Recipes » Salads

Taco Salad

ByTammi Updated on
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This Doritos Taco Salad recipe is my go-to when I want a quick and easy meal. Not only for an easy dinner, it’s also a hit to take along to potlucks and parties. It is loaded with flavor and texture.

Doritos Taco Salad in a bowl.

Once again I have a recipe feature that is brought to you from a pot luck function. Maybe 12 years ago, at a staff pot luck and a co-worker brought her famous Taco Salad with french dressing.

I, along with many others, left that afternoon with this recipe in hand. It was that good.

This taco salad with french dressing recipe is a popular potluck recipe that is sometimes called ‘doritos taco salad‘, because the crunch of the chips just might be the best part of this salad. If you agree, you need to try our Doritos Chicken Casserole.

Even years later, we still talk about this potluck taco salad recipe when together, and claim how much we all still make it today.

For home or for a potluck, try this Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad, this Broccoli Salad or this amazing BLT Pasta Salad – they are all to die for!

The Best Potluck Taco Salad Recipe

This Best Taco Salad recipe is my go-to when I have ground beef on hand and want a quick and easy meal.

Plus, as evidence proved, this potluck taco salad is a hit to take along to dinners and functions. I’ve also made it out camping, it’s such a tasty fun meal to have anywhere!

While the dressing is a little more intricate, I would very much compare this to the ever-popular ‘Taco in a Bag’ idea.

Yet this dorito taco salad recipe is party-sized. I sometimes CRAVE this salad, and it’s been a favourite of mine for years, and I hope it becomes one of yours as well.

This taco salad with doritos is my party go-to, and it seems everyone enjoys the flavors of a taco as an appetizer.

A little note

The recipe you’ll find below is party-sized, so please half the amount if making for your whole family. That is, unless you have a very large family.

When halved, it’s the perfect amount for our family of 5, even with at least one person having seconds.

For another great tasting salad, try our Mexican Macaroni Salad Recipe.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

  • You cook the seasoned ground beef mixture in advance, and then warm it up right before. Then you can literally make this in no time!
  • This cold salad recipe also has so many veggies, it’s very colourful and so tasty.
  • The bold Mexican taste that brings it all together is thanks to the taco seasoning and French dressing.
  • Total Time: 25 Minutes
  • Serves: 12
Doritos Taco Salad in a bowl.

Ingredients and Notes

  • Ground Beef – I like to use lean ground beef, or regular if you remove the excess grease.
  • Lettuce – Iceberg lettuce or a green leaf lettuce will do, like for our Taco Lettuce Wraps.
  • Bell Peppers – I like to use sweet peppers for this recipe unlike for Bell Pepper Stuffed Tacos.
  • Green Onions
  • Cherry Tomatoes – or grape tomatoes
  • Cheese – Use cheddar cheese, or a Mexican cheese blend.
  • Chips – I like to use nacho flavoured tortilla chips, or nacho cheese doritos. You could use cool ranch doritos too if you’d like.
  • Packet Taco Seasoning
  • French Dressing

Optional Toppings

Sometimes I like to offer an array of favorite toppings for those that are a little extra. My suggestions are: red onion, black beans, cheddar jack cheese, and black olives.

As always, the full ingredients and recipe is on the printable recipe card at the end of this post.

Tips for the Best Taco Salad

  • When taking this Classic Taco Salad recipe to functions such as a fun potluck, I suggest waiting until just before serving to add the nacho chips and dressing. Or else can get soggy depending on how long it sits before enjoying.
  • You could add the taco seasoning to the meat when cooking (taco meat), yet I find that sprinkling it on at the end is best.This is so that everyone can add as little or as much as they prefer. Plus, the taco taste is more pronounced that way.

Taco Salad Substitutions

  • You can use ground turkey or ground chicken instead of making a ground beef taco salad.
  • While this is a taco salad with french dressing, you can also use Catalina dressing if you prefer.
  • Sometimes I use a crisp lettuce blend of iceberg and romaine lettuce for this recipe.
  • I like to use nacho cheese doritos as the chips, yet Cool Ranch Doritos taste great too if that is your personal preference. Another option is crunchy tortilla strips or crushed corn tortillas.
Doritos Taco Salad in a bowl.

How to Make Taco Salad

This easy taco salad recipe with french dressing really is the easiest taco salad to make.

