This is a great dish for pot-lucks. It's easy, and can be made in advance. Add dressing just before serving.
My family loves this salad for dinner, especially during the summer when it is hot. I make my own ranch dressing and make several additions: chopped tomatoes, cucumber and green onion, sliced black olives, and avocado.
Read MoreNot bad..(made it exactly as printed here) but I have another recipe that I like much better. My recipe has the ground beef simmered with the drained beans for 10 min and uses catalina french dressing. Will go back to mu Old recipe...
Read MoreMy family loves this salad for dinner, especially during the summer when it is hot. I make my own ranch dressing and make several additions: chopped tomatoes, cucumber and green onion, sliced black olives, and avocado.
My review for this recipe disappeared! This is one of our favorite meals in this house. Any kind of ground meat will work (I usually use ground turkey or chicken), I make my own taco seasoning/ranch dressing and I like to use organic black beans in place of the kidney beans. Sometimes, I'll mix a half cup of homemade salsa into the ranch dressing. Any kind of chips will do--we alternate between Doritoes, Fritos and chili-lime tortilla chips. Because I eat low carb, I skip the chips on mine and double up on the lettuce. This is also a great way to use up leftover taco meat from the night before for a quick lunch. You can layer them so everything is ready to go in the container--just make sure that you seperate your dressing or make it so the dressing is on the bottom and not touching your lettuce otherwise it will wilt quickly.
I love this recipe. We always make it for any gathering. The only thing we do different is the dressing. We use Creamy Italian, preferrably Seven Seas or Kens. We have also used Catalina dressing. But I prefer the Creamy Italian.
This is so simple and so good! I usually brown a chopped onion with my ground beef. Also, I add in a drained can of petite diced tomatoes. I have used different dressings and pretty much use either Ranch or Catalina. I have also subbed Fritos for the Doritos. I added shredded lettuce once, but would not recommend unless you know that it will all be eaten immediately. I usually have a carton of sour cream and also some chopped green onions for garnish.
We really like this taco salad, my son said he would eat it, if I made it without the beans! It makes a very large salad. I used the ranch dressing with sour cream in it, it was very good. My husband had lots of compliments.
Simple and delicious! Plus it didn't take long to put together. I used "Taco Seasoning II" to brown the ground beef. I also added some avocado and sliced black olives along with the cheese, lettuce, tomato, and sliced green onion. I opted for plain tortilla chips vs. nacho flavored and used "Smoked Paprika Vinaigrette" from this site as the dressing. All that was left to do was add a well placed dollup of sour cream - fabulous for a tasty weeknight meal!
When this came out as a cooknik recipe for November, I tried it and my family loved it. I used doritos natural white cheddar nacho chips because they have no hydrogenated oil. Instead of mixing all together in 1 bowl, I let my family assemble theirs individually. I also had pico de gallo, avocado, jalapenos and sour cream available. Ranch seems wierd on a taco salad, so we used 1000 island mixed with the pico de gallo. Everyone had fun making and eating them.
This salad was great! I made a few changes. I used ground turkey instead of ground beef, corn tortilla chips instead of nacho ones, and catalina dressing instead of ranch. Also served it with sour cream. Great dish for a potluck!
I thought this recipe was very good. I used Fat Free Italian dressing instead of the Ranch. My Husband really liked it and said it's a keeper.
I love this recipe because it is so easy- and uses only ingredients I always have on hand. THANK YOU!! I use baked doritos to add flavor and lower the fat content.
Not bad..(made it exactly as printed here) but I have another recipe that I like much better. My recipe has the ground beef simmered with the drained beans for 10 min and uses catalina french dressing. Will go back to mu Old recipe...
I am really pleased with this recipe! I think it's really helpful to remember to cool the meat slightly (I added the kidney beans to the meat and cooled the entire pan) and then added the lettuce (I used a 16 oz. Salad Express bag, which worked great!) and then added the cheese. I didn't want my cheese to be melted because I was looking for more of a "salad". I used a finely shredded cheddar (Sargento's) and it was perfect. The ONE thing that really helped this recipe stand out - I used the Ranch Dressing II from this site; it was fantastic! Oh, and if you don't like a bunch of salt, really watch the type and number of tortilla chips used in this recipe - I used 3 of the one oz. nacho cheese "lunch" sized Dorito bags and found they added more salt than I care for - next time I will use chips with less salt.
