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Taco Salad
Updated Oct. 12, 2023
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- Total Time
- 35 minutes
- Prep Time
- 20 minutes
- Cook Time
- 15 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 2tablespoons neutral oil (such as safflower or canola)
- 1pound ground beef
- Salt
- 1medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2teaspoons ground cumin
- 2teaspoons dried oregano
- 1½teaspoons chili powder
- 3garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1(15.5-ounce) can pinto beans, drained, ½ cup bean liquid reserved
- Corn chips (preferably Fritos), as desired
- 2cups/4 ounces coarsely grated Colby or Cheddar cheese, plus more for serving
- 1small head iceberg lettuce, shredded
- 1large beefsteak tomato, chopped
- 1avocado, chopped
- 2limes, cut into wedges
- ½cup sour cream
- Hot sauce, to serve
Preparation
- Step 1
In a large cast-iron or stainless skillet over medium-high, heat the oil until it shimmers. Add the beef and press it into one even layer. Sprinkle evenly with salt and onion, and cook, undisturbed, until the beef is deeply browned on the bottom and still slightly pink on top, and the onions have wilted, 5 to 7 minutes. If there is an excess of fat in the pan at this point, tip the skillet and use a spoon to discard it.
- Step 2
Sprinkle over the cumin, oregano, chili powder and garlic. Using a wooden spoon, break the meat into small crumbles and stir. Cook, stirring frequently, until the spices are aromatic and the meat has cooked through, about 2 minutes.
- Step 3
Add the beans and reserved bean liquid, and use the spoon to scrape up any browned bits. Simmer until mostly reduced, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, taste and add more salt if needed.
- Step 4
Arrange some corn chips evenly across the bottom of four serving plates. Evenly divide the meat mixture, cheese, lettuce, tomato and avocado on top of the chips. Squeeze lime juice over the top and lightly sprinkle with salt. Top each salad with a handful of crushed corn chips, a big dollop of sour cream, and extra cheese. Serve right away with hot sauce alongside.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
A perfect dressing for this salad is (clutch your pearls everyone, there is a bottled dressing suggestion ahead) is a half and half mix of Thousand Island dressing and a hot as you like it salsa. You're welcome.
While this is not a healthy meal, Fritos and Doritos are terrible junk food - so high in salt they’re almost inedible. Try a good quality blue corn chip like Bearitos.
This is the quintessential Seventh-day Adventist meal and is referred to as "haystacks." I prefer mine with homemade guacamole, black beans (or chili beans, or both), salsa, a blend of romaine and spinach, cheese, sour cream, cilantro, and Chili Cheese Fritos.
I skip the meat and season warmed pinto beans with cumin. I add it to romaine lettuce, shredded cheese, avocado, red onion, tomatoes, tortilla chips and (horrors) Catalina dressing. It's a go to for a quick, meatless, summer meal....been loving it since the 80's.
I use a stainless dough blender or potato masher to breakup ground beef when cooking. Also, browning half a pound at a time (while lengthening prep time) allows for more pan contact and better browning.
There’s a Girl Scout version of this recipe called “Walking Tacos.” Start with a small individual bag of Fritos, add cooked taco meat and whatever additions you like: beans, onion, tomato, avocado, lettuce, etc. Clean up was easier and the kids loved it.
Add fresh off the cob corn that’s slightly cooked.
1/2 sour cream and 1/2 salsa (herdez please) and a squirt of lime all blended together is the salad dressing for this at our house! Also any Mexican cheese instead of cheddar, and soy curls for the veg version.
When I was growing up we did this with Doritos.
homemade guajillo tomatillo salsa. I toast dried guajillo chilies, dried Chile Morita, and dried Chile Pasillo and 2 garlic cloves in a pan with a tbsp canola oil. Then I put six tomatillos and one sliced white onion in the pan until bruised and soft. Last, place all in a blender, with two tablespoons white vinegar, and two tablespoons water. It beats Pace Picante store bought brands ("New York City!")
I grew up eating this in the 80s. Our version came from the back of a french dressing bottle. Need to add the dressing to take this up a notch, as well as Ranch style beans (rinsed) instead of plain beans. No avacado or sour cream needed. It’s the best!!
Skip the corn chip base and stick with crumbled on top to make it a bit healthier anyways, I uses red salsa and sour cream as a dressing. And sub Juanitas corn chips- any Oregonian will agree!!
To crumble ground meat, first add a few tablespoons water to pan and then add meat. Stir around vigorously when water evaporates the meat will be loose and will brown easily. Also, the leaner the meat is the harder to break up.
It's the summer version of a Frito pie. You can just put everything on the table and let folks assemble their own. I like a nice dose of pickled jalapeños on top.
The Ta-Cup was one of my favorite things about going to Disneyland as a kid. I think it helped to shape and elevate my immature palate. Thank you for eliciting some fond memories.
Just served this to our collection of two teenagers and two adults. Loved it. We used quality tortilla chips instead of Fritos and added a little salsa, so no need for salad dressing. Don’t forget the squirt of lime! I will say this: it would take four huge appetites to consume all of that hamburger and bean mixture in one go. We have enough left over for four smallish luncheon salads tomorrow.
Excellent! Made exactly per the recipe and it was so good. Definitely a keeper. - may add a little more heat next time (jalapenos?).
I will make just about anything Sohla El-Waylly tells me to. I loved the method she used to brown the meat, it worked well and I plan to do that any time I have to brown ground beef. The flavors were perfect, and reminded me, as many other cooks, of the taco salad of my youth. I followed the recipe as written, and though I may make some changes for my own taste preferences, it is a solid recipe as written.
pretty good salad but i used chicken instead of the beef (mistake)
I’m honestly a little ashamed how often I make this. And I look forward to it every time.
I’ve been enjoying this all my life (though without lime or garlic) and thought I knew everything about the history of Fritos. Born and raised in Dallas, I also am a lifelong consumer of Frito pie. But I had not heard of Ta-Cups. Thanks.
There were not enough spices in the "taco seasoning" in this recipe including, most notably, paprika, garlic powder and onion powder. Is much better with the addition of these. Also needed red onions and where is the Catalina dressing?
Delicious and easy to make
Easy and good for. Quick dinner. Next time I will probably add some cayenne pepper or use jalapeño pinto beans for a bit more kick.
Quick easy meal, especially to use up some drying tortillas…. Toasted them in the oven to crisp them. Mashed up kidney instead of beef to make this a pantry meal. Would recommend
Swapped the ground beef for tofu crumbles & added a can of black beans to further amp up the protein. Also added fresh chopped jalapeños to the garnishments to take the spice to the next level. Delicioso!
Bland, bland, bland. Came here looking for a good DIY taco seasoning mix (to avoid all the salt/chemicals). Ended up adding a lot more chili powder plus some smoked paprika and some tomato paste just to get it to taste like something. I'll keep looking.
This was such a fun throw-back to my childhood! I made as written but used ground turkey. My mother used to make with taco seasoning mix. Felt much more grown up using my own spices. As others have noted, fresh salsa and hot sauce were perfect additions, as was the squeeze of lime. Thanks for this!!
Making this tonight— a vegetarian tofu version. As many have noted already, this was a staple dinner in high rotation when I was growing up in the 70s/80s. Ours always had Catalina dressing. Tonight’s version will have a homemade Catalina dressing to keep the tradition alive!
Excellent as written. Happened to have cilantro so popped some on top!
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