This easy taco salad recipe comes together in less than 30 minutes and will satisfy the whole family! No time to read? Click here to pin it for later.
For just about as long as I can remember, I’ve loved this easy taco salad.
Maybe I loved it because it’s served with Doritos (can you blame me?!). Or maybe I loved it because it tastes like tacos (can you blame me?!). Or maybe, just maybe, I loved it because easy taco salad means all the taco flavors with a little extra vegetables (again, can you blame me?!).
All I know is that I still love it as much as I used to and it’s one of those salads that I have to eat a few times during the summer. This is a perfect family meal, want to know why I think so?
- Easy Taco Salad is customizable which always works well for different eaters. Everyone can add their own toppings, and the salads can be deconstructed into separate compartments if desired. (HI, TODDLERS!)
- Easy Taco Salad has all of the nutritional components I like to include in meals for all ages. It’s got protein, fat, vegetables, fiber, flavor!
- Easy Taco Salad is delicious. The flavors work well, no matter what age you are! And a sweeter dressing can help kids eat some salad.
- Easy Taco Salad has a focus on vegetables. Even though I fully believe in the division of responsibility (meaning I choose what goes on my kid’s plate and they choose what and how much to eat), this easy taco salad meal sets the expectation that fresh vegetables are a standard part of meals. (Whether they choose not to eat them or not.)
Like any good meal-sized salad, this easy taco salad includes a variety of protein, fiber, filling vegetables, and satisfying fat and flavor.
Print
Easy Taco Salad
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: dinner
- Cuisine: mexican, tex mex,
Description
This easy taco salad recipe comes together in less than 30 minutes and will satisfy the whole family!
Ingredients
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 large head romaine or red/green leaf lettuce
- 2 tomatoes (about 1 cups chopped)
- 1/2 lb. cucumber (about 2 cups chopped)
- 2 lbs. (32 oz.) ground beef
- 2 Tbsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 15 oz. can black beans
- 1/3 cup + more zesty french dressing
- 4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
- sour cream
- tortilla chips
- hot sauce
Instructions
- Prep ingredients:
Mince or chop garlic.
Wash and dry lettuce. Chop.
Wash and chop tomatoes, discarding seeds.
Wash and chop cucumber. (If using regular cucumber, peel and remove seeds.)
Rinse black beans. - Heat a large pan over medium-high heat and when it’s hot, add ground beef and garlic to pan. Break up with spatula or wooden spoon. Add cumin, salt, and pepper to pan and cook for about 5-7 minutes, until meat is browned.
- While beef is cooking, combine chopped tomatoes, chopped cucumber, black beans, and dressing in a mixing bowl. Toss to combine.
- Divide lettuce into bowls and add veggie and bean mix. Top with ground beef and cheese. Add an extra drizzle of dressing if desired.
- Serve with sour cream, tortilla chips, and hot sauce!
Notes
- Get your kids involved! They can: tear lettuce, stir together veggie and bean mixture, and top their own salad bowls.
- Choose whatever lettuce looks best at the store. Romaine, bibb/boston, red leaf, green leaf would all work well.
- I like the Brianna’s brand of salad dressing because it’s made with real ingredients and not high fructose corn syrup, like so many salad dressings!
Keywords: taco salad
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kevin
Sounds delicious. Thanks for sharing such an tasty and healthy recipe. Will try soon.