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We love tacos and salads. So it’s really a no brainer that making a taco salad would naturally become a part of our dinner routine.
While tacos are scrumptious and super delicious, having them in a taco shell that has flour and/or lard doesn’t tend to be the healthiest of ways to enjoy a meal. If you open your mind to new ways to approach the same recipe, you don’t even miss the taco shell, I promise.
One of my favorite things about tacos is how they have all sorts of little parts that, when assembled, are delicious and compliment each other with their various flavors, temperatures, and textures. So, I wanted to create a taco salad bowl, of sorts, and then top it with a tasty ranch sauce. Yum!
Because ya just gotta have a tasty sauce to drizzle on top, am I right?
Making your homemade seasoning blends, sauces, and dressings is a great way to add extra flavor to your food, but also control the ingredients so you aren’t eating a ton of processed ingredients that typically come in pre-made, bottled options at the grocery store. Plus, it’s like super easy to do.
This recipe has a homemade taco seasoning blend, and a homemade ranch sauce that are great to serve on this taco salad recipe. I love to drizzle the ranch sauce over the top to make it look fun and pretty, but you can also toss it all together, whichever way works great and both taste yummy.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 1/2 tsp. plus 1/4 tsp. kosher salt, divided
- 1/2 tsp. paprika
- 1/2 tsp. chili powder
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup almond milk
- 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 tsp. dried dill weed
- 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp. coconut sugar
- 10 oz. baby romaine lettuce
- 1/2 cup jack cheese, shredded
- 2 avocados, sliced
- 1/2 pint grape tomatoes, sliced in half
DIRECTIONS
- Heat the olive oil over medium high heat and cook the onion until sweating, about 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute, until fragrant.
- Add the beef and cook until well-browned, stirring frequently, about 6-8 minutes. Stir in the taco seasoning, which consists of the 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, paprika, chili powder, and onion powder.
- To make the salad dressing, whisk together the greek yogurt, almond milk, apple cider vinegar, dill weed, garlic powder, coconut sugar, and remaining 1/4 tsp. kosher salt. Set aside.
- To assemble the taco salad, add the base of baby romaine leaves to a bowl or plate, followed by a pile of the seasoned ground beef mixture. Top with the halved grape tomatoes, sliced avocados, and shredded jack cheese.
- Drizzle with ranch dressing and serve.
