Taco Salad Recipe That’s Quick and Easy

Taco Salad Recipes are great in the spring, summer and fall seasons. They aren’t too difficult to cook up for dinner, either. You pretty much just need to cook up the meat and throw everything else together in a bowl, but I’ll be doing a step-by-step of this.

Click here to skip to the fast notecard version of this recipe

What You’ll Need to Make This Taco Salad Recipe

What It IsNameWhere to Buy
CookwareCast Iron SkilletAmazon
CookwareMeasuring SpoonsAmazon
CookwareMeasuring cups (1/4 cup, 1 cup) for solidsAmazon
CookwareKitchen KnifeAmazon
CookwareCutting boardAmazon
CookwareMesh strainerAmazon
CookwareLarge salad bowl or mixing bowlAmazon
CookwareCan openerAmazon
CookwareSpatulaAmazon
CookwareLarge serving plateAmazon
Ingredients2 pounds of 80% lean ground beefStore
Ingredients8 ounces of romaine lettuceStore
Ingredients1 large avocadoStore
Ingredients1 packet of taco seasoning mix (3-4 teaspoons)Store
IngredientsBaby tomatoes (1 cup)Store
IngredientsVermont Seriously Sharp Shredded Cheddar Cheese (1 cup)Store
IngredientsMexican style cheese (1 cup), aim for at least a combo of monterey jack and asaderoStore
IngredientsOlive oil (1/2 tablespoon)Store
IngredientsSalt (pinch or enough to taste)Store
IngredientsTostadas (1 bag)Store
IngredientsSour cream (1/3 cup)Store
IngredientsSalsa (any heat level), 1/3 cupStore
IngredientsGreen Onions (half cup)Store
Let’s make this taco salad recipe. To get things started, grab your olive oil. Yea, I know. Weird thing to have for a recipe like this. But don’t worry! It’s just going in the pan so the beef doesn’t stick too much.
olive oil for taco salad recipe

Grab the measuring spoons, too.

measuring spoons for taco salad recipe

Throw the cast iron skillet on the stove.

skillet

Measure out some of that olive oil.

measuring out olive oil

Measure out half a tablespoon of the olive oil. Alternatively, you could use butter, too. Then, set the skillet to medium heat.

stove with skillet on it

Dump the olive oil in there for the taco salad recipe.

olive oil in skillet for taco salad recipe

Make sure to work the skillet around a little bit so the oil coats the entire pan. Then, get the first pound of ground beef out.

ground beef for taco salad recipe

Grab a spatula, too. My metal one worked pretty well for this taco salad recipe.

spatula

Throw the ground beef in the pan. Move it around with the spatula, making sure all of it cooks well.

meat in pan

While that’s going, grab some salt. You don’t need to throw too much in, just sprinkle a little bit on top of the meat.

salting beef for taco salad recipe

Move the meat around periodically with the spatula. Once the first pound is done cooking, put it on a plate off to the side. Then, throw the second pound of ground beef in there for this taco salad recipe.

beef in pan for taco salad recipe

While that’s cooking, grab the taco seasoning.

taco seasoning

Measure out 1 teaspoon and throw it into the skillet with the ground beef, mixing all that around.

dumping taco seasoning into skillet of meat for taco salad recipe

I sort of messed this up since I should have seasoned the first pound while it was cooking. If you’ve been following along at this point, finish cooking the second pound of ground beef for this taco salad recipe and then throw the first pound (on that plate) back into the skillet.

Put in the other teaspoon of seasoning and mix everything around really well. We’ll be adding a little more seasoning later on. Once that seasoning is mixed in, cover the skillet and set it off to the side. Then, grab your green onions.

green onions

You’ll need to chop these up, so grab a cutting board and a kitchen knife for this part of the taco salad recipe.

chopping onions for taco salad recipe

Then, grab a 1/4 cup measuring cup. I really needed a half cup, but scooping up two of these worked, too.

Measure out two of those 1/4 cups of green onions and dump them into the big bowl for mixing.

