Looking for a delicious and satisfying meal that's also a crowd-pleaser? Look no further than this mouthwatering Taco Salad with Catalina Dressing and Doritos recipe. Packed with flavor and crunch, this salad is sure to become a family favorite for any occasion.
A delicious taco salad makes a great meal idea any time of year. This easy salad recipe is made with ground beef, spices, fresh vegetables, and, of course, Doritos, for a tasty lunch or dinner.
Made with a tasty glaze, this Doritos Taco Salad recipe comes together in just about 30 minutes!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy to make: Perfect for busy weeknights or lazy weekends.
- Versatile: Customize with your favorite taco toppings for a personalized touch.
- Crowd-favorite: Rave reviews are guaranteed at family gatherings and potlucks. Even from the most picky eaters!
- Crunchy and flavorful: The combination of Doritos and Catalina dressing adds a unique twist to the classic taco salad.
Doritos Taco Salad is a great summer meal idea as it combines the flavors of ground beef and vegetables with the flavor of tacos in salad form. This makes it a perfect summer meal idea and it is quite easy to make.
What is nice is that you can change up this recipe from time to time too by changing up the salad with ingredients your family loves.
Ingredients for easy taco salad
- Lean ground beef
- Taco seasoning (try our Homemade Taco Seasoning)
- Water
- Black beans or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- Heart romaine lettuce
- Cherry tomatoes or medium-size tomatoes
- Nacho cheese Doritos
- Catalina Dressing
- Cheddar cheese, shredded
Optional additional ingredients
- Green onions, sliced
- Avocado
- Black olives, drained and sliced
- Small red onion, sliced
- Fiesta Corn, drained well
- Lime wedges
- Salsa
- Pico de Gallo
- Guacamole
- Sour cream
- Cilantro
How to Make Doritos Taco Salad
How to make crunchy Doritos salad
- Cook ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat until no pink remains. Drain any excess grease.
- Return the cooked beef to the skillet and add water and taco seasoning. Stir well to combine and heat through.
- Clean and cut the lettuce and tomatoes, and add them to a large bowl. Add the drained and rinsed beans and the taco meat to the bowl.
- Gently stir the ingredients to combine. Serve the salad with Doritos chips and any additional serving ingredients you like. Drizzle Catalina dressing over the salad just before serving.
Tips for the Best Results
- Use lean ground beef to minimize excess fat in the dish.
- For added flavor, consider adding Worcestershire sauce to the meat mixture.
- Serve the salad immediately after adding the dressing to prevent the Doritos from becoming soggy.
- Customize the salad with your favorite taco toppings for a personalized touch.
- Make sure to toss immediately before serving. You can add condiments such as pepper chilis and hot sauce if you like.
- You can make this with Thousand Island dressing to change it up—both result in a tasty salad!
- Be sure to serve chips on the side if you think you will have leftovers, as the chips will get soggy if mixed with the salad over a long period of time.
- For best results, prepare the salad just prior to serving; this salad does not keep well in the refrigerator once ingredients are combined.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Substitutions and Variations
- Swap ground beef for ground turkey or chicken for a lighter alternative.
- Experiment with different types of beans, such as red kidney beans or chili beans.
- Substitute ranch dressing or French dressing for Catalina dressing for a different flavor profile.
- Try using Cool Ranch Doritos or Spicy Doritos for a unique twist. You could also just use plain tortilla chips or corn chips.
- Feel free to use iceberg lettuce or another kind of lettuce that you prefer.
FAQs About This Recipe
Yes, you can prepare the components of the salad ahead of time and assemble the salad just before serving to maintain the crunchiness of the lettuce and Doritos.
Absolutely! Feel free to experiment with different dressings to suit your taste preferences.
Yes, store any leftovers in separate containers in the refrigerator for up to a day. Just be sure to keep the Doritos separate until ready to serve to maintain their crunchiness.
I like to serve my taco salad with a slice of cornbread or a bowl of soup.
I personally like the meat to be warm on this salad, but you can certainly serve it cold too! People love it both ways.
Yes, you absolutely can make this recipe and take it on a picnic. I recommend preparing the ingredients ahead of time and serving them in mason jars or bowls so that guests can build their own salad
Got extra Doritos? Try these delicious Doritos Walking Tacos from my friend Jordan.
More great salad recipes
📖 Recipe
Doritos Taco Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 tablespoons or 1 packet taco seasoning
- ½ cup water
- 1 15 oz can black or pinto, drained and rinsed
- 1 large heart romaine lettuce
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes or 2 medium size tomatoes
- 1 bag Doritos Chips
- 1 bottle Catalina Dressing
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Optional additional ingredients
- Green onions sliced
- 1-2 Avocado
- 1 can black olives drained and sliced
- 1 small red onion sliced
- 1 can Fiesta Corn drained well
- Lime wedges
- Salsa
- Pico de Gallo
- Guacamole
- Sour cream
- Cilantro
Instructions
- Instructions
- Cook ground beef in a skillet over medium heat until no pink remains, drain
- Return to skillet and add water and taco seasoning
- Stir and heat through
- Clean and cut lettuce and tomatoes
- Add to a large bowl
- Add can of drained beans
- Stir gently to combine
- Serve with chips and any additional serving ingredients you like
- Store in refrigerator in an airtight container
Nutrition
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on Amazon.
Tamara
This is honestly my ideal day. They used to serve taco salad in our school cafeteria and people would count down the days to it! Like making marker notches on the classroom walls. I still remember obsessing for it!
Donna @ Modern on Monticello
Perfect timing for you to share this recipe. I was just thinking about what to fix for dinner tonight and I have all the ingredients for this great summer meal. This will also be a feature pick this week. Can't wait to try it out tonight. #HomeMattersParty
Raquel
Thank you SO MUCH Donna!