This easy Dorito taco salad just uses a few simple ingredients and comes together in minutes. A homemade meal can't get any more simple than this!
Finding a family meal that's healthy and delicious can sometimes be a challenge. Thankfully we can all agree on this Dorito salad recipe. The kids love the extra side of chips they get, and my husband and I love the crunch and flavors.
This dish is a favorite in our home and while we often give it some fun "upgrades" this taco salad with ground beef and Doritos is the bare basic recipe that we use to build from. Everything starts with this simple base.
For more taco related recipes, check out my Air Fryer Chicken Tacos, Walking Taco Casserole, Instant Pot Taco Zucchini Boats, and Healthy Air Fryer Tortilla Chips.
Why This Recipe Works
- It's great for leftover taco meat. We really like to reuse leftover foods in new recipes around here and taco meat makes an awesome salad. You don't even need to heat it up first!
- You can customize it. Add in things like beans, corn, tomatoes and cucumbers or keep it plain and simple. This recipe is so much fun to experiment with.
- Perfect for a cold dinner on a hot summer day. We've all experienced those days where it's too hot to do much of anything. This recipe (along with our Giant Sub Sandwich) are our cold dinner go-to recipes.
Jump to:
🥘 Ingredients
Salsa- I like to use chunky red salsa, but you can use your favorite. This gives us a nice flavor and kick of heat.
Green salad- I find that using the cheaper bags of mixed salad works best. Chopped iceberg lettuce adds a cool and refreshing crunch.
Cheese- You can use any shredded cheese desired, but I like to use shredded cheddar cheese.
Doritos- Adding nacho Doritos to the salad will give you added crunch and cheese flavor.
Ground beef- You will need some cooked ground beef with the fat drained.
Taco seasoning- To season the ground beef, you'll need some taco seasoning. Use storebought or a DIY Taco Seasoning.
Optional Ingredients:
- Diced Onions
- Chopped Tomatoes
- Kidney Beans
For the exact amounts needed, please see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
BeeyondCereal is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.
🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make taco salad with doritos with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Prepare the taco meat by browning the ground beef, draining the grease and then mixing in the taco seasoning. Remove from heat and allow to cool before use.
Place your salad into a large serving bowl. Top with your seasoned taco meat.
Mix well to combine.
Top with crushed Doritos.
Toss well to combine.
Add salsa to the salad.
Mix well to evenly coat everything.
Add shredded cheese.
Mix well to distribute.
Serve with any additional toppings, if desired, and enjoy!
🍴 Recipe Tips
I personally find that this salad tastes best with the garn variety salad mix. (That one with the purple cabbage). This is mostly because of the iceberg lettuce- it adds a nice watery crunch that's refreshing to eat.
You can mix together salads, spinach, or whatever leafy base you prefer. I usually flip between the garden variety and the 50/50 blend myself as those are what I keep on hand.
📖 Variations
You can use any variety that you like! Ranch flavored and Spicy flavors work great but I personally tend to choose Nacho flavored. This is mostly because my kids have sensitive mouths so choosing more mild flavors helps to get them to eat without complaints.
💭 FAQs
Absolutely! I love this salad with ground beef but ground turkey or even shredded chicken works great! In fact, my crockpot shredded enchilada chicken would taste incredible in this salad.
Yes, you can- kind of. If you allow your meat to cool completely you can mix everything together except for the salsa up to a day in advance. Don't add the salsa until just before serving because it causes the lettuce to wilt.
Sour cream, sliced avocados, black beans, corn, diced tomatoes, and the list! There are so many tasty toppings and add-in's that you can toss into this taco salad and all of them make it that much more incredible.
Other delicious main dish recipes to try
- Tater Tot Casserole
- Garlic and Brown Sugar Crusted Pork Roast
- Chicken Divan Casserole
- Oven Baked Beer Butt Chicken
📖 Recipe
Easy Doritos Taco Salad
Equipment
- Large serving bowl
- Salad servers
Ingredients
- 1 cup Salsa ($0.56)
- 1 pound Browned ground beef ($3.37)
- 3 Tablespoons Taco seasoning ($0.44)
- 1 bag Green Salad (12 ounce) ($1.78)
- 1 cup Doritos, crushed ($1.08)
- 1 cup Shredded cheese ($0.93)
Instructions
- Prepare the taco meat by browning the ground beef, draining the grease and then mixing in the taco seasoning. Remove from heat and allow to cool before use.
- Place your salad into a large serving bowl. Top with your seasoned taco meat. Mix well to combine.
- Top with crushed Doritos. Toss well to combine.
- Add salsa to the salad. Mix well to evenly coat everything.
- Add shredded cheese. Mix well to distribute.
- Serve with any additional toppings, if desired, and enjoy!
Notes
Recipe Tips
- Different salad greens. I personally find that this salad tastes best with the garn variety salad mix. (That one with the purple cabbage). This is mostly because of the iceberg lettuce- it adds a nice watery crunch that's refreshing to eat. You can mix together salads, spinach, or whatever leafy base you prefer. I usually flip between the garden variety and the 50/50 blend myself as those are what I keep on hand.
- What Doritos chips to use. You can use any variety that you like! Ranch flavored and Spicy flavors work great but I personally tend to choose Nacho flavored. This is mostly because my kids have sensitive mouths so choosing more mild flavors helps to get them to eat without complaints
- Different meats. I love this salad with ground beef, but ground turkey or even shredded chicken works great!
- Make in advance. If you allow your meat to cool completely you can mix everything together except for the salsa up to a day in advance. Don't add the salsa until just before serving because it causes the lettuce to wilt.
- Topping suggestions. Sour cream, sliced avocados, black beans, corn, diced tomatoes, and the list! There are so many tasty toppings and add-in's that you can toss into this taco salad and all of them make it that much more incredible.
Leave a Reply