How To Make Doritos Taco Salad
How To Make Taco Salad Dressing
This dressing couldnt be easier to make. Especially because we always have these three bottles on hand: Thousand island dressing, Western or a zesty French dressing, and a mild taco sauce. If you like more heat, use a spicier taco sauce.
Just measure out each of these according to the recipe below and stir them together.
That is it!
What Is In A Taco Salad
Truth be told, it is so loaded with hearty, satisfying ingredients that it hardly feels like a salad at all. It’s a fantastic balance of textures and flavors with savory taco meat, creamy avocados, juicy ripe tomatoes, red kidney beans, nice crispness from the cold lettuce, and crunchy Nacho Cheese Doritos.
This is more like an American Tex-Mex salad than anything resembling anything remotely close to being thought of as “authentic” Mexican food, especially thanks to the American snack food addition of Doritos and Thousand Island dressing. But it still delivers as a crowd-pleaser, every time.
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Can Taco Salad Be Made Ahead Of Time
You can definitely make this best easy taco salad recipe ahead of time. If you make it a few hours in advance, the lettuce should still be fairly crisp. Thats why its so nice to take to summer picnics and potlucks. It holds up well in transport, and everyone seems to like it. As long as you reserve some tortilla chips in a separate container for topping when served, the salad will retain its crunch.
Why Youll Love Taco Salad
You cook the seasoned ground beef mixture in advance, and then warm it up right before. Then you can literally make this in no time!
What I really love, is that this cold salad recipe also has so many veggies, its very colourful and so tasty.
The bold Mexican taste that brings it all together is thanks to the taco seasoning and French dressing.
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Recipe: Thousand Island Taco Salad
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Tips For The Best Dorito Taco Salad Recipe
- If using a homemade taco seasoning blend instead of a store-bought packet of seasoning mix, omit the water called for in the recipe. Water is necessary with the store-bought seasoning mix because the seasoning packet includes thickening agents that you don’t typically find in a homemade spice blend.
- Add any of your other favorite taco toppings, such as diced avocado, fresh cilantro, sour cream, or sliced black olives.
- The chips and lettuce will get soggy as the salad sits in the dressing, so wait to stir everything together until right before serving.
- Cooking for a smaller family? Cut all of the ingredients in half! The rest of the cooking instructions remain the same. If you prefer to cook a full 1-lb. of taco meat, you can save half of the cooked taco meat in the freezer for another meal.
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How To Prepare Taco Salad Ahead Of Time
If you want to prepare taco salad ahead of time there are a couple of ways to go about it. One option is to prepare the salad in layers but wait to add the crushed chips, dressing, and warm taco meat before serving.
Another option is to serve the taco salad buffet-style allowing each person to add what they want to the salad. Put each salad ingredient in a separate bowl or dish. Keep the taco meat warm in a slow cooker. Salad dressing options can go at the end of the buffet.
What Is The Best Dressing To Use With Taco Salad
I made this discovery by accident. In a hurry, as usual, I went to the store to buy Thousand Island dressing, and grabbed the Thousand Island dressing with bacon by mistake. I realized it after I arrived home and didnt feel like driving back into town, as we live a few miles out. Oh my goodness! That was one of the best mistakes I ever made. If you havent ever tried it, I encourage you to give it a whirl. Some people use Catalina dressing in taco salad, but my very favorite is now Thousand Island with Bacon. Of course, if you cant find Thousand Island with Bacon, regular Thousand Island dressing is fine as well.
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My Taco Salad Backstory
When I was growing up, my dear mom always tried to get me to eat tossed salads. Im still not a big fan, but there are a few tossed salads I will always eat. One is the berry mandarin tossed salad I wrote about, and the other is taco salad. Over the years, the recipe has been refined, and today Im offering the latest version to you. Read on to learn the secrets to making the best easy taco salad recipe.
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How To Make Creamy Salsa Dressing
We chose a simple creamy salsa dressing for this recipe. If you prefer using bottled salad dressing that works too! Other popular choices include ranch, catalina, thousand island, and cilantro lime dressing.
Put salsa, sour cream, mayonnaise, and powdered ranch dressing mix in a small bowl and stir to combine.
Cover the creamy salsa dressing or transfer it to a container. Place in the fridge until ready to serve.
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How To Make Taco Salad Ahead Of Time For A Potluck
Although the biggest drawback of bringing taco salad to a potluck is that it has a tendency to go soggy from the dressing, you can avoid this by layering the salad in a specific order and tossing right before serving.
