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White bowl of Taco Salad next to avocado, limes and dressing
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Taco Salad with Chipotle Ranch

Chopped romaine lettuce loaded with your favorite taco toppings and tossed in a homemade chipotle ranch dressing & crushed nacho cheese tortilla chips. Everything you love about tacos in a bowl!
Prep Time20 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Main Course, Salad
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: chipotle, ranch, salad, taco salad
Servings: 6 servings
Author: Ashley Leonard

Ingredients

  • 1 # beef taco meat* see note below
  • 6 cups romaine lettuce chopped
  • 15 oz. can black beans drained & rinsed
  • 1 cup grape tomatoes halved
  • cup red onion chopped
  • ½ cup black olives sliced
  • 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
  • 1 avocado diced
  • 3 cups crushed nacho cheese tortilla chips

Chipotle Ranch

  • 1 batch Homemade Ranch Dressing see note below
  • 1-3 Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce depending on spice preference
  • ¼ cup cilantro
  • juice of 1 lime

Instructions

  • Cook ground beef over medium-high heat until no longer pink, breaking into small pieces. Drain any excess grease.
  • Add the taco seasoning* and stir well. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
  • While the meat is cooling, add the lettuce and the rest of the salad ingredients to a large bowl.
  • When taco meat has cooled to room temperature, mix into the rest of the salad.

Chipotle Ranch Dressing

  • Combine the ingredients for Homemade Ranch Dressing (recipe link below) along with chipotle peppers, cilantro and lime juice in a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth.
  • Mix the dressing into the taco salad and toss to coat well.
  • Add crushed nacho cheese tortilla chips and mix well. Serve immediately.

Helpful Equipment & Ingredient Links

Skillet
Chipotle Peppers

Notes

Beef Taco Meat
  • Using a packet of taco seasoning works great to make the taco meat for this salad. If you like to use your own, I love the Taco Seasoning recipe from Gimme Some Oven. I've used both options and they both work great. 
  • Ground turkey or even shredded chicken could be substituted for beef.
 
Chipotle Ranch Dressing
  • The base for this dressing is my Homemade Ranch Dressing.
  • The amount of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce added will depend on your spice preference. I would recommend adding them one at a time and tasting until you reach the perfect spice level. I'm not a huge fan of spicy and usually add 2.