Dorito Taco Salad with Creamy Taco Dressing

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 (just don’t forget the Pickled Red Onions!) 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 – here’s my family’s favorite taco seasoning, or make your own with this green taco seasoning 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!
• 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 this big 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!

This Taco Salad Will Always Be a Fav Dinner Idea!

This meal easily ranks in our family’s top salad choices.

I personally like that this salad is largely based on fresh veggies. However, I’m certain that the rest of the family loves it for the taco seasoned beef and nacho cheese Doritos. (We like green taco seasoning the best – here’s our favorite store-bought taco seasoning mix and my own homemade green taco seasoning.)

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.

Taco Salad Dressing? Yes please!

My sister serves her taco salad with a variety of bottled dressings, taco sauces, and sour cream.

I do as well, but I also like to offer this Easy, Creamy Taco Salad Dressing. My friend Bobbi Jo shared the recipe with me many, many years ago. It’s super duper easy to make and always a hit.

If you like this salad recipe, also be sure to check out these!

• Garlicky Orange Kale Salad from She Wears Many Hats
• Cucumber and Chickpea Salad from Reluctant Entertainer
• Low-Carb Southwest Chicken Salad with Chipotle Ranch Dressing from Kalyn’s Kitchen

Jessica’s Dorito Taco Salad with Creamy Taco Dressing

Yield: 8 servings

prep time: 30 minutes mins

cook time: 15 minutes mins

total time: 45 minutes mins

This fun layered salad is bursting with fresh veggies, plus taco-seasoned beef and crunchy, nacho cheese Doritos. Serve it with my easy creamy taco salad dressing for a big taco salad win!

4.7 Stars (43 Reviews)

Print

Equipment

• Chi-Chi’s Restaurante Seasoning Mix
• Doritos Nacho Cheese Flavored Tortilla Chips
• 12″ Cast Iron Skillet

Ingredients

for the salad:

• 1 lb. ground beef turkey, or chicken
• half of a small onion diced
• 2 large cloves garlic minced
• 1 package of your favorite taco seasoning portioned for 1 lb. of ground meat – here’s our favorite store-bought seasoning mix
• 2 to 3 heads of romaine or 1 to 2 heads of iceberg lettuce chopped into bite-size pieces
• 4 green onions 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:

• my favorite Easy 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

This salad is all about creating a dish that works for you and those you are serving. Delete ingredients you aren’t fond of. Add in some that aren’t listed here. I’ve served this salad several different ways:

• 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.

inspired by my sister Jessica’s taco salads

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 1 Calories: 1019kcal Carbohydrates: 42g Protein: 71g Fat: 64g Saturated Fat: 28g Polyunsaturated Fat: 28g Trans Fat: 2g Cholesterol: 230mg Sodium: 1220mg Fiber: 15g Sugar: 10g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by Spoonacular. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee accuracy. If your health depends on nutrition information, please calculate again with your own favorite calculator.

Did you make this recipe?Please leave a comment below. And share a photo on Instagram with the hashtag #afarmgirlsdabbles or tag @farmgirlsdabble!

© Brenda | A Farmgirl’s Dabbles

Cuisine: Mexican

Course: Salads & Dressings

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.