite fix in’s, but I added a quick one for you just in case you need to reference. You could even put your taco salad ingredients inside a mini bag of chips to make walking tacos. My kids love those too and they are just as easy!
- Chopped romaine lettuce: Layer the base of your bowl with lots of fresh greens.
- Taco meat (or shredded chicken): Add your preference of protein.
- Rice: I prefer making cilantro lime rice…it adds the perfect flavor. You could add in Mexican rice too.
- Beans: We like using black beans for an extra source of protein and fiber.
- Fresh veggies: Tomatoes, corn, avocado, cucumber or bell peppers are all great additions.
- Tortilla strips: You could also add crushed tortilla strips…they add the perfect crunch. Sometimes we add crushed Doritos too.
- Taco salad dressing: I love using homemade salsa or a cilantro lime dressing to add additional flavor.
- Extras: Feel free to add in extras like guacamole, pico de gallo, mango salsa, pickled onions, olives, shredded cheese or salsa verde
How to make taco salad
Scroll down for the printable taco salad recipe.
- Layer base ingredients. In a bowl, layer the lettuce, meat, rice, corn and beans.
- Top with desired toppings. Add desired toppings and squeeze fresh lime juice over the top if desired.
- Add dressing and enjoy! Drizzle your choice of dressing over top and enjoy!
Quick tips for taco salad recipe
- If I don’t have time to cook taco meat, sometimes I’ll use rotisserie chicken instead.
- You can make walking tacos with this recipe as well. Just add taco salad ingredients inside a mini bag of chips!
- Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice over top of your taco salad for an extra fresh taste.
- Feel free to make healthier swaps, like using ground turkey instead of beef, loading on extra veggies and using salsa as your dressing.
- For convenience, make the taco meat ahead of time! I like to make it the day before so that I can assemble my taco salad in just 5 minutes!
- Replace tortilla strips with crushed Doritos to make a Dorito taco salad!
Taco Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 2 cups taco meat , or shredded chicken
- 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
- In a bowl, layer the lettuce, meat, rice, corns and beans.
- Then top with desired toppings. Squeeze fresh lime juice over the top of your taco salad if desired. Drizzle your choice of dressing over top.
Notes
Nutrition
Now let’s hear it…what are your favorite taco salad toppings?!
This salad looks delicious, just like your other recipes. Can’t wait to try.
This Salad looks delicious, it’s hard to find a Salad recipe the whole family will enjoy, but this is a winner!
This looks so good, love taco salad. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe.