Make Your Taco Salad Dressing Healthier
Although taco salad may appear to be a healthy option, it is often high in calories and fat. Taco salad can become a healthy, filling, low-carb, and flavorful meal if you leave out the tortilla chips or taco shell, use fat-free cheese, and replace the traditional sour cream with plain yogurt.
Make your tortilla chips in the oven. To do so, brush corn tortillas with olive oil, season with salt, and cut them into wedges before baking for 1015 minutes on a greased cookie sheet until lightly golden brown, turning halfway through.
If you dont want to use sour cream, use light sour cream. The same goes for the cheese.
Toss in some more vegetables to the salad. Bell peppers, corn, and radishes are all excellent choices.
How To Layer The Delicious Taco Salad
Ready to Layer? If you think the whole salad will be eaten in one sitting, layer the salad on a large serving dish.
However, if you think there may be leftovers, it is best to let everyone layer their own salad on their plate. That makes storing leftovers easier.
More Fun Family Dinner Ideas
Instant Pot Taco Soup I make this in my Instant Pot, but you dont have to use a pressure cooker. Instead, you can use the stove top or slow cooker if you prefer.
Oven Baked Buffalo Wings This is a great food for get-togethers with friends or sports parties. For a little extra flavor, you can offer some taco salad dressing made with Catalina and taco seasoning, in addition to the traditional ranch.
Air Fryer Barbecued Chicken Drumsticks I like this alternative to the grill on cold or rainy days. Its wonderful with a side of honey roasted sweet potatoes.
Cheeseburger and Fries Casserole Heres a dish from Miz Helens Country Cottage that both the kids and adults will love!
Appetizers for Dinner Sometimes its just fun to offer a wide variety of appetizers for dinner. These can be leftovers from a party or things you throw together simply to enjoy something different.
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How To Make This Doritos Taco Salad Recipe
STEP 1: Drizzle a large skillet with oil, stir in the ground beef mixture to break into small chunks. Fry until ground beef loses its raw red color. Combine taco seasoning and stir for 2 minutes more, until brown and fragrant. Season with salt, turn off the heat and set aside.
STEP 2: For the dressing, combine tomato ketchup, honey, vinegar, Worcestershire, onion, paprika, and 1 tsp salt in a blender and mix for 1 minute. Add vegetable oil and keep blending until well combined. Adjust seasoning, reserve ½ cup dressing for this salad, and keep remaining in the fridge for the future.
STEP 3: Just before serving, put in a salad bowl 1/3 cup dressing, ground beef, cheese, tomato, lettuce, and Doritos. Toss to coat ingredients, top with remaining 2 or 3 tbsp of the dressing, and serve.
taco salad with french dressing
Here Are Some Best Dishes To Serve With Taco Salad Dressing:
A taco salad depending on the dressing can be used as a side dish or a main course. Depending on how you intend to serve it, the additional dishes will vary.
Taco salad goes well with grilled chicken, burgers, steak, seafood, or kabobs as a side dish.
If taco salad is the main course, soup or chips and queso can be served as an appetiser. Try refried beans, cowboy caviar, flatbread, or cilantro rice as a side dish. Desserts like spicy chocolate ice cream, elephant ears, and strawberry nachos would be delicious.
Here are some famous dishes that go well with various taco salads depending on their dressings.
Taco Slaw
This nutritious coleslaw is delicious on the side or heaped on top of tacos. The cilantro and lime add a burst of fresh summer flavor, the onions, carrots, and cabbage add a nice crunch to this side dish. When you add the jalapeno, youve got yourself a spicy dish. Serve this slaw alongside crispy taco salad with crispy veggie dressing.
Mexican Rice
Do you have a craving for some spicy sides with your Taco salad dressing? How about Mexican restaurant rice? Make this simple Mexican rice recipe at home to save yourself a trip and some bucks. Even your pickiest eaters will enjoy it. For a classic restaurant-style meal, pair it with this double-decker taco-dressing.
Beans in a pot
Its one of Mexicos most popular dishes, and it goes well with any taco salad recipe. This is an authentic Mexican meal when served with Oaxacan tacos dressing.
Dip in Seven Layers II
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How To Make It
This is a really easy taco salad recipe to make. Begin by browning the ground beef in a large skillet. Once browned, stir in the taco seasoning.
Tip: It is often easier to add a little water when adding the taco seasoning to help it disperse more evenly. Then cook the water out.
The vegetables can all be prepped and chopped while the ground beef cooks. Place the prepared vegetables in a large bowl. Once the ground beef is cooked, remove it from the heat and let the meat mixture cool.
Once the beef is room temperature, , add it to the large bowl with the Doritos and plenty of Catalina dressing, to taste. Mix well with a wooden spoon and serve.
How Do You Make Dorito Taco Salad
In a large skillet, brown your hamburger until its no longer pink. Drain any fat using a measuring cup or spoon.
Drain the kidney beans. Then, youll want to add in your kidney beans and chili beans and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
In a large bowl, youll combine the lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and beef with broken up Doritos.
You could also do individual bowls like we do!
We top ours with sour cream, salsa, or my favorite French dressing when you serve it.
You can serve it hot or cold, but I prefer it warm!
Read Also: Which Fast Food Has The Best Salad
Taco Salad Recipe With Doritos
This taco salad recipe can be made with Doritos or Fritos. And you can still find bottled Catalina Dressing on the salad dressing aisle at your market. But if you cant find it, I urge you to make Homemade Catalina Dressing. Its easy.
I hope you give this dorito salad recipe a try, and if you do, please come back and give the recipe a star rating. And leave a comment about your experience with the recipe.
And if you have a favorite Taco Salad recipe, let me know, Id love to give it a try.
Prepare The Taco Meat
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Ingredients For Frito Taco Salad
This is a very forgiving recipe and allows for many ingredient substitutions. However, what makes this salad so special are the crunch Frito chips, creamy green taco sauce, and zesty French or Catalina dressing.
The ingredients for Frito Taco Salad include:
- iceberg lettuce
- red onion
- tomatoes
- avocado
- pinto beans
- cheddar cheese
- French dressing
- ground beef
- taco seasoning
Once you have the ingredients ready, its just a matter of prepping the veggies and cooking the beef with the taco seasoning. If you are making the salad for a party, simply prep the ingredients then combine them together before serving.
Turmeric And Ginger Dressing
The health benefits of ginger and turmeric are numerous, and they make a zesty salad dressing. Bean salads, vegetable bowls, and mixed greens go well with this dressing. For the recipe, follow the steps outlined below.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar,
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon of honey
Method
Toss all of the ingredients together until well combined, and sweeten with honey if desired. Keep the dressing refrigerated in a jar.
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How To Make Taco Pasta Salad
Start by cooking your noodles in a large pot with boiling water, cook them according to the package directions.
Then in a large sauce pan, cook up your ground beef. Add in the taco seasoning.
In a large bowl add your cooked noodles, cooked ground beef, chopped tomatoes, bell pepper, cheese, and lettuce and toss it all together. Then stir in your French Dressing.
When youre ready to serve the pasta salad add in your crushed chips, you dont want to add them too early or theyll get soft from all the other ingredients.
The Topping Ingredients For Taco Salad
First things first, we need some lettuce. I prefer Romaine its the perfect blend of leafy green and CRUNCH. Green or red leaf is fine, or iceberg will do in a pinch. Chop your lettuce into nice easy bite size pieces we arent feeding dinosaurs. And for heavens sake, get yourself a salad spinner. One of the best kitchen purchases you will ever make! It simplifies the salad-making experience so much. Here is the exact salad spinner I have.
One of my best taco salad tips is to mix your herbs in with your greens. And by herbs in this case, I mean cilantro and green onions. I toss both of these ingredients in with my romaine, right in the salad spinner, and give it a whirl. It helps distribute them properly so that you get ultimate flavor in every bite of salad. Chopped cilantro tends to clump up and stay in little bits. This is a good way to spread the cilantro love. If you arent a cilantro lover, GET OUT OF HERE. Im just kidding. Kind of. Try to change your ways. I know, I know, its a gene and not your fault. Maybe )
Here is my ultimate ingredient list for the best taco salad:
- lettuce
- tomatoes, either cherry tomatoes or chopped roma, red vine, etc.
- sliced radishes
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Honey And Mustard Dressing
A rather versatile dressing, this one goes equally well with green salads, steamed veggies, chicken, fish, and meats. Heres how to make it:
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard + 1/4 cup
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil plus 1/4 cup
Method
Combine the mustard, vinegar, honey, and salt in a medium to large mixing bowl. To make the dressing creamy, slowly sprinkle in the oil while whisking. Refrigerate for up to three days before using.
Cook’s Tips And Recipe Variations:
- Iceberg lettuce is our favorite in this retro classic, but you can substitute with romaine lettuce or other mixed greens if you prefer. We just love the refreshing crunch of the iceberg!
- I always use French dressing , but you can substitute with Catalina, Ranch, or any other dressing that you prefer.
- If you prefer, you can substitute an equal amount of ground chicken or ground turkey in lieu of the beef.
- I always use the classic Nacho Cheese flavored Doritos in this recipe, but Cool Ranch Doritos will also work well!
- Add any of your other favorite taco ingredients, such as diced avocado, fresh cilantro or sliced olives!
- 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 Make French Taco Salad
- 1Put ground beef into large skillet and add salt pepper,garlic powder, and cumin, add more or less cumin to taste, I use this instead of taco seasoning because there is less salt in it, and it tastes fresher to me. brown on medium until done, drain off grease. Add the can of re fried beans and turn down on low.While meat is cooking start chopping vegetables.
- 2Chop onion, tomato. put into bowls, open shredded lettuce, cheese, Frito’s. and sour cream if desired, I leave it out.
- 3When everything is prepared, put handful of Frito’s onto plate, put meat mixture on top of that, sprinkle shredded cheese on next, then tomato, onion lettuce, and top with French dressing. Enjoy.
- Last Step: Don’t forget to share! Make all your friends drool by posting a picture of your finished recipe on your favorite social network. And don’t forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes so we can see it too!
Tips For Making Taco Pasta Salad:
- Buy a bag of already shredded lettuce from the grocery store so you dont have to cut up a head of lettuce.
- Mix everything together for the pasta salad, except for the dressing and the chips. Mix the dressing into the salad, then the crushed chips when you get to the park, friends house, or wherever you are ready to serve and eat the pasta salad so they stay extra crunchy.
- Dont forget to buy Horizon Organic Mexican Style Shredded Cheese so you and your family are getting the best of the best!
Watch how easy this taco pasta salad is to make here >
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Recipe Variations And Substitutions
- You can easily substitute chicken or turkey for ground beef.
- Substitute Cool Ranch Doritos for Nacho Cheese.
- If you do not have Catalina Dressing, you can use Ranch Dressing instead.
- This salad is so versatile, you can add in your favorite taco toppings and almost any variety of beans like pinto beans, garbanzo beans, red kidney beans, etc.
Taco Inspired Dishes You Must Try
Love Taco Inspired Dishes? Me too and here are some of my absolute favorites!
1. Taco Stuffed Pasta Shells Tender pasta shells stuffed with deliciously seasoned beef, salsa and cheese baked until bubbly.
2. Taco Pasta Salad Pasta salad with a taco twist, fresh veggies and our favorite Doritos! Must try!
3. Taco Tater Tot Casserole This casserole features seasoned beef and loads of vegetables topped with a yummy tater tot crust and baked until golden.
4. Taco Casserole with a Surprise Crust Taco night just got a whole lot more delicious spoiler alert: if you like Doritos, youll love this one!
5. French Bread Tacos French Bread Tacos combine all the taco flavors you love with the delicious, crusty bread you cant get enough of!
6. Layered Dorito Casserole Layered Doritos Casserole has layers of seasoned beef in a rich and zesty sauce topped with loads of cheese.
While assembling the ingredients is super easy to begin with, to make it even easier I love to use my favorite chopping tool! It makes chopping a breeze and you are guaranteed consistent bite sized pieces every time!
I use a whole 10 oz bag of Doritos in this recipe because I love the flavor they add. You can certainly use as much or as little as youd like! Dont get stuck making the same old salads this summer. Add Dorito Taco Salad to your menu and delight your family and friends!
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Taco Salad Recipe: 2 Ways
Shared by Amy Desrosiers | Updated on
This delicious Taco Salad can be made easily at home and tastes very similar to Taco Bell Taco Salad. This recipe can be made to feed as little as 2 or a small crowd. Use plain tortilla chips, or kick it up a notch with DORITOS® brand chips.
When dinner time strikes, sometimes I dont have a plan. More likely than not, I just dont feel like the same old chicken or beef dishes. I mean really, baked chicken and meatballs can only be served so many time before I get the looks.
My family loves Taco Salad, and so do us adults. I love that this salad is pretty versatile in that you can use plain tortilla chips and ranch, or french dressing a DORITOS® brand nacho chips. Either way, this salad is a keeper for weeknight meals.
The Easy Taco Salad recipe can be made quick and is fairly simple! Its the perfect meal before the storm type dish too. We here in New England are suppose to be getting one whopper of a storm tonight into Wednesdayhow fun!
I figured Id make dinner early an anticipate some leftovers for lunch on tomorrow. Hopefully this taco salad lasts because boy did it smell good when I was photographing it!
Dorito Salad With Catalina Dressing
Taco Salad with Catalina Dressing is an old taco salad recipe from the 70’s. Everyone loves a good Mexican salad and this recipe is most certainly a crowd favorite. Ground Beef, fresh lettuce, chili beans and Fritos or Doritos mixed with a sweet and zingy dressing and you’ve got a winner.This Dorito salad recipe is an old family favorite
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Ingredient Swaps And Substitutions
- Catalina Dressing: I like to make Homemade Catalina Dressing. You can still purchase bottled Kraft brand at the grocery store. A good substitute is bottled dressing labeled Western Dressing. I have also used French dressing.
- Canned Beans: Please look for canned beans labeled beans in chili sauce, or ranch style beans If you cant find those, a can of pinto beans or red kidney beans, drained, will work.
- Ground Beef: If youre opposed to eating beef, ground chicken or turkey will work great in this recipe.
- Cheese: I like shredded cheddar for this recipe, but a mix of Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack and cheddar would be good here.
- Taco Seasoning: Again, I like to make Homemade Taco Seasoning, but simply use a packet of your favorite brand from the grocery store to season this taco meat.