Ground Turkey Taco Salad Recipe
This Ground Turkey Taco Salad is about to become your new weeknight go-to! It’s packed with seasoned turkey, fresh toppings, canned black beans and corn, plus a spicy chipotle ranch dressing. Trust us – one bite and you’re hooked!
Healthy Taco Salad Recipe
My husband and I are Iowa natives, born and raised – but we’ve called Texas home for over 30 years now, which is nearly half our lives. So it should come as no surprise that we are absolutely obsessed with Tex-Mex!
One of our favorite things about living in Texas is the incredible local Tex-Mex scene. Whenever we go out, we’re always ordering something new – partly for the experience, but mostly so I can figure out how to recreate it at home!
The nutrition stats on this one are seriously impressive — high in protein, loaded with fiber, and yes, even the calories might surprise you! But honestly, the best part is that it tastes like one big, delicious taco. It’s the kind of salad that actually fills you up and leaves you craving it again the very next day. (Guilty as charged!)
Reasons to love this Taco Salad:
- Big on flavor — smoky chipotle ranch takes it over the top
- Filling and nutritious — packed with protein and fiber
- Easy weeknight meal — ready in under an hour
- Totally customizable — swap toppings to make it your own
Healthy Taco Salad Ingredients:
We are big taco night fans in our house, and everyone gets to build their own! Picky eaters can load up on meat, cheese, and chips while the veggie lovers pile on the good stuff. There’s something for everyone — that’s the beauty of it!
- Taco Meat – Use a combo of ground turkey (or beef) plus chopped onions and jalapeños. I often double the meat and use some in our Taco Crunch Wraps.
- Homemade Taco Seasoning – Unlike store-bought packets, my homemade seasoning has zero aftertaste — just pure, bold flavor. I always keep a big batch on hand for all things taco, and once you try it, you will too!
- Fresh veggies – Lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and avocado. I like to buy a variety of salad greens each week and change up the combination each time I make this salad. I love using red and green lettuce, spinach leaves, bib lettuce, and even kale.
- Canned veggies – Black beans and Mexicorn are the perfect salad toppers. You could also use frozen (thawed) corn or grill fresh corn.
- Cheese – We use shredded sharp cheddar cheese.
- Chipotle Ranch Dressing – My all-time favorite Tex-Mex topper for salads, tacos, enchiladas, and everything in between – and it keeps in the fridge for days!
- Other – Add your favorite salty chips and Spicy Pickled Onions.
Other Topping Ideas:
I went with chipotle ranch on this one, but honestly? Any of the toppings below would be amazing. Because when it comes to a great taco salad, it’s all about the salsas, dressings, and sides – that’s where the real flavor is!
How to make Turkey Taco Salad:
Step 1
Make dressing. In a small food processor, combine the dressing ingredients – the yogurt, mayo, diced chipotles, cilantro, seasonings, and fresh lime juice. Process and then add cold water to thin to your desired consistency. Spoon dressing into a mason jar and store in the refrigerator.
NOTE: You can also use a bowl and whisk to combine the salad dressing ingredients, instead of using a food processor. Use a sharp knife to chop the cilantro and chipotle peppers.
Step 2
Make taco meat. In a medium stock pot over medium-high heat, add the ground meat (either beef or turkey), the diced onions, and diced jalapeños. Cook until meat is completely cooked through and browned. Then add the taco seasoning, and cook another few minutes. Remove to cool slightly.
NOTE: I keep a large jar of homemade taco seasoning in my pantry for all the taco things. However, you can purchase taco seasoning at the store if desired.
Step 3
Prepare salad ingredients. Prepare the lettuce, onions, tomatoes, beans, corn, avocado, and shredded cheese (plus other optional ingredients). I normally buy fresh bunches of lettuce and use my salad spinner to clean and dry – but packaged lettuce is fine to use too.
Step 4
Assemble taco salads. In individual salad bowls, layer the fresh greens, tomatoes, black beans, corn, sliced avocado, and cheddar cheese. Then add warm taco meat and top with the chipotle ranch dressing. Top with crushed chips and red pickled onions, if desired.