Variations On The Best Taco Salad Recipe
I love how laid-back this taco salad recipe is. I have done each of the variations below at some point in my life, based on what ingredients we had on hand or what I was feeling like at the time.
- We always use Thousand Island dressing on this taco salad, but I know that some people prefer using Catalina dressing instead. Really, any dressing you like would work.
- Or eliminate the dressing altogether and just use sour cream and salsa or guacamole to “dress” the salad.
- Chopped bell peppers or sliced olives are popular additions, but since two of the four of us aren’t olive fans, they typically get left out. Grilled corn is another great addition.
- Substitute any flavor of Doritos or even just plain tortilla chips for the Nacho Cheese Doritos, if you like.
- You can throw in a few handfuls of spring mix, but I definitely recommend using a crunchy lettuce like Romaine or iceberg as the base of this salad.
- Swap out the cheddar cheese for Pepperjack or a Mexican cheese blend.
- Black beans or pinto beans can be used in place of kidney beans, if you aren’t a fan.
- Make this a vegetarian salad by just leaving out the ground beef.
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Are You Now Craving The Best Easy Taco Salad Recipe
Are you thinking of making it sometime soon? I am going to make it tonight. If you have any favorite salad recipes, Id enjoy knowing about them. Maybe I will become a salad eater after all. If you try this recipe, Id appreciate it if you let me know how it went. Im always interested in your variations, ideas, and suggestions.
How To Make Zesty Tossed Frito Salad
This salad is very similar to a taco salad, with the substitution of Thousand Island dressing for ranch dressing. You may have seen this recipe also be made with Catalina dressing.
The thing is, this recipe can be made with any dressing you want! The method of tossing it all together is what makes this so great!
Simply toss together all salad ingredients except for the Fritos and Italian dressing.
Just before serving add the Fritos and toss with 1 cup Italian dressing . Serve immediately.
Of course, you are going to need and want a BIG BOWL for tossing. I recently found one on Amazon that I love. Ill link it here its also the bowl in the pictures.
You cant beat the price either, $10! Big Bowl Link
If you give this recipe a try, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or snap a photo and tag it with @TheAlexDaynes on Instagram! I love to see what youve been cooking. It always makes my day!
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Ground Beef Taco Salad
Taco salad was a common dinner at our house growing up. It is such a quick dinner to throw together and it can easily feed a crowd. Its like a giant taco in a bowl. We love using ground beef with our taco salad because it only takes minutes to cook but it can also be made with chicken or shredded beef. Try this recipe with our homemade taco seasoning mix for a great alternative to store-bought seasoning.
Ground beef is a staple for many easy, budget-friendly meals. For more easy dinner ideas prepared with ground beef, check out our post on Easy Ground Beef Recipes.
Add some veggies!
Its easy to sneak in some added vegetables and nutrients without sacrificing taste or texture. We like adding some shredded zucchini or carrots. You wont even be able to tell they are there!
What To Serve With Taco Salad
I tend to make this taco salad most often when I haven’t thought ahead and am trying to through dinner together easily and quickly. So I will serve the taco salad by itself or with something needing minimal effort, like a sliced watermelon.
If I have planned in advance a bit, my favorite side to serve with taco salad is a slice of homemade cornbread. A pitcher of Brazilian lemonade is always a win with taco salad as well.
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The Best Potluck Taco Salad Recipe
Plus, as evidence proved, this potluck taco salad is a hit to take along to dinners and functions. Ive also made it out camping, its such a tasty fun meal to have anywhere!
Please note: The recipe youll find below is party-sized, so please half the amount if making for your whole family. That is, unless you have a very large family.
When halved, its the perfect amount for our family of 5, even with at least one person having seconds.
What Chips Are Used For Taco Salad
Any variety of tortilla chips can be used in a taco salad from the plain salted ones to lime and sweet chili to cool ranch. We went with nacho cheese Doritos for this recipe. Original tortilla chips are a popular choice making the taco salad more similar to eating to a hard shell taco. You can also use corn chips such as Fritos instead of tortilla chips.
Drizzle with salad dressing before serving or allow each person to add their own dressing.
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About This Taco Pasta Salad Recipe:
- Flavor: Taco pasta salad has a familiar flavor of tacos served in a unique way. Theres taco seasoning in the ground beef, but also in the 3 ingredient sauce. The taco seasoning really adds a boost of Mexican flavors, so use one you love.
- Texture: This pasta salad recipe is loaded with texture, but theres not a lot of crunch which is what my family prefers. There is a small amount red onion and tomatoes that pair well with the cool, creamy sauce.
How To Make Taco Salad
Brown ground beef in a skillet, drain off fat and set aside. Alternatively, you could just add a container of pre-cooked ground meat mix, thawed. I wrote about cooking meat ahead of time and youll find the ground meat mix in my favorite kitchen shortcuts post.
If you do need to brown ground beef, put the other salad ingredients together while its cooking to save time.
Chop one head of lettuce into bite-sized pieces. Put the lettuce into a large salad bowl.
Chop the tomatoes and add them to the salad bowl.
Open the can of kidney beans, rinse and drain in a colander. Add to the salad bowl.
Add the cooked ground beef or ground meat mix.
Grate the cheddar cheese and add to the salad bowl.
Open the bag of Doritos tortilla chips and crush them in the bag. Keep squeezing the bag until chips are the size you want.
Add one half of the bag to the salad bowl. Reserve the other half of the bag in a separate bowl for topping the salad later.
Toss all of the ingredients together until mixed. Add the salad dressing and stir until all of the salad has been coated.
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Key Ingredients For This Frito Salad
- Iceberg lettuce Mix I like using a garden salad mix, but you could also simply chop up some iceberg lettuce.
- Spinach- Optional- but I like it in this recipe! I like mixing the two styles.
- Ground Beef- I like to brown and cook it up with chopped onions for flavor!
- Tomatos use your favorite variety, just be sure it is really ripe for the best flavor!
- Canned Beans rinsed and drained, I typically use black beans
- Shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- Frito Corn Chips
- Kraft Thousand Island Salad Dressing- regular or low fat- or just go for ranch dressing, I wont stop you!
Zesty Tossed Frito Salad
by Alex Daynes
Garden lettuce mix and spinach tossed with fresh tomatoes, ground beef, beans, and plenty of cheddar cheese are topped with crunchy FRITOS® corn chips and Kraft Thousand Island salad dressing. The beauty of this Zesty Tossed Frito Salad is that it is hearty enough for dinner and it feeds a hungry crowd! Plus, it is SO SIMPLE! Top each individual salad with fresh homemade salsa and additional dressing, and Id call that a dinner win! Make it with me!
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Should Taco Salad Be Served Cold Or Warm
The taco meat in a taco salad can be warm or cold when served. We typically use warm taco meat and add it right before serving. But you can also allow the taco meat to cool, mix it into the salad, and serve it cold.
Now add some shredded cheese and sliced black olives.
Here are some additional toppings ideas:
- diced green chilies
Top with crushed nacho doritos, chopped cilantro, cotija cheese, and minced onion. Plan to add the chips close to serving time if you want to keep them crunchy.
Angela’s Tips & Recipe Notes
- Layer the ingredients. This recipe can easily be made ahead of time, but in order to keep things fresh, ingredients should be layered. Start with the ground beef, then add layers of the tomato, onion, then cheese. When youre ready to eat, add the dressing and shake, topping it all off with the Doritos. Doritos will get soggy if not added at the last minute.
- Cooking for a small family? You can easily cut all the ingredients in half. If you’d like, cook and season all the ground meat and save extra in the freezer to make another salad later!
- Spice up the meat. If you really want to bring the heat, add chopped jalapeños to the meat when it is browning. It will release the oils in the peppers and flavor the whole dish. Be careful, though. It will get spicy quickly, so start small.
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Variations To Please Family Members
Originally, when I was growing up, we only crushed about half of a bag of Doritos tortilla chips. We added them all to the salad. They were still crunchy when we ate the salad right away. When we ate the leftovers the next day, the chips were soggy. This bothered some of my family members. They did not like soggy chips. Thats when I started using the whole bag of chips and reserving half for each person to add as a topping if desired. You can never have too many Doritos tortilla chips, right? Everyone was happy!
The next variation is to leave the beans out. Sometimes we serve them on the side for people to add as they wish. Sometimes we forget about them entirely. The nice thing about this recipe is that it does lend itself well to customization.
You can also customize the cheese blend or tortilla chip flavor. Monterey Jack cheese is tasty, and if you ever see taco-flavored chips, you might want to try those.