Taco salad is a quick and easy meal packed full of all the flavors and textures everyone loves in a classic taco, like tomato, lettuce, onion, and avocado!
Who doesn't love a good taco salad, really?
All the tasty elements of a taco sprinkled over a crisp bed of lettuce just waiting to be forked into your mouth. There are so many great tastes and textures all put together - crisp fresh lettuce, juicy ripe tomato, bite from the onion, seasoned taco meat & hearty beans, and just a little bit of the classic toppings like creamy cheese, avocado & sour cream. Add some broken up tortilla chips for that crunch factor and I daresay this salad is pretty close to taco perfection.
The thing that really makes THIS taco salad stand out to me is using the garlicky red wine vinaigrette - it's so simple, but not something I've often seen on taco salads! It adds a really nice punch of flavor but in a really light way. Shout out to my mother-in-law for that genius revelation!
Making taco salad at home is super simple and a lot healthier than getting it at a restaurant. The crunched up tortilla chips replace the insanely calorie-packed tortilla bowl with WAY less calories and fat (and so much easier to eat). I also like using ground turkey instead of ground beef to lighten it up a little bit - with all of the other flavor-packed ingredients you wont miss the beef at all.
To help with meal planning, you can reuse a lot of these ingredients to make this Taco Pizza or these Insanely Easy Refried Bean Tostadas!
Yummy noises await you!
Super Simple Taco Salad
Ingredients
For the turkey taco meat
- 1 lb lean ground turkey
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ cup water
For the salad
- 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
- ½ cup red onion, finely diced
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 medium avocado, diced
- tortilla chips, lightly crushed, for serving
- salsa, for serving
- sour cream, for serving
For the Garlicky Red Wine Vinaigrette
- ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 3 cloves garlic, pressed or finely minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
For the turkey taco meat
- In a large skillet sprayed with nonstick spray, cook & crumble the ground turkey until no longer pink. Add spices and ½ cup water, simmer and stir until the water is fully evaporated. Set aside.
For the salad
- In a large serving bowl, add the lettuce, cooked turkey taco meat, beans, tomatoes, onion, cheddar and avocado.
For the garlicky red wine vinaigrette
- Combine olive oil, red wine vinegar, dijon mustard, garlic, salt & pepper in a jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake well to combine.
Serving
- Add dressing to taste and toss well to combine. Divide among individual bowls and top with crushed tortilla chips, salsa and sour cream to taste.
Notes
Love this recipe!!
Us too - it’s a staple!
I do love healthy taco salad...the dressing sounds very interesting also. Your photography is what makes this recipe a winner. It looks so freaking good!
Thank you!!! ????
I love the vinaigrette on it!