Layered Taco Salad (Vintage Recipe)

Layered taco sald in a large glass serving bowl, sitting on a wrought-iron bistro table.

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

Course Main Course, Salad

Cuisine American, Tex-Mex

Diet Gluten Free

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Cooling Time (Sauce & Meat) 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings servings

Calories 335kcal

Author Renee

Equipment

1 large salad bowl
1 medium saucepan
1 heavy skillet

Ingredients

4 cups iceberg lettuce coarsely chopped; or lettuce mix
1 pound ground beef or ground chicken, turkey, or beef, or veggie crumbles
1 medium onion chopped
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups cooked small red beans (i.e., one can); or black beans
5 ounces cheddar cheese grated; or pepper jack, cojack, or Monterey jack
2 - 3 medium tomatoes cut in wedges
¼ cup sliced olives for garnish
6 - 8 ounces Taco-flavored Doritos or your favorite flavored tortilla chips; crushed (reserve some for garnish)

Tomato Salsa (Or substitute 1 cup of your Favorite Salsa)

8 ounces tomato sauce
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ medium onion chopped
½ medium tomato chopped

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prep Meat & Beans

Sauté ground meat and chopped onion together in large skillet over medium heat. Cook until the meat is browned and the onions are soft; about 7-9 minutes.
Add beans and salt and cook another 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Remove meat mixture from pan and set aside to cool.

Make Salsa

In medium saucepan, combine Sauce Ingredients (e.g., tomato sauce, salt, chili powder, chopped onion and tomatoes).
Simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Cool before proceeding.

Assemble Salad

In a large salad bowl, layer ½ lettuce, ½ crumbled tortilla chips, ½ meat mixture, ½ sauce, and ½ grated cheese.
Repeat, ending with grated cheese.
Garnish with tomato wedges, sliced olives, and reserved whole tortilla chips.

Notes

Serve with our delicious Original Taco House Fiesta Dressing (copycat recipe)!

Use the salsa layers to seal the salad. Do this by smoothing the sauce down over the meat mixture with a spatula or the back of a large spoon. As with more traditional layered salads, this step keeps the lettuce crisper longer.

Nutrition