This is a great quick summer recipe, and can be modified many ways. You can use ground beef, turkey, or any sausage for the meat. You can also used leftover shredded pork or beef. You can even buy pre-made chicken or beef fajita. I have used black beans or ranch beans in place of kidney beans. If you don't have any taco seasoning, throw in some chili powder, cumin, onion and some water when browning the meat. You don't need nacho flavored tortilla chips. You can use any chips you like. For the cheese, I prefer either Monterrey Jack or a mild Longhorn cheddar. For the dressing, I add ether a salsa or tobasco sauce to the ranch dressing to give it a kick. If you need to get veggies down the children, roast some corn and add it to the mixture. It would be rated 5 stars due to convenience but I like a little more spice in mine.
I probably shouldn't try to rate this because I made a three major changes. I give it the full five stars because I'm sure the original is just as delicious. First, I am a vegetarian and used Morningstar Farms Mealstarter hamburger. Then, instead of commercial taco seasoning, I used my own homemade mixture. I do not like either the chemicals or the amount of salt in the commercial preparations. I used a homemade tomato salsa mixed into yogurt for the dressing to painlessly cut down on fat and calories. This version was a huge hit with family and friends. Highly recommended.
I have made this recipe for years. I use 1000 Island salad dressing instead of the ranch and add about 1/2 cup salsa to the dressing. I also brown some onion with the ground beef. I have avocado and sour cream for added toppings. I find it better to assemble individually, because leftovers get soggy if you mix it all together.........and it's fun for people to do their own thing .
Used refried beans instead of kidney beans, mixed it in with the beef after it was cooked. Also used Italian dressing instead of ranch and some sour cream. Use the nacho doritos for more flavor. Super easy just mixed it all together, om nom nom!
Love this recipe and so does my kids, relatives and friends! I'm always being asked to make this for ppl and it's the easiest dish in the world to make. I do make a few changes though. First of all, i use WISHBONE RUSSIAN DRESSING and I highly recommend trying this. it is sooo good, and I use a can of pinto beans and add chopped tomatoes. I also add a few drops of tobasco sauce to taste to the hamburger/dressing mixture. YUMMY!!!
Have made this for my family for the past 15 yrs, and have given it to friends for just as many. The only thing I do different is use Creamy Caesar salad dressing instead of ranch, it makes a delicious difference.
Been making this for years but with a few differences others may enjoy. I use very lean beef (93/7) and add chopped onion while browning. I will also add corn if i have a left over cob from another meal. Instead of Ranch, i use a combo of salsa, ketchup and lite sour cream for kind of a latin 100 island. I also use padrinos reduced fat chips and 2% sharp cheddar. If i don't have kidney beans (which are my preference) black or pinto beans do in a pinch.
I thought this was DELICIOUS! I was definitely worried about the outcome because I don't love ranch, but I tried it and I'm glad I did! I did make some changes though--I used ground turkey, an entire can of kidney beans, much less cheese (probably less than a cup) and no chips--we just made the mixture minus the chips and served it in totillas. I would definitely suggest adding all the ingredients minus the lettuce and putting it in the microwave for a minute or so because the cheese melts and becomes more of a creamy mixture. I also added some other taco toppings such as chiles and black olives. But a great recipe and the ranch isn't overpowering at all!!
I thought this salad was great and very easy to make on a hot summer night.. Not low fat but you could modify it as I will for my vegetarian husband. Either tempeh or Yves ground round for ground beef. I would also subsitute turkey and use whole grain nacho chips.
Absolutely delicious!! I made a couple substitutions (ground turkey for beef, corn chips for flavored ones) but everything came out wonderfully. The ranch dressing + taco mix combo is outstanding. The flavor resembles "cool ranch" chips or the "baja" sauce at a certain taco chain. Will definitely make this again!
This is also my mother in law's recipe for taco salad and we have been making it for years. When we take it to potlucks or 4th of July gatherings everyone loves it! I use red onion instead of green and add olives and a little fresh minced cilantro. We used to use the taco flavored Doritos but they are hard to find so the nacho cheese are good too. I know alot of people have mixed the ranch with the salsa but I have always just mixed the salad with the ranch and let everyone top their individual servings with the salsa. This recipe makes a ton so if I make this for dinner, I make everything and divide all the ingredients in half and store them in separate containers in the fridge and mix only half the ingredients together and do the same thing the next night so the salad if fresh and not soggy. Sometimes I find this salad a little salty/overpowering and wonder if I would prefer the Catalina but everyone (especially my husband) loves it and tells me I'm crazy and not to change a thing! Lol! Also, I think this salad definitely has to have the kidney beans in it, they lend a slight sweetness that is delicious! I think I will surprise my hubby and make this for dinner soon! Thanks for reminding me!