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl using a wooden spoon. You may not use all the french salad dressing in the bottle. Add 3/4 of the bottle, toss, test, and add more if preferred.

Add a dollop of sour cream and some fresh salsa at serving and it’s complete!

I’d call Taco Salad a heathy meal or side, with the exception of the chips of course. You want the crunch yet you can always try and substitute as desired and see how it turns out.

Also note that serving ‘chips for dinner’ makes you absolutely the best parent in the world. Just ‘sayin!

Make Ahead Instructions

Leave out the chips, seasoning and french dressing until just before serving.

Doritos Taco Salad in a bowl.

Storage

This potluck salad recipe is best served fresh while the chips stay crispy. While this salad will be great within a couple hours of making if stored in the refrigerator, after that the chips would be too soggy and the texture would change to be enjoyed as leftovers the next day.

Recipe FAQ

What is in a Doritos taco salad?

Doritos taco salad is a mixture of seasoned ground beef, lettuce, cheese, Doritos chips, and fresh veggies like bell peppers, green onion and tomatoes. It has taco seasoning and french dressing, often topped with sour cream.

What dressing for Doritos taco salad?

French dressing is often used in taco salad, yet you can also use Catalina dressing.

More Salad Recipes

If you’ve tried this Potluck Taco Salad or any other recipe on my blog please let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you. Finally, consider leaving a 🌟 star rating while you’re here. Thanks!

Doritos Taco Salad in a bowl.

Doritos Taco Salad

This delicious Doritos Taco Salad has all the best taco night toppings and flavors into a salad bowl perfect for dinner, a potluck or party.
4.72 from 78 votes
Print Pin
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 12
Course: Salads
Cuisine: Mexican
Author: Tammi

Ingredients 

  • 1.5 – 2 lbs Ground Beef (cooked and well drained)
  • 1 head Iceberg Lettuce (shredded)
  • 1 Green Pepper (diced)
  • 1 Red Pepper (diced)
  • 5 Green Onions (chopped)
  • 2 Tomatoes (diced)
  • 1.5 cups Cheddar Cheese (grated)
  • 1 bag Cheese Nacho Chips (crush in bag before opening)
  • 1 envelope Taco Seasoning
  • 1 bottle French Dressing
  • Salsa and Sour Cream (as desired)

Instructions

  • Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl {if not serving right away, leave out the chips, seasoning and french dressing until just before serving}. You may not use all the french dressing in the bottle, add 3/4 of the bottle, test, and add more if preferred.
  • Serve with salsa and sour cream
  • Enjoy!

Notes

Best enjoyed fresh
Tried this recipe?Tag @MyOrganizedChaosBlog so I can share!

Nutrition

Serving: 12Servings | Calories: 200kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 211mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g
Pin Recipe
Doritos Taco Salad in a bowl.

Tammi Roy is a Canadian-based food creator at My Organized Chaos. Founded in 2009, My Organized Chaos is where she shares her love for family-friendly recipes that take some of the chaos out of daily life. *Learn more about Tammi here.

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49 Comments

  1. This looks delicious and what a spin on a regular taco salad, I love it… will add to our Menu for the week

    Reply

  2. I love taco salad and your version sounds particularly wonderful! I’ll have to give it a try! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  5. Taco salad is a perfect hot day supper. I’ve been trying to come up with a bunch of summer recipes and this is definitely going on my list!

    Reply

  6. Looks/sounds delicious! I think I’d sub romaine lettuce to get some more nutrients! Need to try soon! 🙂

    Reply

  7. Yum! We really like taco salad. Instead of using bottled salad dressing, I use salsa. It gives it extra veggies.

    Reply

  8. We have a lot of parties throughout the year and they consist of about 8 adults, 7 toddlers and a teenager that would love to be considered an adult. This is a “fun” salad and so much more interesting than a fruit salad!

    Reply

  10. Oh I’ve had that before and it’s soooo yummy! I never remember to make it at home though – I need to start!

    Reply

  11. Great recipe! My family loves taco salads. I agree with your tip…I like my nacho chips crunchy and added just before serving too! 🙂

    Reply

  14. Yum! This sounds perfect for upcoming holiday picnics and events. I am always looking for a new dish to bring with me to pot lucks.

    Reply
4.72 from 78 votes (77 ratings without comment)

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