Dorito Taco Salad is a delicious salad we’ve been serving at potlucks for as long as I can remember!
Everyone loves a great taco salad recipe and this version is a definitely a crowd favorite!
Seasoned ground beef, fresh lettuce, pinto beans, veggies and of course Doritos all sauced up with a zingy dressing make this an exciting change to your daily menu!
I truly love salads, but sometimes they can become a bit boring. This Dorito Taco Salad definitely spices up the ‘same old salad’ slump that we tend to get into. Not only is is easy to make, but it is delicious too!
I absolutely love anything that is taco inspired from pasta to casseroles… and especially salads!
Something about that beautiful blend of spices found in taco seasoning (especially my DIY taco seasoning mix) paired with crisp fresh lettuce just tastes SO good! Of all of the taco inspired dishes I make, this one definitely tops the list because everyone always raves about it!
How to Make Taco Salad
If you happen to have leftover taco beef from a prior recipe, it’s perfect in this taco salad recipe. In fact, I often make a double batch of taco meat to store in my freezer for extra quick meals on busy weeknights.
It takes me just seconds to defrost it for quick tacos, taco salads or even for a tray of Loaded Tater Tot Nachos!
The remaining ingredients are simple and easy to keep on hand. Pinto beans and sliced black olives in the canned variety are always staples in my pantry. Lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cheese, peppers and sour cream are items I always have on hand.
And OF COURSE you can’t forget the Doritos, we love the Nacho Cheese Flavor in this taco salad but you can use your favorite flavor!
How to Make Taco Salad Ahead of Time
This meal can be prepared ahead of time! The secret is to assemble everything in layers and simply toss before serving. Using the layered method keeps ingredients from becoming soggy.
- Your bottom layer will be the cooked and seasoned ground beef topped with the dressing.
- Next layer the pinto beans and sliced olives.
- Follow this with the peppers and tomatoes.
- Next layer is the lettuce and the onion.
- Add the cheese on top.
- Leave out the Doritos until just before serving.
Using the layering method above, you can assemble this Dorito salad and refrigerate for a quick and easy meal at the end of a busy day or to take along to a backyard BBQ party or potluck. Simply toss to coat everything just before serving and wait for the compliments to pour in!
What Goes In a Taco Salad
You can modify this recipe however you’d like or based on what you have on hand! I have used diced chicken breast in place of ground beef (or ground turkey), I also use different types of peppers and I like to kick up the heat a notch using spicy Doritos!
Use the veggies you love (corn is great in this recipe too) and make it your own masterpiece! It is just so easy to prepare and to top it off it tastes fantastic!
6 Taco Inspired Dishes You MUST Try
Love Taco Inspired Dishes? Me too… and here are some of my absolute favorites!
1. Taco Stuffed Pasta Shells Tender pasta shells stuffed with deliciously seasoned beef, salsa and cheese baked until bubbly.
2. Taco Pasta Salad Pasta salad with a taco twist, fresh veggies and our favorite Doritos! Must try!
3. Taco Tater Tot Casserole This casserole features seasoned beef and loads of vegetables topped with a yummy tater tot crust and baked until golden.
4. Taco Casserole with a Surprise Crust Taco night just got a whole lot more delicious… spoiler alert: if you like Doritos, you’ll love this one!
5. French Bread Tacos French Bread Tacos combine all the taco flavors you love with the delicious, crusty bread you can’t get enough of!
6. Layered Dorito Casserole Layered Doritos Casserole has layers of seasoned beef in a rich and zesty sauce topped with loads of cheese.
While assembling the ingredients is super easy to begin with, to make it even easier I love to use my favorite chopping tool! It makes chopping a breeze and you are guaranteed consistent bite sized pieces every time!
I use a whole 10 oz bag of Doritos in this recipe because I love the flavor they add. You can certainly use as much or as little as you’d like! Don’t get stuck making the same old salads this summer. Add Dorito Taco Salad to your menu and delight your family and friends!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 ounce taco seasoning 1 packet, or 2 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning
- ⅔ cup water
- 1 head iceberg lettuce chopped into bite sized pieces
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 green bell pepper chopped
- ½ cup sliced black olives
- 15 ounces canned pinto beans rinsed and drained, 1 can
- 1 cup diced fresh tomatoes
- ¼ cup sliced green onions
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 10 ounces Doritos Nacho flavored
- 16 ounces Catalina salad dressing
- sour cream for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef until no pink remains. Drain any fat.
- Stir in the taco seasoning packet and water. Simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, peppers, black olives, pinto beans, tomatoes, cheddar and green onions.
- Top with the seasoned and cooled ground beef.
- Slightly crush the Doritos and sprinkle on top. Drizzle with catalina dressing and toss to coat evenly.
- Garnish with sour cream and additional green onions is desired.
- Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Salad
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This is one of our family’s favorite recipes. Such a classic! The only difference in the way we make it is the dressing. We us thousand island mix it with taco seasoning before pouring it in the salad.
That sounds like an amazingly tasty idea!
