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You are here: Home / dinner / Simple Saturday: Quick and Easy Taco Salad

Simple Saturday: Quick and Easy Taco Salad

January 31, 2015 by Taylor 13 Comments

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Quick and Easy Taco Salad - ready in less than 30 minutes makes it perfect for a weeknight dinner!

If you can imagine a crazy woman (probably with her coat still on), rushing around her kitchen to make dinner, then you get a pretty good idea of what my every night looks like.  On a good night I get home around 6 but most nights when I go to the gym after work it’s after 7 that I get home.  That gives me approximately 18.4 minutes to make dinner and eat before I’m likely to have a meltdown from hangriness.

This has gotten even worse lately because I haven’t been much into afternoon snacking.  I get so hungry for lunch that I eat a monster-sized lunch and don’t feel hungry for hours.  Then I get home, make a mess in my kitchen, eat a ton more, and get that fun pregnancy heartburn.  It’s a joy.

Quick and Easy Taco Salad - ready in less than 30 minutes makes it perfect for a weeknight dinner!

SO when I get home and need dinner like fifteen minutes ago, I need a meal that is quick and easy to make.  Enter: taco salads.  A.k.a. my fallback weekday meal.  It’s pretty much just an entire taco with extra lettuce, all chopped up, on a plate.  I don’t even make any fancy dressing for it – just salsa and sour cream.  But I’m telling you – this is one of both Marc and I’s favorite dinners.  Every time I make it, I wonder why I don’t make it every night.  It’s easy, filling, you guys – it’s so customizeable!

Some nights I add a ton of cheese on top and skip the avocado.  Sometimes I use taco chicken instead of ground beef.  I’ve also been known to add black beans and leftover rice or quinoa, too.  So many options.

Quick and Easy Taco Salad - ready in less than 30 minutes makes it perfect for a weeknight dinner!

Best yet – this meal is 100% Simple Saturday approved.  The ingredient list might be a bit longer but promise – these will take no longer than 30 minutes.  You can also use a packet of taco seasoning for the beef, but I typically forget to buy one so I’ll just make my own taco seasoning.

Other tips on making this a quicker dinner:

  • Chopping up your veggies the night before.
  • Use pre-made guacamole instead of avocado to cut down on that prep time.
  • Use bagged romaine instead of chopping your own

Quick and Easy Taco Salad - ready in less than 30 minutes makes it perfect for a weeknight dinner!

 

Like this recipe?  Then you’ll love these, too:

Southwestern Chopped Chicken Salad

Slow Cooker Taco Chicken

Taco Soup

Fish Tacos with Avocado and Corn Salsa

 

Quick and Easy Taco Salad - ready in less than 30 minutes makes it perfect for a weeknight dinner!

20 Minute Taco Salad

Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 to mato diced
  • 1 avocado diced
  • 1 cup corn I used frozen and just heated it in the microwave for 2 minutes
  • salsa for topping
  • sour cream for topping
  • tortilla chips crushed for topping
  • green onions for topping
  • shredded Cheddar cheese for topping
  • 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce you can use bagged or chop your own

Instructions

  • In large skillet over medium-high heat, add ground beef.
  • Cook, breaking into small pieces, until no longer pink.
  • Meanwhile, you can cut up the tomatoes and avocado and crush the tortilla chips.
  • Once beef is cooked, add the seasonings and stir to evenly distribute.
  • Place 2 cups of lettuce onto each plate, then top with ~1/2 cup beef, tomatoes, avocado, corn, salsa, sour cream, tortilla chips, and green onions.
  • Serve and enjoy!
Tried this recipe?Mention @greensnchocolate to let me know!
Need more ideas?Find all of my recipe pins @greenschocolate

 

related posts:

Potato Sausage and Kale Breakfast Casserole
Healthy Weekly Meal Plan Week of 11.7
Cauliflower Corn Chowder
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Filed Under: dinner, main dish Tagged With: avocado, dinner, easy meal, ground beef, main dish, quick, salsa, taco salad, tacos, weeknight dinner, weeknight meal

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sarah @ Making Thyme for Health says

    January 31, 2015 at 7:14 pm

    I feel ya girl! I’m the same way when I get home after work and the gym. If I don’t get food in me fast, it gets ugly. I can imagine it’s a million times worse when you’re pregnant too.

    Taco salads are my favorite and it’s even better when it only takes 20 minutes to whip together. Looks perfect for weeknight hangriness! 😉

    Reply
  2. Erica says

    February 2, 2015 at 8:45 am

    Yup I know all about being haaaangry after the gym!! I love this quick simple idea!!

    Reply
    • Taylor says

      February 2, 2015 at 12:22 pm

      Glad I’m not the only one, Erica!

      Reply
  3. ~ Carmen ~ says

    February 2, 2015 at 2:00 pm

    Mmm mmm good. I love the presentation; it’s almost too pretty to eat.

    Reply
    • Taylor says

      February 2, 2015 at 2:29 pm

      Thanks Carmen!

      Reply
  4. Teffy @ Teffy's Perks says

    February 2, 2015 at 7:34 pm

    Love a good taco salad! There is something so comforting but almost borderline naughty about it that I just can’t get enough of!

    {Teffy’s Perks} X

    Reply

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Hi! Welcome to greens & chocolate, where healthy cooking meets sinful indulgence. I'm Taylor, a Minnesota girl who loves eating healthy, a daily chocolate indulgence, and running, yoga, and chasing after my sons to balance it all out. I'm so happy you stopped by, and hope you enjoy the recipes I have to share!

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