Healthy taco salad is a favorite in our household. This meal gets requested often and makes it to almost every meal plan I make!
How to make it healthy
You might be wondering how can taco salad possibly be healthy? Chips? Ranch? What? The truth is it CAN be healthy; If you just make a few substitutions. A few swaps that I like to make are these:
- Chips – Beans
- Ranch – sour cream (or a homemade healthy ranch)
- cheese sauce – real shredded cheese
- Typical Ice Berg Lettuce – spring mix
Along with these swaps I like to add in healthy options like sprouts or micro greens, avocado to add some creaminess. Pico de gallo is another way to add more veggies and great flavor to this healthy taco salad!
Taco Salad
Taco salad is such a quick and easy meal. It gets great reviews with the little critics and is a great dish for guests. I always set it up as a build your own taco salad. This way guests can make it to there liking, and if you give them several options even the pickiest eaters will be going back for seconds!
One great tip for making the most flavorful taco meat is a cast iron skillet. Cooking beef in cast iron really brings out the flavor. A stainless steel pot will get the job done, but the end result can not be compared to a good taco dish cooked up in a cast iron pan. If you don’t have cast iron but want to learn how to season and maintain one here’s a link.
The second great tip for the best taco meat is to wait to add the seasoning until the end. Once your meat has been browned and is ready, then add your seasoning to a cup (or more) of salsa and pour over the meat. This will leave the meat juicy and delicious.
There’s so much more you could add to your taco salad then what I have listed in this recipe. You could add fried mushrooms, cucumber, bell peppers, the options are endless. This is just my families favorite way to enjoy taco salad; try out different things to find your personal favorite.
Healthy Taco Salad
Healthy Taco Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 cup salsa
- 1 tbsp taco seasoning recipe here.
- 2 cups black beans recipe here.
- Approximately 4 cups spring mix washed and dried
- Sprouts or Micro Greens for serving
- Sour cream for serving
- Avocado for serving
- Salsa for serving
- Shredded cheese for serving
Instructions
- Add the avocado oil to a medium size skillet, and warm over medium heat.
- Once hot add in ground beef. Breaking into small pieces until browned and cooked through about 10 minutes.
- Add 1 tbsp taco seasoning to 1 cup salsa and pour over ground beef. If using lean or extra lean ground beef there should not be to much extra liquid and does not need to be drained. If you have a lot of extra liquid then drain before adding salsa and taco seasoning
- Allow to cook for a minute longer so all the flavors can meld together.
- Remove from heat.
- To assemble salad add 3/4 to 1 cup of spring mix to a plate.
- Add about 2 tbsp of sprouts or micro greens if using.
- Add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup black beans.
- Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup ground beef.
- Top with optional pico de gallo, avocado, sour cream, and shredded cheese.
- Enjoy!
Notes
If using canned black beans just make sure to add some seasoning, such as a little cumin, chili powder, and oregano.
Store left over taco meat in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat in a heavy bottom pot on the stove till warm. Enjoy a second time!
Taco salads are so fun to make, we like them here at our house too – lots and lots of beans!!! 😉 Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Tacos are the best! Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for sharing! Taco salad is so so good!
It really is! Enjoy!