1/4 cup of green onions being dumped into large bowl

Following that, get your large avocado on the board so you can cut it up. Nothing like some healthy fats in your meal!

avocado on cutting board

Make sure you also cut out any black or extra mushy non-green parts of it, too.

avocados on a cutting board

Once that’s all taken care of, throw the avocado into the big bowl, too. Then, grab the lettuce. You’ll be good with about 8 ounces of it in there.

lettuce

Wash all of your lettuce (unless it’s pre-washed).

wash the lettuce

Throw it on the cutting board. It’s best to get a paper towel and try to dry off the lettuce as best you can. Nobody likes a soggy taco salad recipe!

lettuce

Once the lettuce is all taken care of, throw it into the bowl with the avocado.

lettuce and avocado in a bowl

Then, get your cheese so you can throw some of that in.

cheddar cheese for taco salad recipe

Throw a cup of the sharp cheddar in the big bowl.

cheese for taco salad recipe

Then, throw 1 cup of the Mexican style blend into the big bowl. Once that’s done, grab your cherry tomatoes so you get some lycopene with the meal. I think that’s how it’s spelled.

baby tomatoes for taco salad recipe

Measure out 1 cup of those.

baby tomatoes

Then, dump those into the mesh strainer and wash them.

mesh strainer with tiny tomatoes for taco salad recipe

Once washed, dry them off as well.

paper towel off the tomatoes for taco salad recipe

Slice them in half on the cutting board for this taco salad recipe.

tomatoes for taco salad recipe

Once those are all cut up, throw them into the bowl with the other ingredients. It’s really coming together now!

salad bowl

Once those are in there, then get your salsa for this taco salad recipe. Any salsa works, ours was actually homemade, too (hence the mason jar).

jar of salsa for taco salad recipe

You’ll also need to grab the 1/3 cup measuring cup.

1/3 cup measuring cup for taco salad recipe

Scoop out 1/3 cup of salsa into the big bowl with everything else.

scooping salsa for taco salad recipe

Mix all that around really well for this taco salad recipe. Then, get your sour cream out.

sour cream for taco salad recipe

Scoop 1/3 of the sour cream out and throw it into the big bowl, too.

measuring sour cream

Mix all that around really well. I know that it’s getting a little repetitive but this taco salad recipe is pretty much throwing the ingredients in and mixing them around.

taco salad recipe

At this point, dump another tablespoon or two of the taco seasoning into the bowl and mix some more.

mixing seasoning packet into salad

Then, find the skillet with meat in it and dump that into the bowl with the salad. This part of the taco salad recipe might get a little tricky just because of spilling ground beef. Do your best to get it in there without losing too much on the counter.

taco salad recipe dumping ground beef

You know the drill. Stir it around and all that good stuff.

taco salad recipe

Once that’s all stirred around, grab a big serving plate.

serving plate for taco salad recipe

Then, grab your bag of tostadas for this taco salad recipe.

tostadas for taco salad recipe

Start arranging those on the serving plate so they cover the entire thing.

tostadas on plate

They’re like giant chips aren’t they? Anyway, next, get your can of beans.

beans for taco salad recipe

You’ll also need a can opener.

can opener

Open the can of beans and throw that into the bowl, mix it around some more and then spoon all of that out evenly on the plate with the tostadas. Now you’re done with the taco salad recipe!

finished taco salad recipe

Notecard Version of Taco Salad Recipe

Taco Salad Recipe That's Quick and Easy

Recipe by BobCourse: DinnerCuisine: Tex-MexDifficulty: Easy
Prep time

25

minutes
Cooking time

15

minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds of 80% lean ground beef

  • 8 ounces of romaine lettuce

  • 1 large avocado

  • 1 packet of taco seasoning mix (3-4 teaspoons)

  • Baby tomatoes (1 cup)

  • Vermont Seriously Sharp Shredded Cheddar Cheese (1 cup)

  • Olive oil (1/2 tablespoon)

  • Mexican style cheese (1 cup), aim for at least a combo of monterey jack and asadero

  • Salt (pinch or enough to taste)

  • Tostadas (1 bag)

  • Sour cream (1/3 cup)

  • Salsa (any heat level), 1/3 cup

  • Green Onions (half cup)

Directions

  • Dump half a tablespoon of olive oil into the skillet on medium heat. Cook the 2 pounds of ground beef and throw in 2 teaspoons of taco seasoning while it’s cooking. Throw a little salt in there, too.
  • Chop up your green onions and dump half a cup of them into a big bowl for mixing everything together.
  • Cut up a large avocado (removing the pit) and throw that into the bowl. Measure out 8 ounces of romaine lettuce. Wash, dry, chop it up, and throw that into the big bowl. Make sure to mix everything up in there, too.
  • Measure out 1 cup of baby tomatoes, wash, dry, and chop each one in half. Throw those in the bowl. Measure out 1/3 cup of salsa and 1/3 cup of sour cream, throwing both of those into the main big bowl.
  • Spoon all the meat into the big bowl from the skillet. Then, throw in another 1-2 teaspoons of taco seasoning. Mix it all up. Drain and throw the can of beans in there, too.
  • Cover a large serving plate generously with tostadas. Spoon all of the taco salad on to the tostadas and serve!

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