This is just how I have made mine, but I mix ranch dressing with catalina dressing for the salad dressing. About 1/3 cup of catalina dressing to 1 cup of ranch. Very tastey.
Taco Salad is one of my all time favorite childhood dishes! We do ours a little bit different, instead of kidney beans I use a can of original Refried beans(heated of course). Also I use Taco sauce or Salsa instead of dressing. To top it off I add sliced black olives, mexican or cheddar cheese, and Sour cream!
Received this from Cooknik and it is outstanding. I made each salad individually in a bowl. Used plain tortilla chips, mixed greens (My husband requested spinach leaves for a fuller texture the next time we make this), and added chopped avocado. Hubby used the ranch dressing and loved it. I used Catalina dressing and that is a wonderful combination for those of us who don't care for ranch dressing.
I don't think its the best as far as taco salads go. Combining all ingredients in one bowl makes the chips go soft. Whats the point to the chips if not for some crunch? Will layer on each plate next time instead of combining into one.
Sue's Taco Salad Haiku: "I wouldn't use Ranch. Otherwise, a great salad. (Can't keep leftovers.)" I'm glad that I made it a build-your-taco-salad-station night b/c otherwise, leftovers for this wouldn't keep and the dressing and chips would soggify. I let my husband guinea-pig it w/ Ranch, and we didn't like that at all (although I'm intrigued by some of the reviewers saying that they mixed a little taco seasoning, or chili powder, into their Ranch), so I went w/ Catalina. I was smitten w/ this recipe, b/c my mother-in-law, whose name is also Sue, introduced me to making taco salad this same exact way. The only changes that I made (other than using Catalina) was to eschew taco seasoning mix for AR's brilliant "Taco Seasoning I", swapping Doritos out for reg. tortilla chips, and adding some red onion slivers. I'm happy that I separated the salad fixins' so I can take some to work tomorrow b/c this was very tasty.
A great salad dressing for taco salad is a mixture of 1/2 fat free French dressing and 1/2 salsa.
This recipe was good. My husband did not like it with ranch dressing - he preferred sour cream and taco sauce.
As is, this is a GREAT meal. Instead of mixing it all together, we just layered it on a plate and allowed everyone to add their dressing on themselves. This allows you to do Catalina, Ranch, Italian, whatever you are feeling up to. Also, keeps the lettuce from wilting and makes leftovers an easy keep. To make this lite - ditch the chips, use lean turkey or beef, fat free cheddar cheese, and low-cal ranch. I also added black beans to the recipe and think some spicy salsa would be nice though not needed.
Love this recipe, it has been a summer staple for years in our house. I use corn, black beans, and tomatoes with a Catalina dressing with the taco meat. Doritos crushed over the top makes it delicious!
We gave this one a 9 out of 10. My husband absolutely loved it and the only change I made was to add olives and an avocado (they had to be used up). Great dish - thanks for sharing.
Very Very Good! Served with a sliced Avacodo and a dallop of Sour Cream on the side - Very Good!
Every one loves this. Whit a few changes I add avocado and sliced olives. Also brown the meat with chopped onions,and use equal amounts of taco sauce and ranch dressing (sour cream works if out of ranch dressing) for the kick that makes every one ask what's the secret to your dressing.
Very good. This is how my Grandma used to make it. I made 1/2 without the beans since my husband doesn't like beans. He loved it. I had the beans, ranch dressing and sour cream mixed in mine. We had left overs so next time I will wait to add the doritos (chips) until we are ready for the left overs since they got soggy.
This was AMAZING- a new family favorite, and so quick and easy. I highly recommend adding a cut up avocado- it adds that little extra something.
I use taco flavored chips, no beans and catalina dressing. Gets rave reviews every time. Can't put the chips in until just before serving or they get soggy.
I mix taco sauce and Best Foods mayonaisse for the dressing...adding avocados is a good idea too...perfect for a hot night dinner!
this is really good i but even better when you add a lil salsa to your ground meat while it's cooking and then the kidney beans heated thoroughly... i used the taco seasoning to season my meat lil bit of onion powder and garlic powder. then added some taco seasoning to the ranch dressing to give it a kick and yum.
I thought the ranch dressing would be an interesting twist, but I was disappointed. Also, I would recommend regular corn tortilla chips (such as Tostitos) over nacho flavored.
Great tasting- I like it even after the chips have softened a bit! I added ranch to the ground beef along with the kidney beans, and then made the salad individually. Great!
