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    Home » Recipes » Main Dishes

    Published: Apr 28, 2020 Modified: May 8, 2023 by Nicole This post may contain affiliate links.

    Easy Dorito Taco Salad

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    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!

    a bowl filled with doritos taco salad and topped with sour cream and red bell pepper

    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

    1. 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!
    2. 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.
    3. 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
    • 🍽 Equipment Needed
    • 🔪 Instructions
    • 🍴 Recipe Tips
    • 📖 Variations
    • 💭 FAQs
    • 📖 Recipe
    • 💬 Comments
    labeled ingredients needed to make doritos taco salad

    🥘 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.

    • Large serving bowl
    • Skillet
    • Salad servers
    • Measuring cups

    🔪 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.

    taco meat over salad in a large bowl

    Place your salad into a large serving bowl. Top with your seasoned taco meat.

    taco meat and salad tossed together in a bowl

    Mix well to combine.

    crushed doritos in a bowl on top of salad

    Top with crushed Doritos.

    taco meat and doritos chips tossed together in a green salad in a bowl

    Toss well to combine.

    salsa over a salad fillwed with green lettuce, taco meat and crushed doritos chips

    Add salsa to the salad.

    aerial view of a bowl of doritos taco salad

    Mix well to evenly coat everything.

    shredded cheese on top of taco salad in a bowl

    Add shredded cheese.

    aerial view of a bowl of taco salad with cheese

    Mix well to distribute.

    Serve with any additional toppings, if desired, and enjoy!

    aerial view of serving bowl filled with taco salad and topped with red pepper and sour cream and shredded cheese with more salad in a bowl in the background

    🍴 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

    Can I use other meats?

    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.

    Can I make taco salad in advance?

    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.

    What toppings go with taco salad?

    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.

    a serving bowl filled with doritos taco salad with a bige bowl of salad in the background and a bag of doritos in the background

    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

    a close aerial view f taco salad in a bowl with sour cream shredded cheese and sliced red bell pepper
    Print Recipe
    5 from 1 vote

    Easy Doritos Taco Salad

    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 or fast than this!
    Prep Time 15 minutes mins
    Cook Time 0 minutes mins
    Total Time 15 minutes mins
    Servings: 8 servings
    Calories: 313kcal
    Cost Recipe $8.16 / Serving $1.02
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Equipment

    • Large serving bowl
    • Skillet
    • Salad servers
    • Measuring Cups

    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)
    US Customary - Metric

    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.

    Nutritional Information

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 313kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 48mg | Sodium: 629mg | Potassium: 416mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 822IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 133mg | Iron: 2mg
    Author NicoleDurham
    Course dinner, Main Course, Salad, Side Dish
    Cuisine American
    Tried this recipe?Mention @BeeyondCereal on Instagram and hashtag it #BeeyondCereal
    To view how this recipe was calculated you can visit my Pricing Disclosure Page for more information.

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