This Quick Taco Salad Recipe is made with seasoned ground beef, chopped lettuce, and all of your favorite taco toppings! It is ready in under 20 minutes making it the perfect weeknight dinner!
If you are anything like me, you probably search for super easy weeknight dinner recipes on the regular. I like my dinners to be simple, tasty, and family approved.
The last one can be quite the challenge. I have a nine year old that will eat almost anything… The challenge really is finding those dinners where he asks for seconds.
This ground beef taco SALAD was the very first that he quickly devoured and asked for more. No surprise there. He is a huge fan of tacos and this tastes exactly like the tortilla wrapped goodness.
Recipe Features:
- 30-Minute Dinner Idea: From start to serving you are looking at roughly 30 minutes. Sometimes quicker.
- Easy to Customize: Making this a family recipe that will be loved by all.
What You Need:
Did I mention this taco salad with ground beef dinner was on the table in just about 20 minutes?
TIP: I chop my onions ahead of time and freeze them. It saves so much time when you are swarmed with a hungry family ready to eat. Grab a bag out of the freezer and add it to your recipe. Easy as pie and super handy.
Taco salads are basically made up of ground beef and your favorite taco toppings. Which is what makes it so amazing. Everyone in the family can build their own making sure that everyone is a happy camper! This is easily the best taco salad recipe.
- Taco Seasoning: You can buy the premade packs or make your own.
- Beef: I like to use ground chuck but also always have a few pounds of beef in the freezer from Costco. Whatever you decide, this dinner will be delicious.
- Toppings: Lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, olives…
- Dressing: The classic taco salad is served with Catalina style dressing. However, we really love this with ranch OR homemade cilantro lime ranch!
Searching for a similar flavor with chicken? This Chicken Taco Salad might be for you!
Step by Step Instructions:
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add your diced onion and ground beef. Cook until the onion is translucent and the beef is crumbled and browned.
- Stir in the taco seasoning and water. Heat through (about 2 minutes).
- Build your salads with the remaining ingredients. Top with ranch dressing or catalina style dressing.
What are the best toppings for a taco salad?
Anything and everything. A few of our favorite go-to’s have been cheddar tortilla chips (cool ranch is a good alternative), shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, black beans, olives, and corn. You can easily top with sour cream, guacamole, lime juice, or any other number of traditional taco toppings!
What type of salad dressing do you use on a taco salad?
Traditionally, you would use a Catalina salad dressing. Catalina dressing has a sweet tomato flavor and pairs well with the toppings. However, we really like to use a homemade ranch dressing. Similarly, you could use my cilantro lime ranch dressing for a fun twist.
Related Recipes:
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Quick and Easy Taco Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 1oz packet taco seasoning
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 large heads of romaine lettuce chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes diced
- 2 cups shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese
- 1 cup canned corn drained
- 1/2 cup sliced olives
- green onion
- 1 large bag cheddar cheese tortilla chips
- Ranch dressing
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add your diced onion and ground beef. Cook until the onion is translucent and the beef is crumbled and browned.
- Stir in the taco seasoning and water. Heat through (about 2 minutes).
- Build your salads with the remaining ingredients. Top with ranch dressing or catalina style dressing.
Notes
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Mary says
Can’t wait to get back home to try this recipe—it fits all my criteria, especially the quick and easy features.
Jesseca says
This one is great for meal planning. You can make a batch of taco meat and freeze some for later. I can give you a few ideas on how to use the leftovers!
Steph says
We made this tonight. Made as directed but used cool ranch chips in place of nacho. Incredibly easy and everyone agreed we need to add it into our rotation.
Jesseca says
Oooh. Cool ranch chips sound like a great substitution!