Wow! This is a blast from the past! Went to college in the 70's, and this salad was a staple with me and the roommates. Haven't had it in years, but plan to make it tonight!! We used red onions instead of green, plain tortilla chips, and added olives & avocado. Can't wait for dinner! Thanks, Sue, I'd forgotten about this one!
Super easy!!! The family raved!! I do add the dressing and chips only when I'm ready to eat so nothing gets soggy!
Followed others suggestions and mixed ranch dressing with some salsa and used chili beans. Used regular tostitos and ground turkey. Thanks for the great recipe.
Sue...this is FREAKING FABULOUS! I followed this recipe basically to the letter except I added sliced black olives and I followed a previous reviewers advice to mix the ranch dressing with salsa. AMAZING!!! So amazing that I actually forgot all about the cheese AND tomatoes until I was half way through my bowl. I decided to add in the tomatoes (which raised my review even higher) but didn't even bother with the cheese at all since this was absolutely fabulous without it!!! I hate Catalina and French based taco salads and this totally fit the bill. Absolutely perfect!! Will make this again and again. For my children's version of this recipe (age 2 and 4) I didn't think they'd like a lettuce-based salad only so I made some rotini and mixed the taco salad in with some rotini in their bowls. They both LOVED it! Thank you so much for a wonderful new recipe that will now be a regular in our house.
Delicious and so simple! I don't eat beef so I replaced the ground meat with Mexican flavoured veggie ground round and it worked great. I also replaced the beans with black beans and heated them up with the ground round. A perfect summer recipe!
This was Delicious, but I used Catalina Dressing instead of Ranch and it brought out the Taco flavoring a little bit more.
Great salad and easy to make! A few tricks/tips...instead of using the packet of taco seasoning which is heavy in sodium, opt for cumin/chili powder/red pepper to season for your liking! Serve the crushed chips and dressing on the side, in case you have leftovers. I didn't have the nacho cheese chips, but the regular tortilla chips did fine. I also added a cup of frozen corn (thawed).
I do this with chicken in a crockpot, cook everything except the veggies together and then take the chicken out at the last and shred and put back in and serve, no standing over a hot stove in the summer and it is absolutely delish!! And easy
My family has been eating a different version of this dish for years. I'm happy to replace that old recipe with this new one. My kids loved the ranch in this. (of course)
There are probably millions of taco salad recipes available, but I don't even bother looking at them because this one is a winner! It's one of the few recipes I've ever used where I don't change a thing. Can't wait to make it again!
This taco salad is very good. I am making it to take to a celebration on the 4th of July. Thank you for a great recipe
This receipe is great! I have served this for many years and all love it. I do like that all have added some great ideas for avacado, beans ect. I also use catalina dressing, however, ranch & thousand Island sound great as well! Thanks all! The Kraft Garlic was awesome too but they took it off the shelf years ago. Wish I had a great receipe for a garlic dressing! Any suggestiions!
So easy and economical. Personal preference: used romaine lettuce, black beans and regular tortilla chips. Make ahead leaving chips to add before serving.
My family loves it when I make this. We make several different variations. We use Doritos, advocado, canned corn, black olives, & red beans for a variety of toppings to include the tomatoes & cheese. For the dressing, we always use CATALINA FRENCH Dressing and Mild/Medium Taco Sauce. TRY IT - sweet and spicy - yum yum!!
This is the perfect party dish, thank you sooooo very much this was exactly what i was looking for, because i had to feed alot of people for my teen daughters birthday party, of course i made alot because i had to feed 40 people, and everyone loved it...it was a BIG hit!!!, i used black olives as well, and doritos, and the kids who slept over even had some for a midnight snack! THANKS SUE!!!
This recipe is good but it definitly needs some chopped avocado added at the end and a 4 oz can of sliced black olives. Also - Green Goddess dressing really has a nice tang and our family likes it better than ranch
LOVED this!! Whole family loved it. I did use a can of chili instead of the kidney beans as that is what I had on hand. I also used fritos for the chips. I added the chips, tomato, lettuce to each bowl, then added the meat mixture so we could have leftovers without the chips getting soggy. (although we didn't, we at it all) LOL. Thank you for a recipe that my kids will actually eat!! :)
I've made this same salad for 30 years- but I add refried beans to my meat mixture and cool it before crumbling into the salad.. we like catalina dressing.. I also add avacado and black olives..when I mix up salad, I then serve it on plates with a dollop of sour cream and salsa---I also serve a fresh fruit platter and blueberry muffins to round a summer meal..delicious!
I loved this!. Could have eaten the whole thing myself. I also made it vegetarian by using veggie crumbles from Morningstar. Very good and healthier.
