Hot days filled with lots of summer activities, and warm nights begging for an easy dinner – what do you do? Taco salad is a quick meal and enjoyed by all members of the family because they can add their own favorite ingredients.
Sauté ground beef, turkey, or chicken. Add taco seasoning and beans (pinto, black, scarlett runner beans, or your favorite). You don’t have to use both beans and meat, you can use one or the other to fit your dietary needs.
Make the taco shell out of a flour tortilla (6.5 to 8 inches). I use a pan that is called a Tortilla Bowl Maker but you could use an oven safe bowl and form the tortilla over the upside down bowl. Sometimes I just throw a tortilla in the toaster oven for a few minutes and layer all the ingredients on top of a flat toasted tortilla. Hubby likes his taco salad laid on top of a pile of Fritos on occasion, so you can really make this recipe to appeal to your taste preferences. 
I left this shell in the oven a little longer than normal. Forgot to set the timer – duh!
Chop up ingredients and layer into taco shell along with meat and bean ingredients. Skip meat if you want a vegetarian taco bowl. Add jicama, carrots, peppers or whatever salad ingredients you favor.
Top with sour cream and salsa (homemade or store brand) for a light and yummy dinner.
If you prefer to use salad dressing on your salad, choose whatever flavor you like. Sometimes I add a little blue cheese dressing for a tangy punch.
Serves 4
Save RecipeIngredients
- 1 lb ground beef, chicken, or turkey
- Taco seasoning* (store brand or homemade - see recipe below)
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup water
- 2 tomatoes chopped
- 6 green onions chopped
- 1 head of lettuce chopped
- 1 cup beans (pinto, kidney, black, Scarlett runner)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 avocado, sliced or cubed
- 4 tortillas (flour or corn)
- Sour cream
- Salad dressing
Instructions
- Sauté ground meat.
- Sprinkle taco seasoning over cooked meat. Add water and cook until water has evaporated.
- Combine beans with taco meat. Set aside.
- Prepare tortilla using tortilla bowl maker or your method of tortilla prep.
- Layer ingredients to fill the tortilla bowl in any order. I like to have the meat and beans on the bottom followed by cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and topped with avocado.
- Optional: Top with salad dressing or salsa and sour cream.
Notes
!Taco seasoning1 tbsp chili powder 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp paprika 1/2 tsp cumin 1 tsp kosher salt Combine well. Sprinkle on meat and add water
Nutrition