Best Ever Beef Taco Salad
One of my all time favourites.
If you’re not a taco salad person, what’s is like to live life on the boring side?
Taco salad is a top three fav. It’s got everything I love - crunchy veggies, lots of cheese, spicy seasoned beef and a plethora of toppings. To take it to the next level, I like to make my own taco seasoning (though this isn’t necessary) and have a few non-negotiables (sorry, Doritos and Valentina Hot Sauce). This is also a favourite meal of my brothers, so when I have them all over for dinner I just double up the recipe and everyone is happy.
Let’s go shopping.
Taco Beef (if you’re using store bought - I suggest the “hot” taco seasoning - skip the spices below)
1 lb lean ground beef
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
Veggies
1 head iceberg lettuce, cleaned and roughly chopped
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 small can or corn niblets, drained and rinsed
4 green onions, finely chopped
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 small bag of shredded carrots
1 avocado, diced
2 roma tomatoes, diced
Toppings
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
sour cream
catalina dressing
Cholula hot sauce
Ariba Nacho chips, crunched up on top of salad
Notes: If you’re vegetarian, skip the beef and add some extra kidney beans, or chickpeas.
Chop the veggies and prep the topping station
This helps turn this into a 15 minute meal. Prep all your vegetables by chopping and dicing and setting up a station with all the choices (not everyone will assemble their bowl the same!). Also get out your toppings and place them into bowls, including sour cream, catalina, hot sauce, cheese and chips.
Cook and season the beef
In a small bowl, mix together all of the spices. Add avocado (or olive oil) to a pan on medium high. Cook the beef until no longer pink, and then add the homemade taco seasoning (as much or as little as you’d like - taste as you go). Once done, take off the heat.
Assemble the bowls
Yes - that’s it! I layer the bowls as follows: lettuce, beef, cheese, veggies, sour cream, catalina, hot sauce, and then the grand finale - a big handful of crunched up nacho ariba chips.
