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Our easy Taco Salad recipe is ready in under 30 minutes with seasoned ground beef, fresh veggies, crunchy tortilla bowls, and all your favorite toppings. It's a healthy, customizable dinner that's perfect for busy weeknights!
Taco Salad Perfection
This whole taco salad dinner comes together quickly and every element can be prepped ahead of time for an extra quick dinner. You could even double or triple the meat/bean mixture and freeze it for a freezer meal another day. It takes just minutes to make your own crispy tortilla bowl for the taco salad base (if you're feeling “extra” use our homemade flour tortillas!), but it elevates your Taco salad so much. My kids are happy because they can customize theirs with whatever toppings they like, and this is an all-around dinner “win”.
Try more of my 30-minute meals, like Dumpling Soup, Applebee's Salad, Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas, Instant Pot Spaghetti, Chicken Avocado Wrap, and Mongolian Noodles!
How to make Taco Salad:
Cook Meat and Chop Veggies: Brown the ground beef, remove grease, and add taco seasoning. Stir in black beans and corn. Shred the cheese and chop the lettuce, tomatoes, and any other veggies.
Make Baked Tortilla Bowl (optional): Follow the instructions in my recipe card if you'd like to serve your salad in a crispy tortilla bowl (my favorite!). But you can just serve it in a bowl or on a plate.
Serve: Add lettuce in a tortilla bowl or on a plate. Scoop on meat mixture, veggies, a sprinkle with cheese, and a dollop of sour cream, guacamole, and a spoonful of salsa. Sprinkle with cilantro on top. If you want a full feast, serve with Horchata, Mexican Rice, Tres Leches Cake, or Sopaipillas!
Healthy Taco Salad Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef, , or ground turkey
- 2 Tablespoons Taco seasoning , , or 1 packet
- ½ cup water
- 1 can black beans, , drained and rinsed
- 1 cup corn , (canned or frozen)
- 1 head romaine lettuce, , chopped
- 6 (8 inch) flour tortillas, , or 1 bag tortilla chips
Topping options:
- 2 cups cherry tomatoes, , halved
- ½ cup Sliced Olives
- ½ cup shredded cheese
- ¼ cup chopped red or green onion
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- Salsa
- Sour Cream
- Guacamole, , or chopped avocado
Instructions
- Meat Mixture: Add ground beef to a skillet over medium heat. Cook, crumbling with a wooden spoon into small pieces, until cooked through. Remove grease. Add taco seasoning and water and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in black beans and corn.1 lb lean ground beef, 2 Tablespoons Taco seasoning , ½ cup water, 1 can black beans, 1 cup corn
- Assemble: Add baked tortilla shell (recipe follows) or tortilla chips to the bottom of a shallow bowl. Top with a handful of lettuce, then taco meat and desired toppings. Add salsa, sour cream and guacamole (or avocado) on top.1 head romaine lettuce, 2 cups cherry tomatoes, ½ cup Sliced Olives, ½ cup shredded cheese, ¼ cup chopped red or green onion, ½ cup chopped cilantro
How to Make Baked Tortilla Bowls:
- Brush a thin layer of canola or vegetable oil on both sides of 8” flour tortillas. Place a 4’’ ramekin or similar size oven-safe bowl, face down, on a cookie sheet. Lay a tortilla over it. Place a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil on top of the tortilla and press down, scrunching the foil and tortilla around the ramekin until it’s shaped like a tortilla bowl (think basket-style coffee filter).6 (8 inch) flour tortillas
- Now flip the whole thing over so it’s open end up. Repeat for however many tortilla bowls you’re going to need (and an extra or two in case one breaks!).
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake for 5 minutes. Take cookie sheet out of oven, use tongs to carefully remove each ramekin and then return the tray to the oven to cook for 5 more minutes.
- Remove from oven, carefully lift each shell out of the foil and place bottom up, foil down on the cookie sheet. Gently secure the rim of the tortilla inside the foil so it doesn't burn. Return to oven to cook for 7-10 more minutes or until crisp and golden.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This post was originally published on June 2020. Updated January 2022 and January 2024 and January 2026.
What another big win for Lauren, this recipe was amazing, quick delicious and such a family friendly meal. This is really a meal you can modify and really make your own, you can add whatever veggies are in your fridge and a great recipe to use up all the “left over” in the fridge that we all have. Another great recipe.
A really good combination of flavors. No guessing about spices if you follow the recipe. I added Mexican blend cheese, sour cream, mild temp salsa and fresh tomatoes. Liked it very much.
We had it more like a salad in a bowl some taco chips but skipped tortilla.
It’s a fast yummy recipe. Thanks
My husband and I were craving taco salad. We really liked this recipe! Instead of the tortilla bowls, we crushed some tortilla chips over the salad. So good! Thank you for sharing 🙂 We’ll be making this again in the future, for sure!
Can’t thank you enough for changing my family’s dinners. Your recipes are wonderful.
We can’t thank you enough for the support!
This salad was delicious and filling. I especially loved the dressing and the the spices on the turkey. I have mad ethos twice in one week because it was so good. I highly recommend it! 🙂
Can you make these taco shells in advance or must they be eaten immediately?
Sure! You may want to rewarm/toast them before serving.
We have loved every recipe we have tried from Taste Better From Scratch!!! This one gave us a unique variant from tacos adding corn and black beans which also helps our kids learn to expand their food choices:)
We used an air fryer to make the taco bowl, excellent recipe, thank you.
This was a win-win! A win because these are easy and delicious, and a win because it was a fun way to get my kids involved with dinner prep (they loved making and molding the shells). This was a great new addition to our already regular taco nights.