Could you use avocado instead of the olives.what other kinf of dressing can you use if you don’t have catalina?when I make my enchilada casserole I use the Mexican cheeseinstead of the cheddar cheese.I really want to try this.it sounds so good.
Why not use taco flavored Doritos?? I love those!! Or maybe 1/2 Nacho cheese flavor and 1/2 taco flavored! This looks amazing
That would be delicious too!
This is very similar to how I make it (–minus bell peppers LOL) and I just use Vidalia onions. I prefer it with taco sauce as the dressing though.. It is also good if you just add hamburger without the taco seasoning if you do not have it but then you really would want to use taco sauce as the dressing to give it that taco taste.
This looks so delicious. Do you cook the beans first or just pour them straight from the can?
I take them right out of the can (and give them a quick rinse to remove some of the sodium).
My Mom made this for us when I was a kid , then I made this for my kids and now my daughter makes it for my grandkids. We love it. I add them in to heat up with my ground beef, but unless you want to eat it when the meat is hot it does not really matter. I have had it both ways but prefer hot beans and ground beef. I do not add peppers but everything else is the same! Awesome recipe and I am sure the peppers would be good if you like those.
My husband and daughter loved this recipe! The organization of the layers is the only thing I changed. The Doritos were put in individual bowls. All of the ingredients in step 3, the meat, and dressing were tossed together in a large bowl. It was spooned on top of the Doritos just before serving.I garnished the salad with cheese and sour cream.
Question – in your video you use a tool to dice your peppers – can you provide a link to purchase that magical device?
That’s my favorite chopper! You can get it here on Amazon (it’s called the Vidalia Chop Wizard).
My husband made a comment on Facebook that he wanted this salad. I am making it for dinner on Monday. Looks good and easy to make. Thank you. Always like to try something new. :)
Michelle
Delish
Made this with vidalia onions in lieu of spring onions. 1/2bag of doritos, and I only had Romaine lettuce. Made a very large salad and it was delish. We had enough for dinner and two lunches,. Usually I do not care for left over salad, but it was so good, I would have eaten it for another lunch.
I’ so glad you loved it! :)
Great! Thanks! I’m making it for dinner tonight!
The recipe is a bit confusing. At one point you say put the meat on the bottom, add the dressing and mix everything together. Another time you say layer it ending with the meat and drizzling with the dressing. So I’m not sure how to put it together.
If you’re going to eat it right away, just put it all together, mix and enjoy.
If you are making it ahead of time to serve later, you can put the meat at the bottom and layer it as suggested to keep the ingredients from getting soggy. Mix everything together just before serving.
I made this recipe and loved it! I mixed all of the veggies (minus the peppers). To keep the salad greens from getting soggy, I did not add the ground beef to the entire salad. Instead, I served the seasoned beef as a garnish for use on individual servings along with the crushed chips (salad bar style). I mixed the Catalina with ranch dressing and a dash of taco seasoning. I served on the side for use on individual salads (to taste). Chips stay crunchy, and you end up using less dressing. Delicious!
Thank you! :) We are so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I spotted your recipe on Facebook and decided this looked like something I’d like to try. Thanks for the handy print option and for sharing this yummy looking dish!
You’re so welcome, enjoy Cathy!
In the video you were using a tool to break up the ground beef and I was wondering what it was.
This is called the Mix and Chop or the Chop and Stir and you can find it on Amazon.
Fyi pampered chef sells it too….works great !
Dorothy Lynch dressing is the only way to go with this.
I’ve never had Dorothy Lynch dressing but it looks delicious, I’m going to have to give it a try, thank you for sharing!
Dorothy lynch in fat free is even yummy! That is what I buy. :)
Thanks for sharing Raquel!
I love Dorothy Lynch, but I haven’t seen it in years. This recipe is dinner tonight, thanks for sharing it with us, Holly!!
Enjoy Linda!! :)
For our dressing we pour a packet of taco seasoning into an almost full bottle of Dorothy and shake it up, it’s amazing!
I like this recipe but I’m a huge pico fan so I would omit some of your veggies and switch it up for tomatoes, sweet onion, cilantro, lemon, garlic and a pinch of salt and use salsa instead of dressing.
I noticed you put green onions in the recipe 3 times but omitted the red and yellow peppers. Thought you might want to edit the recipe. I love this taco salad. Thanks for sharing. ❤️
You’re welcome Cheryl, enjoy! The peppers are added in step 3 after the lettuce but you’re right, I did mention the green onions twice! I’ve updated the recipe. Thank you for letting me know!
This looks delicious, have you ever used salsa in it?
I haven’t but that would be a delicious addition, thank you for sharing!
I love Doritos salads! Such a great childhood memory for me. This looks delish!
And your site…this is the first time I’m seeing it on my big 27″ iMac and omg it’s so beautiful :)
Thank you so much Averie! I love Dorito salads too, such a classic recipe!
I have been making this salad since the late 70’s and it’s always been a hit. The only thing different is I use Richlieu Western Dressing and no olives or sour cream (don’t like them). I never bring home leftovers and always have to have the recipe with me. It’s wonderful for a hot weather meal.