Homemade Taco Salad

This paleo-friendly Homemade Taco Salad recipe is made with cumin, oregano, and red pepper flakes! It’s also topped with black olives, tomatoes, and avocado, to name a few! We’ve also thrown in a few taco salad dressing ideas with mix ’n match options for endless flavor! {Paleo-friendly & Grain-free}

I don’t think I’ve talked enough lately about my childhood love of Taco John’s taco salads. Because I only wrote about them in this cilantro lime vinaigrette recipe, again when I made enchilada sauce, and finally when I concocted a homemade Catalina dressing. But is anyone actually counting? The allure of taco salad goodness abounds, and here we are again. Except this time with an actual taco salad. And those sauces were made for this moment. These recipes have come full circle, and our lives are just a little bit better because of it.

Our family might be quarantining, but we’re quarantining with big flavor, all the toppings, lots of variations, and our tastebuds are happy. Seriously, we want you to get in on this with us. Because you can make this Homemade Taco Salad recipe so many different ways. If your grocery store is out of ground beef, you can make chicken taco salads. If you need to use up random vegetables, I’m confident you can add them here.

This Homemade Taco Salad might harken back to my elementary school days, but its deliciousness and flexibility are firmly rooted in the present just for you.  

We’re adding a few extra flavors so our taco salads are full of gusto. Think:

• Oregano
• Cumin
• Onion salt
• Red pepper flakes

Then we’re thinking about toppings, because what’s a paleo-friendly taco salad if it doesn’t have toppings? 

• Green onion
• Black olives
• Tomatoes
• Avocado

If you want more crunch, then add a handful or two of cashews and walnuts. Your tastebuds are going delightfully wild what with all the spicy flavors thrown into one healthy taco salad recipe! 

And here’s the thing: you can serve this taco salad with Catalina dressing. You can also serve your taco salad with enchilada sauce (I totally do!). And if you want a little something different, drizzle a cilantro lime vinaigrette dressing on your taco salad instead. 

Umm, side note: I drizzle Catalina dressing and enchilada sauce in equal parts over my taco salad. And pictured here? A honest-to-God combination of all three. It tasted AWESOME.

However you want to serve it up, this Homemade Taco Salad recipe is game-changing. Not a dull ingredient in the bunch!

HOMEMADE TACO SALAD INGREDIENTS:

• Ground beef. I like to cook the ground beef on a LOW to MEDIUM heat and simmer slowly. This releases delicious juices without overcooking the main ingredient. You can also use chicken in place of beef, if you’d like.
• Oregano and cumin. These are the perfect combo for a taco salad.
• Onion salt and garlic powder. Honestly, I used these particular ingredients because they were what I had on hand. Whether you use garlic/onion salt/powder is up to you. If you use the powder versions, they do NOT contain salt, so plan to add a little more salt at the end. If you use the salt versions, then you might back off adding extra sea salt later. I linked to an article detailing these difference in our Gluten-Free Catalina Dressing recipe. Red pepper flakes. Omigod, yes! So good.
• Sea salt. As desired and dependent upon whether you use garlic and onion salt (or powder).
• Toppings: You do you! We add lettuce greens for our paleo-friendly taco salad base, 1/2 cup green onion, black olives, tomatoes, and diced avocado.
• Greens: For a paleo-friendly taco salad, use lettuce or spinach as the taco salad base. If available in your area, layer butterhead lettuce leaves on top of each other to form a grain-free taco salad shell.

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE TACO SALAD:

In short, I throw everything together in a large sauté pan. The process is super-easy. Step-by-step instructions are included below.

1. Brown ground beef over a LOW to MEDIUM heat in a large sauté pan.
2. While the ground beef is cooking, dice the green onion, black olives, tomatoes, and avocado. Set toppings aside.
3. Once the beef is browned, add the oregano, cumin, onion salt, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, and sea salt. Cook on a LOW heat for about 3 more minutes. Set aside.
4. Line bowls with lettuce or spinach. Layer with taco meat and sprinkle with toppings. Drizzle with dressing and serve up!

NOTE: Typically, as the ground beef cooks, juices will release, and the meat won’t dry out during cooking. However, if the ground beef starts to cook hot and dry out, then reduce the heat and add a  tablespoon or two of olive oil (coconut oil will also work).  

SAUCES AND DRESSINGS:

Mix and match these flavors for even more tasty combinations!

• Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette
• Gluten-Free Enchilada Sauce
• Gluten-Free Catalina Dressing

P.S. If you want to make taco meat in the slow cooker, we’ve got you covered there, too! Get your virtual recipe tin out and pocket this Slow Cooker Beef Tacos recipe!

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