This is a great recipe--I've made it for years. A variation I like is to use Catalina dressing instead of Ranch. I also like to add chunks of avocado! Yummy!
Super yummy, easy dinner. The kids loved it. Used a whole head of romaine and almost a whole can of kidney beans.
My kids loved it. DH had 2 big helpings. The only alteration I made was substituted chick peas for the kidney beans since we prefer those.
This taco salad was great! To make it low-carb, we had to leave out the chips and the kidney beans, but it was excellent nonetheless. I used Green Goddess dressing, and will definitely make it again and again! Thanks!
I have also used this recipe for years but use Catalina French instead of Ranch Dressing.
This was delicious! We didn't use tomatoes (hubby doesn't like them) and used ground turkey, but I would go with ground beef next time for fuller flavor. We also added some fresh avocado, and that went great with it. This is incredibly, easy, budget friendly, and incredibly tasty! The ranch dressing is a great addition to the taco seasoning!
This was very good. I used corn chips and mixed the ranch dressing with an equal amount of picante sauce to make an awesome dressing. Will be making this again. Thanks
I didn't care for this at all, I fellowed it to a tee and it look like dog food, very dry I add sour cream and more dressing but it didn't help
I followed the directions and this was really good. I just felt it was missing something. I might add olives and use sour cream instead of ranch. Overall, it is still a great recipe.
Made this salad and loved it. Easy to make . If making ahead just leave out the dressing & chips and add later. Munched leftovers later the same day and still tasted ok. Haven't tried keeping it overnight yet.
Simple, tasty recipe. You can't go wrong with a Taco Salad. Of course, they're are so easy to substitute with whatever you have. I have been mixing equal parts Ranch dressing with Taco Sauce for the dressing on all my Taco Salads.
My whole family loves this. It makes a lot and does not keep well so for are family of 6 we like to half the recipe. I usually make all the meat and just have tacos for lunch the next day. Thanks for a new family fav.
My family has been loving taco salad for years. We prefer plain tortilla chips or fry our own corn tortillas until crisp. The ranch dressing takes away from the mexican flavor so we use pcio de gallo or picante sauce. Avocados make a good addition and we do not put beans or use pinto to make it stretch.
Very quick and easy... Ready in 20minutes start to finish. Not the healthiest dinner but I liked it
YUM! We don't care for the ranch dressing so we use homemade guacamole instead. Very easy to make!
5 stars!! I made this for my family for lunch and my husband (a meat and potatoes man) had 4 bowls!!! My 5 year told me to never make this dish again because she couldn't stop eating it!!!! Thank you Sue!
Super fast and easy! I love things spicy so I added some jalapenos and a little red pepper to the beef while cooking.
Love it!! Simple and Delicious! I put a dab of sour cream on top of each serving! Yummy!
An excellent, classic taco salad that's so quick and easy! I made it vegetarian by replacing the meat with black beans.
debi i buy garlic ranch in NC all the time maybe check some other stores not sure where your at but they still make it
mmmm absolutely delicious! I didn't have green onion, so I used a little bit of a yellow onion. I also cut some corn off the cob and added it in as well as some bell pepper. I wish I wasn't full so I could eat some more!
My aunt always made this salad for family gatherings, but with Green Goddess dressing. Try it with the Green Goddess, it's really good!
So simple, yet AMAZING! I withheld beans, but I added sweet corn and served with a dollop of sour cream, and mixed it with Catalina dressing... absolutely delicious!!! Definitely will be making this again soon!
This was delicious! I left out the tomatoes and didn't have ranch dressing so used blue cheese dressing and it tasted just fab.
So easy! Taco anything is a great meal! I upped the amount of french dressing to 1/2 cup, and next time will add even more. I added black beans to the meat mixture and let it all simmer together for about an hour.
I have made something similar to this. You might consider trying this recipe with 1000 island dressing, its quite good! Very tasty. We would not pre-mix the meat, beans with the salad. Leftovers keep better if you keep the heated items seperate from the salad mix.
Try it with Thousand Island Dressing instead of Ranch. It is amazing and yes even the cold leftovers!
I used Doritoes, added a 1/2 of a small jar of mild salsa and added avocado and olives. Very good.
Wonderful summer meal!! My family and co-workers absolutely loved it!! Since I'm on a diet, I modified it slightly by using low fat shredded cheddar cheese and I replaced the tortilla chips with french fried onions to keep the crunch. I added thin sliced red onions and used creamy Italian salad dressing. This was SO delicious!
I know this recipe is good because my Sue is my aunt. I'm making it tonight! Thanks Aunt Sue!!!
