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This light and delicious ground beef taco salad is perfect for evenings entertaining guests or busy weeknights at home with the family! If youāre looking for a quick and easy dinner option after a long busy day, this is it. Add my cheap and easy homemade taco seasoning and you canāt go wrong!
Taco Salad
Every bite of this Mexican-inspired meal is packed full of different textures and flavours! The juicy beef, creamy avocado, juicy tomatoes, and crispy romaine lettuce make it a real hit with the taste buds (and the family!). Of course, every family has a few āpickyā eaters, so whatās great about this recipe is that you can mix and match your ingredients depending on what everyone likes.
This is a super way for your family and friends to enjoy Mexican-inspired cuisine. The protein-rich beef, alongside tons of veggies and good fats, makes it a very filling meal. You might want seconds, but it wonāt be because youāre still hungryā¦ it’ll be because itās just too yummy to leave sitting there!
How To Make Ground Beef Taco Salad
- Start by frying up around a pound of ground beef (lean) until it turns that nice brown color. Make sure itās cooked through, and then drain the fat and add 2 tbsp of my cheap and easy homemade taco seasoning.
- If you used cornstarch in your seasoning youāll need to add an extra quarter cup of water to the mix too.
- Continue to cook until the seasoning has mixed right through the beef and itās all thickened up nicely.
- Take off the heat, place it in a bowl and start getting the taco salad ready.
- When youāre making the taco salad you can either mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and serve OR you can simply serve the ingredients on a platter āas isā. The second option looks great presentation-wise but the first option is faster when youāre stuck for time.
Tips And Tricks For Ground Beef Taco Salad
- If youāre serving a small number of people you can easily cut down on the ingredients accordingly. The taco beef will cook faster this way too, so thatās a plus! Or if you like, you can just make the full batch and freeze it to use as leftovers another time.
- This dish requires a beef thatās a bit on the lean side, but not extremely lean. A fat content of around 90% lean meat is perfect. But donāt worry if youāre using beef thatās a bit fattier because you can just drain off the excess fat when itās in the pan (remember to do this before you add the tomatoes).
- This meal is so quick and easy that I donāt tend to make batches ahead of time, but you can definitely make the ground beef mix and the salsa in advance if you like – just make sure to store them in an airtight container and place them in the fridge. Theyāll stay good in the fridge for about 5 days.
- If youāre not a big fan of beef, you can totally use ground turkey instead! Just avoid turkey thatās super lean.
- If youāre tight on time you can always use salsa and guacamole from the grocery store; it rarely contains many extra ingredients but double-check just in case. Itās handy to have a big bag of pre-cut lettuce on hand too if youāre in a rush!
More Delicious Salad Recipes
Believe it or not, I LOVE a good salad, but nothing is worse than a boring salad, so here are some GREAT recipes that are reader faves!
- Simple Mexican Coleslaw
- Copycat Earlās Santa Fe Salad
- Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
- Avocado Egg Salad
Enjoy!!! This is honestly my favorite salad to whip up – Mike and I can eat it without the carbs and then we get the kids hard and soft taco shells. It is a meal that our whole family loves, which is a miracle some days!
Love,
Karlynn
Light and Delicious Ground Beef Taco Salad
- Prep Time
- 20 minutes
- Cook Time
- 15 minutes
- Course
- Main Course
- Cuisine
- Mexican
- Servings
- 4
- Calories
- 526
- Author
- Karlynn Johnston
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2-3 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning
- 10 cups romaine lettuce washed well and chopped
- 3 large roma tomatoes halved
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded
- 2 avocados sliced
- 1/2 cup tomato salsa
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- ranch dressing to top optional but I LOVE IT!
- Fritos to top optional
- green onions to top optional
Instructions
Cooking the Taco Beef
- Fry up the 1 lb of lean ground beef until browned and cooked throughout.
- Drain the fat and mix in 2 tbsp of the taco seasoning mix. If you added cornstarch to your homemade taco seasoning,, add in 1/4 cup of water to the mix.
- Cook until the taco seasoning is all mixed throughout the beef and thickened up.
- Remove from the heat and place in a bowl.
Taco Salad
- You have two options to make this taco salad:
- One, place all of the ingredients into a bowl and mix, then serve.
- Two, place the ingredients on a platter and then serve.
- Both options work, the first is fast and easy, the second looks amazing in presentation. It's up to you!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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Mary Ann says
In your first method, Do you mix the salsa and sour cream with the other ingredients or serve on the side?