This quick and easy 30 Minute Layered Taco Salad is a simple weeknight meal. It's also beautifully layered and easily transportable, which makes it perfect for all of your summertime potlucks and football tailgates too. Your family is sure to love it!
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Why You'll Love This Layered Taco Salad
- Healthy ingredients. This taco salad uses leaner ingredients, like ground chicken and fresh vegetables, making it a delicious and healthy option for your whole family.
- So quick! You don't need to spend hours in the kitchen cooking up a flavorful meal worth sharing with friends and family. Instead, make this layered taco salad in under 30 minutes for your next family get-together.
- Customizable! Easily swap out parts of the salad that your family doesn't like. Not a fan of black beans? Use refried beans instead! Not a fan of tomatoes? Leave them off or use bell peppers for some added crunch. The possibilities are endless!
Ingredients
A few notes about the ingredients:
- Ground Chicken: I like using ground chicken over beef as a leaner protein source, but you can use ground beef or turkey too. If you choose to use ground beef, drain any excess fat from the skillet before adding the seasonings.
- Seasonings: I don't often buy spice mixes, which is why I'd rather use each of the individual spices listed to create my own taco seasoning. However, if you already have taco seasoning on hand, feel free to use 2 tablespoons in place of the individual seasonings.
- Cherry Tomatoes: Add brightness to the salad. You can use salsa or diced peppers if you don't like tomatoes.
- Avocado: Adds some freshness. Guacamole would be a great substitute as well.
- Red Onion: Provides some flavor and bite to the salad. If you don't like onion, feel free to leave it off.
⭐️ See recipe card below for descriptions and quantities of each ingredient!
Instructions
- Step 1: Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add oil. Add ground chicken and cook until almost cooked through.
- Step 2: Add seasonings and water. Stir until the meat is coated. Cook again until there is hardly any liquid remaining. Turn off heat and set aside to cool slightly.
- Step 3: Prepare the remaining ingredients.
- Step 4: In a large dish (I like to use a trifle dish to show all the layers), assemble the taco salad by starting with a thick layer of lettuce on the bottom. Then, add black beans, corn, and sour cream, greek yogurt, or labneh. Smooth into an even layer on top.
- Step 5: Sprinkle the top of the labneh with shredded cheese. Add cherry tomatoes, diced avocado, and red onion on top of the cheese. Garnish with cilantro and crushed tortilla chips, if using.
⭐️ Tip: Make sure almost all of the water evaporates before you remove the ground chicken from the heat. If the meat is too saucy, it will make the salad turn soggy.
Substitutions and Alterations
- Ground Chicken - You can use ground turkey or ground beef instead. However, if using beef, drain off the extra fat before adding the spices.
- Spices - If you have taco seasoning in your spice cabinet already, you can use 2 tablespoons of that instead of the individual spices.
- Black Beans - Refried beans would also work great!
- Cherry Tomatoes - Salsa or diced bell peppers would be a good substitute.
- Avocado - Guacamole would also work.
- Notable additions - If you like cilantro, feel free to add that as a garnish! Crushed tortilla chips are also a great topping for some added crunch.
How to Store Layered Taco Salad
To store: Cover and store this 30 minute layered taco salad in the refrigerator up to 4 days.
To freeze: Freezing is not recommended.
To reheat: Reheating is not recommended.
Top tip!
This layered taco salad is best when eaten right after assembling. After it sits for a while, the lettuce at the bottom tends to get soggy.
You can prep all of the ingredients separately, then assemble the salad just before serving. Likewise, make sure all ingredients are as dry as possible to prevent unnecessary added moisture getting to the lettuce.
Recipe FAQs
This layered taco salad is made healthier with the use of ground chicken. Ground chicken is a lean protein source that tastes similar to ground beef without the added fats.
There are also fresh vegetables added to the salad, as well as fiber-filled black beans that help make this a lighter than other calorie-dense, fried-tortilla-chip-filled taco salad.
Yes! This recipe is naturally gluten free. However, if you're highly sensitive to gluten, make sure to check any packaging on the ingredients to ensure they're made in a gluten free factory as well.
Related Recipes
Looking for other Mexican-inspired recipes? Try these:
Share your cooking with me! If you make this recipe, I'd love to know. Leave a comment with a rating at the bottom of this page!
Layered Taco Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pounds ground chicken
- 2 ½ teaspoons chili powder*
- 1 teaspoon cumin*
- ¾ teaspoon onion powder*
- ¾ teaspoon garlic powder*
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt*
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper*
- ½ cup water
- 1 large head of iceberg lettuce, chopped
- 1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 15 ounce can yellow corn, drained
- 1 ½ cups sour cream, greek yogurt, or labneh
- ¾ cup shredded mexican cheese
- ½ cup sliced cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup diced avocado
- 3 tablespoons diced red onion
- Cilantro optional
- Crushed tortilla chips optional
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add oil. Add ground chicken and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, breaking up with a spoon, until almost cooked through.
- Add seasonings and water. Stir until the meat is coated. Cook another 5 to 8 minutes, or until there is hardly any liquid remaining. Turn off heat and set aside to cool slightly.
- Prepare the remaining ingredients.
- In a large dish (I like to use a trifle dish to show all the layers), assemble the taco salad by starting with a thick layer of lettuce on the bottom. Then, in this order, add even layers of black beans, corn, and sour cream, greek yogurt, or labneh. Smooth into an even layer on top.
- Sprinkle the top with shredded cheese. Add cherry tomatoes, diced avocado, and red onion on top of the cheese. Garnish with cilantro and crushed tortilla chips, if using. Serve immediately.
Notes
- *You can use 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning instead of these individual spices, if you prefer.
- Make sure almost all of the water evaporates before you remove the ground chicken from the heat. If the meat is too saucy, it will make the salad turn soggy.
- Assemble this layered taco salad right before serving. You can prep the ingredients ahead of time, but for best quality, wait to assemble it until you're ready to eat.
Nutrition
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