Favorite Layered Taco Salad {Vintage Recipe Redux}

Easy and economical, this beautiful Layered Taco Salad is deliciously satisfying and always a crowd-pleaser!

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“You don’t have to have anything in common with people you’ve known since you were five. With old friends, you’ve got your whole life in common.“

– Lyle Lovett

In second grade, Jules and I were in Blue Birds together, and our moms were our group leaders. (Blue Birds was the junior organization to the Camp Fire Girls, now Camp Fire.) That year, Julie’s dad, who worked at the Frito-Lay plant in Portland, took us all on a tour of the Doritos factory.

Now you may not know it, but it was Frito-Lay who introduced America to the first mass-produced flavored tortilla chips – specifically, Taco-flavored Doritos – in 1967. So let’s just say this all happened sometime after that… in an era before mandatory hairnets and plexiglass partitions and booties in food production rooms were the norm.

It was also a time when a major food company would be totally cool with it if you were to lead a dozen or so eight-year-olds out onto their production floor, with its whirring, clanking machinery and endless conveyor belts, to show them first-hand how the chips get made. 

Which is exactly what Julie’s dad did.

I still remember feeling dwarfed by all those monstrous machines; the orange-gold chips tumbling down onto the conveyor, and the thick, heady scent of freshly toasted corn and exotic taco seasonings melding together. 

As we gathered around and listened to him explain the chip-making process, Julie’s dad invited us to sample some chips, and he pointed to the conveyor belt. We all reached out and caught up handful as they ferried by, and as I bit the corner of one orange-colored triangle and crunched its warm, spicy deliciousness, I wished I had been brave enough to grab more. 

At the end of our tour, Julie’s dad gave us each a little bag full of Frito-Lay products: Doritos, Fritos, and the like, and a little advertising cook booklet to give to our mom. When we got home from the field trip, my mom filed the little cook booklet in our kitchen cupboard alongside a collection of other similar handouts. At some point, I took it from the cupboard and kept it as my own, and it has held a special place in my recipe collection ever since.

Every time I see that worn little booklet, I think of Julie and that field trip, and those warm, delicious chips. 

Which brings me to today’s recipe. 

Favorite Layered Taco Salad • Easy and economical, this beautiful layered taco salad is deliciously satisfying and always a crowd-pleaser! Click to Tweet

NOTE: This post is neither sponsored nor endorsed by Frito-Lay. (But if anyone there reads it and is interested in seeing more, feel free to reach out! ?)

By definition, most of the recipes in this vintage advertising booklet are simply branded twists on late-20th-century favorites: casseroles, Salisbury steak, fried chicken, and so forth.

A few are combinations that lunchroom kids figured out long before Frito-Lay thought to write them down, like cheesy Frito hot dogs (“Glamour Dogs”) and crunchy chip-filled sandwiches. And at least one – “Chili Pie Casserole” – has transcended the plate and become the stuff of childhood memories, known more commonly among the junior camping crowd as “Walking Tacos” or “Frito Pie.”

Walking Tacos aside, the “Southwest Salad Bowl” recipe is the only one I’ve ever made from this cook booklet, and the one upon which my Favorite Layered Taco Salad is based. 

This layered taco salad seems to have amazing crowd appeal: it is always a hit when I take it to parties and potlucks! You can dress it up pretty or just throw it together – it’s great either way. 

Vintage Layered Taco Salad Redux 

Over the years, I’ve made many changes and adaptations to the original “Southwest Salad Bowl.” Be sure to scroll down and read the ingredient suggestions listed below the recipe. 

Check out these other meal-size, potluck-worthy salads from GHW:

• Big Cuban Salad 
• Spicy Thai Shrimp Salad
• Citrus Pasta Salad
• Mediterranean Panzanella {Italian Bread Salad}

INGREDIENT SUGGESTIONS & SUBSTITUTIONS

• Lettuce:
  • Use your favorite lettuce or salad greens. Believe it or not, I prefer good, old-fashioned iceberg for this salad. The other ingredients are very dense, and the light, water heavy lettuce makes a nice contrast. 
• Ground Beef:
  • I’ve used ground chicken, ground turkey, ground beef, and vegetarian crumbles [Morning Star], all with equal success.
  • If you use a poultry-based ground meat, add a splash of Worcestershire sauce to the meat, onion, and bean mixture to give it a little more body.
• Kidney beans:
  • Use your favorite bean(s). I am not a fan of the kidney beans suggested in the original recipe, and usually use black or piquinto beans. 
• American cheese: 
  • We prefer Jack or cheddar, or something along those lines. 
• Taco Flavored Doritos:
  • Use your favorite flavored tortilla chips. (If you use plain chips, your salad will taste a little flat, but that’s nothing that a little splash of my Original Taco House Fiesta Dressing can’t fix!) 
• Chili Powder:
  • Chili Powder in my part of the world has come a long, long way since I was a kid. Use the ground chili powder of your choice: chipotle, New Mexico, etc; just be mindful and adjust the amount accordingly.
• Sauce 
  • If you don’t want to go to the trouble of making the sauce, just use about a cups of your favorite mild-to-medium salsa.

SERVING SUGGESTION: Serve with my Original Taco House Fiesta Dressing {Copycat Recipe}. 

PRO TIP: If you use Doritos brand tortilla chips, you will need the better part of one regular sized [9.75 oz] bag. Before you crush any chips for use in the salad, take some time to separate out the unbroken chips in the bag and set them aside. You will use them to garnish the salad before serving. You’ll probably also have a few extra chips to munch on when you’re done. 

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