Summer Taco Salad

Time :5 25

Yield :6 servings

Fresh taco salad with ground beef, cherry tomatoes, avocado, corn, shredded cheese, and sour cream on a white platter. Perfect for a healthy, delicious meal or party dish.

The Scoop

The "I’m Bringing a Salad, But It’s Actually Just Nachos" Potluck Play

Showing up to a block party with a basic bowl of leafy greens is the fastest way to get your dish sidelined next to the paper napkins.

This Summer Taco Salad is the ultimate social decoy. By building a vibrant mountain of blue corn chips, Monterey Jack, and avocado over a secret base of slow-cooked, salsa-infused beef, you successfully trick everyone into thinking you brought a healthy salad. It looks beautiful, it tastes like a luxury taco truck order, and it lets you slide into the gathering with the confidence of someone who knows their dish will be scraped clean in under ten minutes.

Hack it:

Layer the cold, crisp lettuce at the very bottom, followed by the warm beef, and top with the chips at the absolute last second so they stay perfectly crunchy.

Skip the slow cooker: If you don't have six hours to spare, simmer the beef, green salsa, and beans in a skillet on the stove for 15 minutes to melt the flavors instantly.

Toss the chopped avocado and thawed corn in a squeeze of fresh lime juice and a pinch of salt before scattering them on top to make the colors pop and prevent browning.

Thin out the sour cream with a teaspoon of lime juice or water so you can create a fancy, photo-ready zigzag drizzle over the entire platter.

Leftovers:

Scrape the remaining beef, cheese, corn, and beans off the leftover lettuce, smash it all inside a flour tortilla, and pan-fry it in butter for an elite, crispy quesadilla.

Toss the leftover taco salad mix (minus the lettuce) into a hot skillet, crack two eggs over it, and scramble everything together for a high-protein, flavorful morning bowl.

Spread the leftover beef and toppings over a baking sheet lined with fresh tortilla chips, dump an extra handful of cheese on top, and broil for 3 minutes for the yummiest midnight snack.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds ground beef or ground turkey
1 (16-ounce) jar green salsa
1 (15-ounce) can great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 large sweet onion, cut into thin wedges
1 medium red sweet pepper, coarsely chopped
6 cups leafy lettuce, chopped
3 cups blue corn tortilla chips
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
3/4 cup frozen whole-kernel corn, thawed
1 avocado, chopped
3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup sour cream, optional, for serving

Directions

In a large skillet over medium heat, add the ground beef and cook, while crumbling, until it is no longer pink, about 5-8 minutes.
Drain the excess grease from the skillet.
In a 3 1/2-4-quart slow cooker, add the browned beef, the green salsa, the beans, the onions, and the red peppers and stir to combine.
Cover the slow cooker and cook on low until the flavors meld together and the beef mixture is hot, about 5-6 hours.
On a large platter, arrange the lettuce.
Top the lettuce with the tortilla chips and the beef mixture.
Sprinkle the beef mixture with the Monterey Jack cheese.
Add the corn, the avocado, and the cherry tomatoes to the top of the salad.
Serve with the sour cream.