Simple Taco Salad Recipe
A lot of flavor doesn’t need to mean a lot of time OR require a lot of ingredients. I live by this philosophy when I cook and applied it full force to this simple taco salad. Don’t let its simplicity fool you, this salad is still packed with flavor from fresh ingredients. With only 10 ingredients and minimal prep time required, I see this healthy salad becoming a dinner staple in your house!
Build Your Own Base
Okay y’all, here is a simple vegetable education for you…the darker the green, the higher the nutrition. Mind blowing. When picking out salad greens be sure to include some that are darker in color such as spinach or kale. I mixed up the base of my salad and did ½ part chopped romaine and ½ part chopped spinach to ensure that I was building up a nutrient dense base. You could go full spinach, which I have also done and can assure you that it tastes just as good. I then tossed in an a diced red bell pepper which is high in Vitamin A, potassium, and lycopene which is an antioxidant found in red fruits and vegetables that may protect against some cancers. Always be sure to wash your vegetables well prior to eating them!
Crunch Factor
Now let’s talk about crunch. Who here grew up with Frito’s in their taco salad? Nacho Dorito’s? What was your crunch factor? I personally was a Frito kinda gal but that was until I discovered a new crunch factor that would bring my taco salad to an unreached level. What is this new discovery you may ask? Plantain chips. I absolutely love the crunch that they add to this salad and I also find that they store a little bit better if you are planning on meal prepping this salad. These plantain chips are some of my favorite, give them a try in your taco salad and thank me later!
Protein Choices
For this recipe, I tend to alternate my protein options between lean ground turkey or lean ground beef that I season with taco seasoning. When I say “lean”, I am referring to meat that has had a lot of the fat removed. Animal products contain a high amount of saturated fat and the American Heart Association recommends aiming to consume only 5-6% of our total daily calories from saturated fat. Choosing leaner meats that have had some of that fat removed can help us control both our saturated fat AND overall calorie intake because the lower the fat, the lower the calories. I often look for 93% lean when I’m choosing my meat… I don’t go for the 98% lean, you don’t have to make yourself miserable. If you want to keep this salad vegetarian or meatless, black beans are a great option for a plant based protein! Beans are what I like to call a “strategic carb” and are carbohydrates that double as a protein in our diet. You can also switch out the meat in this recipe for cooked quinoa, another strategic carb that is high in protein.
Want to Meal Prep?
I have meal prepped this salad before and it’s a delicious lunch option for those of you who are trying to prep more of your food at home. Here are a few tricks of the trade to pass on to you so that you can avoid soggy salads:
1) Put it in a big enough meal prep container that allows for you to mix it up well! Picking good meal prep containers can be tough so I have linked up a few great glass container options for you. Here is a good container option for salads and these are my favorite glass meal prep containers and glass bento containers in general that I use daily!
2) Don’t add your dressing until you are ready to eat. When you initially mix up this salad, leave the dressing on the side! If you pre-mix everything, the liquid from the salad dressing will be absorbed by the plantain chips and result in soggy plantains and limp greens. Instead, pour your dressing into a salad dressing container and place the entire container into your lunch to be poured onto your salad once you are ready to eat. These are my favorite salad dressing containers for meal prep.
3) Drain your beans well. Again, we’re trying to limit unnecessary liquid in our salad so be sure to drain your beans really well prior to mixing them in.
Finally, sprinkle your plantain chips on the top of your meal prepped salads and then mix them in when you are ready to eat. Simply put, if you’re wanting to meal prep this salad mix the salad greens, bell pepper, meat, avocado, and beans together in a large bowl then divvy it up into individual meal prep containers and only mix in the plantain chips and dressing once you’re ready to eat. So there you have, my tips for making and meal prepping this simple salad now let’s get to the recipe!
Simple Taco Salad
Ingredients
Instructions
- Heat a medium pan over medium heat on the stove. Season your ground turkey with the taco seasoning and brown until cooked through. About 5 minutes. Once it is finished cooking, remove it from heat and set it aside to cool slightly.
- While your turkey is cooling chop your spinach, romaine, bell pepper, avocado, and cilantro and place it in a large bowl.
- Open and drain your black beans then add them to the large bowl with your vegetables. Add your ground turkey.
- If serving immediately, add the crushed plantain chips and salad dressing then toss your salad until well combined. Enjoy!
- *If meal prepping, place your salad into your individual meal prep containers and sprinkle the plantain chips on the top of the salad. Place your salad dressing into individual containers to be added once you are ready to eat.
Hey! I’m Lauren
I’m a Registered Dietitian and busy toddler mom committed to bringing you delicious, nutritious, and easy to make recipes!