My daughter said she makes this when she’s craving junk food, but wants to eat healthy. It’s a salad after all. Hahaha. This recipe is like many other taco salads, except it uses Catalina Dressing. There is just enough piquant flavor in it to offset the salty-savory taco flavors. This salad is a meal unto itself. Enjoy!

  • Ingredients: (amounts depend upon number of people served)
  • Ground beef, bison, caribou or moose
  • 1 envelope taco seasoning mix (or 3 Tbsp. of recipe found here) per pound of ground meat
  • 1/2 cup water per pound of ground meat
  • Lettuce (romaine holds up best, but any kind will do)
  • Tortilla chips (I use Tostitos Scoops, but be creative!)
  • Grated cheese (your favorite taco type)
  • Sliced black olives
  • Chopped tomatoes
  • Chopped avocado (optional)
  • Sliced red onion
  • Sliced bell pepper or mini sweet peppers
  • Additional ideas include: sliced jalapenos, mild chiles, corn kernels, black beans
  • Catalina dressing (you may need a good amount of this)

In a frying pan over medium high heat, brown the ground meat. Sprinkle taco seasoning over the meat and stir well. Stir in water. Let the meat simmer until the water has evaporated. Set aside to cool down to room temperature.

In a VERY large bowl layer the vegetable ingredients in proportions that seem good to you. Add the ground meat. Toss the salad with the Catalina Dressing. Serve.

This does not save very well, so it’s best not to overdo it thinking you’ll just finish it off the next day. I mean, we do that, but by then the tortilla chips are soggy and the lettuce is wilted. Don’t be us, be you.

I buy pre-made Catalina Dressing, but you could Google how to make your own and it might be healthier to do so.