This Dorito Taco Salad with Creamy Taco Dressing is bursting with fresh veggies, plus taco-seasoned beef and crunchy, nacho cheese Doritos. It’s irresistible! Watch the video!
Easy Dorito Taco Salad
We can always bet on eating two particular meals when we stay with my sister Jessica’s family:
- Pizza and crispy chicken from their local Pizza Ranch. After that, some video arcade play time next door!
- Jessica’s Dorito Taco Salad. We never tire of this meal, so we welcome it with each and every visit!
Jessica has made this salad famous for our family. Therefore, I wanted to share it here with you!
The salad is highly adaptable and bursting with personality and hospitality. Similarly, just like my beloved sister.
Taco Salad is Perfect for Casual Dinners
Jessica always serves this meal in a super casual way.
That is to say, she places all the ingredients in separate bowls on their kitchen peninsula’s counter, for each person to assemble their own salad as they wish. As a result, everyone gets exactly what they like.
That means no black beans for our daughter Tessa. Extra cheese for Jessica and her daughters Kate and Meg. And an extra helping of Doritos for almost every person at the table. Because WHO can actually resist those chips?!
Taco Salad Ingredients
This salad comes together in a fresh and colorful, most delicious way!
Here are the basic ingredients you’ll need:
- your favorite ground meat – for example, beef, chicken, or turkey
- yellow onion
- fresh garlic
- taco seasoning – Our family likes “green” taco seasoning the best. Our favorite store brand is Chi-Chi’s Restaurant Seasoning Mix, and my homemade green taco seasoning is an awesome copycat recipe!
- lettuce
- green onions
- tomatoes
- shredded cheese
- nacho cheese Doritos
In addition, be sure to include some toppings and dressings:
- Easy, Creamy Taco Salad Dressing – our favorite dressing for this salad! My friend Bobbi Jo shared the recipe with me many, many years ago. It’s super duper easy to make and always a hit.
- Or choose your own favorite salad dressing – Thousand Island, spicy ranch, and/or zesty French dressings work great!
- Pickled Red Onions – don’t miss out on this awesome condiment!
- taco sauce
- sour cream
- guacamole or fresh avocado slices
- black beans
- fresh cilantro
- fresh lime wedges, for squeezing over the top
How to Make Taco Salad
Here’s how to make a one-dish taco salad like the one you see in my photos:
- Brown ground meat and chopped onion in a skillet.
- Add taco seasoning and simmer. Remove skillet from heat.
- Grab a large bowl or dish that’s low and wide. I like to use a large round braiser, because it also makes a great serving dish!
- Place chopped lettuce in a thick layer across bottom of bowl.
- Add sliced grape tomatoes on top of the lettuce, leaving lettuce exposed at the perimeter of the bowl.
- Layer shredded cheese on top of the tomatoes, leaving tomatoes exposed at the perimeter.
- Add a mound of prepared taco meat to the very center, on top of the cheese, leaving cheese exposed at the perimeter.
- Sprinkle with sliced green onions.
- Tuck Dorito chips around the perimeter of the bowl.
- Serve with your favorite toppings, dressings, and EXTRA DORITOS!
This presentation is great for entertaining because the layered salad takes up less space on the table or buffet. It’s also quite eye-catching!
Looking for more family-friendly salad recipes? Here are a few more favorite picks from our family:
- Grilled Romaine Salad with Homemade Buttermilk Ranch Dressing – we keep this dressing on hand all summer long!
- Italian Chopped Salad – filled with delicious goodies and dressed with the zippiest Italian vinaigrette!
- Grilled Vegetable Salad – I could eat this gorgeous salad every single week. In other words, I love it!!
- This Coleslaw Dressing is my favorite way to eat a coleslaw salad.
Jessica’s Dorito Taco Salad with Creamy Taco Dressing
Ingredients
for the salad:
- 1 lb. ground beef (or substitute ground turkey or chicken)
- ½ small yellow onion, diced
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1 package of your favorite taco seasoning, portioned for 1 lb. of ground meat
- 2 to 3 heads romaine lettuce, chopped into bite-size pieces (or substitue 1 to 2 heads of iceberg lettuce)
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
- 3 c. halved cherry tomatoes or chopped Roma tomatoes
- 2 to 3 c. shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
- Doritos nacho cheese flavored tortilla chips, for scooping up the salad and/or for crushing over the salad
for the optional dressings and sides:
- Creamy Taco Salad Dressing
- Pickled Red Onions
- taco sauce
- sour cream
- guacamole or slices of fresh avocado
- black beans, rinsed and drained
- chopped cilantro
- fresh limes, cut into wedges, for squeezing over the top
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat, brown the ground meat and onion. When meat is nearly halfway browned, add the garlic. Once meat is browned and onion is softened, remove any excess fat from the pan. Then sprinkle taco seasoning over the mixture, stir in 1/3 cup of water, and let mixture simmer over medium heat until water is dissolved. Remove pan from heat. This can be prepared a day in advance and refrigerated until ready to serve – just warm it up again when creating the salad
- to serve the salad: From the options listed below, choose how you’d like to serve the salad. And then choose your ingredients. If there are ingredients that are not popular with some of the people at your table, simply offer those items on the side. You can make every single ingredient optional! My favorite dressing for this taco salad is this Easy, Creamy Taco Salad Dressing. My sister Jessica offers bottles of Thousand Island, spicy ranch, and/or zesty French dressings, for people to drizzle onto their salads as they wish.
Video
Notes
- With all salad ingredients tossed together in one large bowl, with or without the salad dressing mixed in. (To avoid soggy chips, be sure to wait until you are ready to eat to toss the ingredients together.)
- With all the salad ingredients, optional ingredients, and dressings, in their own separate bowls, for each person to assemble their own salad. (This is typically how Jessica serves her taco salad.)
- With all the salad ingredients layered in a large bowl, as shown in my photos, with optional toppings and dressings served on the side.
Nutrition Information:
I originally published this post in 2015. It’s been popular with our family and friends, so I updated the photographs and some of the text in 2018.
This salad was delicious and filling. I especially loved the dressing and the the spices on the turkey. I have mad ethos twice in one week because it was so good. I highly recommend it! :)
Everyone is saying Wishbone changed the Western dressing now and it is not good at all. It’s oily and thin now? I was going to order some off Amazon and people are saying it in reviews there too. On Western’s website page literally hundreds of bad reviews. I have never bought it before so I don’t know. Could I substitute Catalina or what would you recommend? Thank you – your dressing recipe looks delicious.
What is the blue pan that you actually have it assembled in?I love it.
Thanks,
Loved these easy to make and serve taco salad and it looks so yummy too, the grandkids had three helpings!
Hi Brenda,
Which ChiChis seasoning packet do you use? Their Restaurant seasoning or their taco seasoning? Thanks!
Hi Stacie – the Restaurante one – there are links within the post to show the one I use!
Such a hit with our Tex Mex loving group and the presentation is beautiful!
Can’t imagine a better game day salad. So gorgeous.
Fantastic! It was a big hit at our party last night!
Perfect for a crowd.
I made this for my book club and they loved it! I styled two just like your photos and they were so impressed! Thank you!
Easily the prettiest and tastiest taco salad I’ve ever made!!
Delicious and stunning presentation!