This fresh and easy Taco Salad is loaded with juicy beef on a bed of crisp lettuce with all of your favorite fresh veggies and toppings. You can finish it off with a dollop of sour cream, but I’m also sharing my famous lime crema taco salad dressing – you’ll want it on all of your tacos!
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
Taco Salad Recipe
A taco salad is a deconstructed taco, and it’s a great way to change up traditional tacos. They are so satisfying and a quick meal. For a fun and authentic Mexican restaurant vibe, serve this in a Tortilla Taco Bowl. For my sister’s baby shower, we made a taco salad menu and served everything buffet style in the Tortilla bowls. They are easy to make and way less expensive than ordering them from a restaurant. Everyone loved them!
We love tacos, from our popular Fish Tacos to Breakfast Tacos and even Taco Soup – Tacos are a fun menu item to make and taste just as good as going out for tacos (except fresher and with better ingredients). Watch the easy video tutorial below and get ready for your next taco night!
Taco Salad Video
I’ll show you how easy it is to make this Taco Salad and wait until you try my favorite taco sauce – it really makes this dish!
Ingredients for Taco Salad
The ingredients here are so simple, but it’s lower carb since it’s served over a bed of lettuce. If you want to host a special taco salad party, try my homemade Taco Salad Shells. They are so easy to make with store-bought tortillas or Homemade Flour Tortillas.
- Ground Beef – we use lean ground beef and be sure to drain the excess fat. You can substitute other ground meats such as ground turkey or ground chicken.
- Taco Seasoning – you can use store-bought, but we highly recommend Homemade Taco Seasoning for the best flavor (it’s also not too spicy, which our kids love).
- Iceberg Lettuce – this is our top choice for a taco salad – it’s crisp, fresh, and classic. You can also use finely chopped romaine lettuce.
- Toppings – you can use any of your favorite taco salad toppings. See the list below for ideas and inspiration.
- If You’re Feeling Fancy: Make Taco Salad Shells
What Dressing Goes Well on Taco Salad?
Here’s our little secret: We are using our best-loved Fish Taco sauce (minus sriracha since the kids don’t like spicy foods), and it’s the perfect dressing for salad. Drizzle it over the top using a spoon or put it in a squeeze bottle for easy serving. All you need is: Sour cream, real mayonnaise, lime juice and garlic powder. If you want options, our Jalapeno Ranch is also excellent.
How to Make Taco Salad
If you have made Ground Beef Tacos in the past, you already know how to make the salad. The process is very similar. If you want to serve them in Tortilla Taco Salad Shells, make those first. While they bake and cool, you can work on the taco meat and salad toppings.
- Cook Beef: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown your beef, breaking it up with a spatula until no pink remains. Drain off excess fat, add taco seasoning and water, and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
Pro Tip:
If your beef has released any excess fat, tilt the pan for the fat to pool at the corner of the pan, then spoon off the excess fat. If you don’t skim it off, the fat will solidify on the meat when it cools, and you don’t want that.
- Make the Dressing (if using): Stir the dressing together and set it aside for the flavors to meld for 10 minutes.
- Assemble: Chop lettuce and divide into serving bowls. Top with ground beef.
- Serve: Add the remaining desired toppings and serve with a drizzle of dressing and a squeeze of fresh lime juice over the top.
Taco Salad Toppings
We love the classic toppings but you can change up Taco Tuesdays with these fun taco bar options:
How to Serve Taco Bowls
- Taco Bar – you can arrange all of the ingredients in separate bowls and let your guests build their custom taco salads. We love this option when there are gluten-free or keto dinner guests. P.S. You can get gluten-free taco seasoning.
- Layered Salad – if you want to serve this as one large salad for a party, you can assemble it in a 9×13 glass casserole as a layered taco salad (similar to a 7-layer dip) starting with the lettuce then beef, and sprinkle the remaining toppings evenly over the top.
- Tortilla Salad Bowls – Divide lettuce between tortilla bowls, add ground beef, and desired toppings.
Make-Ahead Tips
Meal-planning with taco salad is genius – all of the ingredients keep well and taste just as good when made ahead in a meal prep container and you can combine all of the ingredients just before serving. Pack a lime wedge to squeeze over the top before serving.
- Pack your lettuce into sandwich-sized plastic bags for max freshness and place it into a meal prep container.
- Arrange toppings in strips: taco meat, cheese, and avocado (squeeze fresh lime juice over avocados to slow down the browning process).
- Pico and Dressing keep best stored in small lidded containers or zip bags.
- Pack tortilla strips separately since those will soften.
Taco Salad is a quick and easy meal. You can use this basic recipe over and over, changing up the toppings to make dinner exciting. What are your favorite toppings on your taco salad? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.
Easy Taco Salad Recipe
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 people as a side salad
Ingredients for Taco Salad
- 1 iceberg lettuce, medium head, chopped
- 1 avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced
- 1 cup diced tomatoes, or Pico de Gallo
- 1/2 cup Mexican cheese blend, or to taste
- 1/2 cup tortilla strips or chips
- 1/2 cup sour cream, or Taco Salad Dressing*
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- toppings, as desired:, lime wedges, jalapenos, guacamole, salsa, olives
Prevent your screen from going dark
-
Cook the Beef: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown your beef. When there is no pink left on the meat and the fat is released, spoon out all of the excess fat then add taco seasoning and 1/2 cup water. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool until it’s lightly warm or room temperature.
-
Make the dressing* (if desired): In a small bowl or measuring cup, add the dressing ingredients and stir to combine. Refrigerate and let the flavors meld while you prepare your toppings. You can refrigerate the sauce for up to a week.
-
Chop lettuce and place into serving bowls (serves 6 as a side salad or 4 as a main course). Divide ground beef between the bowls over the lettuce.
-
Assemble and Serve: Add remaining toppings as desired, then garnish with cilantro and a dollop of sour cream or drizzle with the taco salad dressing. Serve with lime wedges to squeeze over the salad.
*For gluten-free, make sure the taco seasoning is marked GF.
*Ingredients for Taco Salad Dressing:
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup mayonnaise
- 2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 tsp garlic powder
569kcal Calories25g Carbs30g Protein41g Fat
Nutrition Facts
Easy Taco Salad Recipe
Amount per Serving
% Daily Value*
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
More Taco Recipes for Taco Night
If you make tacos on your regular rotation, you’re sure to find several new favorites in this list. Can you tell we love tacos? We can’t get enough!
