How to Cook Homemade Taco Salad from Scratch
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Restriction fosters discipline. When you don’t have the same access to things, you once did, you turn inwards and discipline yourself instead. And that’s what being locked up during the pandemic did for me. It made me a more disciplined cook. I had taken the privilege of supermarkets and pre-packaged food for granted. Post a long day of work, my ‘cooking’ process involved plopping things out of a packet or jar, into a pan and calling it a day. But now, with trips to the supermarket being limited, I’ve started looking at cooking in a whole different light. I’ve been experimenting with dishes that I never thought I’d be able to make at home from scratch – like curry (without curry paste (how long does curry paste last?)) or pasta (how long does pasta last?) from dough to sauce.
One such dish that I revisited during the pandemic was taco salad. Before, I’d mix up beef with some store-bought salsa, pour it over store-bought Doritos, (how long do doritos last?) top off with pre-cut veggies and call it homemade taco salad. Yes, I see the irony now. But this time around, I prepared taco salad from scratch – with homemade tortilla chips (how long do tortilla chips last?) and roasted tomato salsa. And it tasted much better than my store-bought, assembled-at-home taco salad. It was crispy, creamy, tangy, and meaty – all in one bite.
Making Taco Salad
Make Beef Topping
In a skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat and sear ground beef for 8 to 10 minutes, till it loses its raw pinkness and turns brown. Add roasted tomato salsa, season with chili powder, cumin powder, salt, and pepper, and let the mixture sizzle for a few minutes till the salsa thickens and is well combined with the beef. Top off with finely chopped cilantro and let it cool for 5 minutes.
If you're looking for skillet, olive oil, chili powder, cumin powder, salt, and pepper, buying it online is your best bet!
Prep Veggies
While the beef mix cools, dice, onion, tomatoes, and avocado into small cubes, and tear the lettuce into big chunks
Assemble Taco Salad
In a serving bowl or plate, layer lettuce leaves and tortilla chips. Add in the chopped veggies, beef, and sour cream. Top off with grated cheese and serve!
Taco Salad from Scratch
Ingredients
- Ingredients
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 ½ cups of ground beef (1.25 lbs)
- 1 cup of roasted salsa
- 2 tsp. chili powder
- 1 tsp. of cumin powder
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper powder
- 2-3 sprigs of fresh coriander
- 1 medium head romaine or iceberg lettuce, chopped
- 1 cup cheddar or Mexican cheese, grated
- 2 small roma tomatoes, chopped
- 4 tbsp, sour cream
- 1 medium red onion, chopped.
- 1 avocado, chopped
Instructions
- Making the beef filling. Heat oil in a large pan or skillet and sear ground beef on medium heat for 8-10 minutes till it browns. Add in salsa and spices and let the beef and salsa sizzle for a few minutes till the salsa thickens and is well combined with the beef. Top of with finely chopped coriander
- Prepping the veggies. While the beef cooks, dice up the onion, tomatoes, and avocado into small cubes, and tear the lettuce into big chunks.
- Assembling the salad. In a serving bowl or individual plates layer lettuce leaves and tortilla. Add in the chopped veggies, beef, and sour cream. Finish off with grated cheese and the taco salad is ready to be served.
- If a thicker salsa is used, a splash of chicken broth or water may be added to thin it slightly. If a watery salsa is used, the salsa may be simmered for a few minutes to be reduced.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
522.83Fat
40.05Sat. Fat
14.76Carbs
14.83Fiber
6.09Net carbs
8.75Sugar
6.68Protein
28.05Sodium
1055.26Cholesterol
106.82
