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Healthier (But Still Delicious!) Taco Salad

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Looking for a better alternative to a taco salad, without the greasy shell? This is one of my favorite salads. And it still achieves that taco bowl crunch, by adding some broken tortilla chips! 

Colorful taco salad in a bowl.

My favorite way to make taco salad more healthy

Lately, salads have probably been my most common lunch when I’m home alone. I have either a chopped salad, or a taco salad, but I don’t want it to be heavy or greasy, so I skip the taco shell bowl.

Instead, I just toss together all of the stuff that I would normally put into a taco salad, add some delicious dressing, and then crumble in a few tortilla chips for a crunch that reminds me of the missing shell.

This barely needs a recipe, but I’m giving you one anyway! Of course, you can sub in anything that you like in a taco salad.

This delicious and healthy taco salad barely needs a recipe, but here's one anyway to make your life easier! Click to Tweet

I keep this salad vegetarian because I am one, but a great addition for meat eaters (and what I add for my husband) is grilled chicken, cut into bite-sized chunks. You could also mix in some leftover taco meat.

I use whatever lettuce I have around, usually green leaf or red oak leaf.

This is also a great make-ahead salad! Just leave out the tortilla chips, avocado, and dressing until you’re ready to eat.

How to slice an avocado safely

I used to feel like I was risking an ER trip every time I removed an avocado pit with a knife, and using a spoon is messy and takes too long. This 3-in-1 avocado slicer is AMAZING. After cutting an avocado in half, you push the round part into the pit and twist, and the pit comes right out! No palm-impaling knife required.

An avocado slicer on a small cutting board with two halves of an avocado.

Then, if you want slices, you can use it for that too. If you eat avocados, you need this thing.

Slices of avocado on a small cutting board with an avocado slicer.

Add a quick homemade dressing!

I love this 3-minute ranch dressing, and if I’m making salad for more than just myself, I make it just like in the recipe. But if I want just enough for this salad, I make just one serving, or one-quarter of the recipe. Instead of a half teaspoon of all of the dry ingredients, it’s just one-eighth teaspoon of each. And instead of a half cup each of mayonnaise and sour cream, use two tablespoons of each.

Even easier? Mix up all of the dry ingredients ahead of time, to use whenever you need them. Then mix one teaspoon of that mix with two tablespoons of mayonnaise and two tablespoons of sour cream.

A word about shredded cheese

Some people are super snobby about packaged shredded cheese. But the thing is, it’s perfectly fine to use it, as long as you’re not making a sauce!

I always have shredded cheddar in my fridge, and often shredded mozzarella too. I don’t want to get out a shredder if I’m making a quick omelet, and there’s no need for freshly-shredded cheese on a flatbread pizza.

However, if you are making some kind of cheese sauce, or something that you want to be super stringy when hot, starting out with a block of cheese is really important. The packaged stuff usually has some cellulose powder added to keep it from sticking together. And while that’s fine for something like a salad or to sprinkle on some chili, it’s not going to melt into a smooth sauce.

How to assemble the taco salad bowl

You can just make this taco salad in a bowl, or you could do the mason jar thing. As much as I’d like to make fun of it for being trendy, packing your taco salad in a mason jar makes a ton of sense. You stack everything tightly so that the dressing and anything moist stays separate from the lettuce. Start with the dressing in the bottom of the jar, add the tomato and onion, then the beans and corn, then the avocado, then the cheese, and finally the lettuce on top. Pack the tortilla chips in a baggie. A nutritious salad ready to go!

When you’re ready to eat, dump the whole thing into a bowl, add the tortilla chips, and give it a good stir. You could also pack it in a plastic container. Just remember that packing the layers tightly is key, so that the ingredients don’t mix.

Ready? Here’s my recipe for a healthier taco salad! I just had it for lunch today, the second time this week.

And don’t forget to take a look at my 3-Minute Ranch Dressing! It goes great with this salad.

Yield: 1 large salad

Healthy Taco Salad Bowl Recipe

Healthy Taco Salad Bowl Recipe

This is one of my absolute favorite salads. It's basically everything that I would put into a taco, with some crunched up tortilla chips for crunch instead of a greasy taco shell bowl. This recipe makes a large, meal-sized salad, or two side salads.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Total Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 cups lettuce, torn into bite-sized pieces
  • 3-4 tbsp ranch dressing
  • 8 grape tomatoes, cut in half (or half of a regular tomato, chopped)
  • 1 medium slice of onion, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup canned corn, drained
  • 1/4 cup canned black beans, drained
  • 1/4 cup sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 1/2 avocado, roughly chopped
  • 4 or 5 tortilla chips, broken up into pieces

Instructions

  1. Put the lettuce in a big bowl with about 3/4 of the dressing, and mix well
  2. Add the remaining ingredients, including the rest of the dressing, and toss to coat
  3. Serve immediately

Notes

Hate getting the pits out of avocados? The The 3-in-1 Avocado Slicer is one of my favorite kitchen tools!

Missing the meat? When I make this for my husband, I add grilled chicken, well-seasoned and cut into chunks. You could also mix in some taco meat.

Want to make this salad ahead of time? Leave out the dressing, avocado, and tortilla chips until you're ready to eat.

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Did you make this recipe? I'd love to see it!

Please leave a comment, a great star rating, or share what you made on Instagram, tagging @amyoztan. It really helps me out!

Tushar Hossain

Thursday 30th of June 2016

Mexican foods are delicious..I love them..but never tried this salad..

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