This flavorful chicken taco salad uses my quick and easy ground chicken taco meat recipe for a salad you can’t wait to eat!
I don’t know about you, but I love taco-themed anything. I could eat my healthy chicken tacos any night of the week. But, if I’m going to eat a salad, chicken taco salad is my first choice.
How to Make Chicken Taco Salads
There are about as many ways to make a taco salad as there are TV shows you could watch—a lot. I find I slightly vary my chicken taco salads by what I’ve got available in the fridge. I usually prefer ground chicken taco meat over shredded in my taco salads. More meat in every bite that way! Then I add any of the following combinations of ingredients:
Chicken Taco Salad Base:
- The crunchier, the better. I prefer chopped romaine. I buy a pre-washed, pre-chopped romaine package and quickly chop it again so the pieces aren’t gigantic. That being said, dark leafy greens can work like kale or spinach.
Chicken Taco Meat:
- For this recipe, I used my ground chicken taco meat recipe that I posted last week.
- But something like my instant pot chipotle chicken recipe or easy slow cooker salsa verde chicken would be delicious, too, if you prefer shredded.
- You could also be creative and use chopped-up leftover cheddar jalapeno turkey burgers, or jalapeno and cheddar stuffed salsa verde burgers. (Swap ground chicken for meat for chicken.)
- Or, use a pre-made taco skillet sauce as I do in my easy paleo taco salad recipe. (Again, swap ground chicken.)
Chicken Taco Salad Add-Ins:
- pinto or black beans
- bell peppers
- cherry tomatoes or chopped tomatoes
- avocado
- shredded cheese or cotija cheese
- corn
- jalapenos, for the adventurous
- homemade baked tortilla strips or air fryer tortilla strips
- crunched up plantain chips, sweet potato chips, or tortilla chips
- cilantro
- green onions
Chicken Taco Salad Toppings & Dressing
I honestly don’t think that taco salad ever needs a special dressing. Once you put salsa, guac, and sour cream on it – it may not be pretty, but damn, it tastes delicious. You may, however, want to drizzle just a little bit of one of my chipotle dressings on it!
- homemade salsa or your favorite store-bought salsa
- spicy guacamole or your favorite store-bought guac
- sour cream (or I love Forager dairy-free sour cream)
However, today, I wanted to share my favorite “go-to” combination of ingredients. The ones I immediately think of when I think of chicken taco salad.
Juicy, flavorful ground chicken taco meat with a little spice on top of crunchy romaine lettuce with just a few simple mix-ins like cherry tomatoes, avocado, black beans, salty cotija cheese, and of course, tortilla chips! No special dressing is required here. Just use your favorite salsa, a spritz of lime, and maybe a little guac or sour cream for the BEST chicken taco salad!
Tag me if you make this recipe! I love to see what you guys make! You can tag me on Insta @hungryhobbyRD and Facebook @hungryhobby!
Chicken Taco Salad Recipe
Equipment
- large non-stick skillet with lid
- strainer
Ingredients
Chicken Taco Meat Recipe
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 jalapeno, deseeded, deveined diced
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1/4 cup taco seasoning
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 can black beans
- 1/2 lime juiced
Salad
- 12 cups romaine lettuce
- 3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1.5 cups black beans
- 3/4 cup cotija cheese
- 1 avocado or 1 cup guac
- 1/3 cup cilantro
- 1/3 cup green onions
- 1.5 cup salsa
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup guacamole
Instructions
Chicken Taco Meat Instructions
- Saute onions and jalapeno in oil on medium in a large non-stick skillet until translucent and tender, about 3-5 minutes.1 tbsp avocado oil, 1 yellow onion, 1 jalapeno, deseeded, deveined
- Add chicken and taco seasoning, cook for 8-10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.1 lb ground chicken, 1/4 cup taco seasoning
- Add diced tomatoes in and 1/4 cup water. Stir well. Place the lid on and let simmer for at least 5 minutes. If meat sticks to the bottom of the pan, add more water.1 can diced tomatoes
- Rinse and drain black beans, stir into the meat and serve! Alternatively, you can keep the beans separate.1 can black beans
- Finish with a sprits of lime juice! About a teaspoon of lime juice or the juice of half of a lime.
Chicken Taco Salad
- Add 2 cups of romaine lettuce to a bowl. Top each salad with 1/6 chicken taco meat, 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, 1/4 cup beans, 2 tablespoons cotija cheese, 1/6 of avocado, 1 tablespoon cilantro, 1 tablespoon green onion, 1/4 cup salsa, 2-3 tablespoons of sour cream, and guac.
Video
Nutrition
[…] Chicken Taco Salad Recipe […]