We love serving this salad with warm taco meat – it makes the cheese melty and the dressing extra creamy. Trust us, don’t skip this step!
How to make easy cheese quesadillas:
If you’re feeding EXTRA picky eaters, go ahead and make up some easy cheese quesadillas too.
- Lay a large flour tortilla on the countertop.
- Sprinkle cheese on half of it.
- Fold it over and press down.
- Heat some olive oil in a skillet.
- Lightly brown both sides of tortillas, until the cheese is all melty.
- Cut into wedges, and serve with these taco salads.
Other Tex-Mex Recipes:
Lately, I’ve been making ALL of the taco things.
Favorite Margarita Recipes:
Looking for a tasty margarita to go with your salads? Try one of our favorites. From Fruity Margaritas to Skinny Margaritas to Watermelon Margaritas – we gotcha covered!
Kitchen Tools Used: (affiliate links)
xoxo ~Sue
Ground Turkey Taco Salad Recipe
Ingredients
For the taco meat:
- 1 pound lean ground beef – or ground turkey
- 1/2 medium yellow onion – diced
- 1 medium jalapeno – diced (half with seeds, half without), optional
- 2 Tablespoons homemade taco seasoning – on my site (or use store-bought)
For the salad:
- 12-16 cups romaine lettuce (or other fresh greens) – chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes – halved
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 15 oz. black beans – rinsed and drained
- 8 oz. Mexicorn – drained
- 1 large avocado – diced
- handful of tortilla chips – optional
For the dressing:
- 5.3 oz. plain Greek yogurt
- 3 Tablespoons light mayo
- 1 Tablespoon chipotle peppers in adobe sauce – finely chopped
- 3 Tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
- 1 medium lime – freshly squeezed
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper – to taste
- cold water to thin
Instructions
- Make dressing. In a small food processor, combine the dressing ingredients – the yogurt, mayo, diced chipotles, cilantro, seasonings, and fresh lime juice. Process and then add cold water to thin to your desired consistency. Spoon dressing into a mason jar and store in the refrigerator.5.3 oz. plain Greek yogurt, 3 Tablespoons light mayo, 1 Tablespoon chipotle peppers in adobe sauce, 3 Tablespoons finely chopped cilantro, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper, 1 medium lime, cold water to thin
- Make taco meat. In a medium stock pot over medium-high heat, add the ground meat (either beef or turkey), the diced onions, and diced jalapeños. Cook until meat is completely cooked through and browned. Then add the taco seasoning, and cook another few minutes. Remove to cool slightly.1 pound lean ground beef, 1/2 medium yellow onion, 1 medium jalapeno, 2 Tablespoons homemade taco seasoning
- Prepare salad ingredients. Prepare the lettuce, onions, tomatoes, beans, corn, avocado, and shredded cheese (plus other optional ingredients). I normally buy fresh bunches of lettuce and use my salad spinner to clean and dry – but packaged lettuce is fine to use too.
- Assemble taco salads. In individual salad bowls, layer the fresh greens, tomatoes, black beans, corn, sliced avocado, and cheddar cheese. Then add warm taco meat and top with the chipotle ranch dressing. Top with crushed chips and red pickled onions, if desired.We love serving this salad with warm taco meat – it makes the cheese melty and the dressing extra creamy. Trust us, don’t skip this step!12-16 cups romaine lettuce (or other fresh greens), 1 cup cherry tomatoes, 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 15 oz. black beans, 8 oz. Mexicorn, 1 large avocado, handful of tortilla chips
Video
Notes
- You can also use a bowl and whisk to combine the salad dressing ingredients, instead of using a food processor. Use a sharp knife to chop the cilantro and chipotle peppers.
- I keep a large jar of homemade taco seasoning in my pantry for all the taco things. However, you can purchase taco seasoning at the store if desired.
- Keep leftovers in separate containers and assemble more salads right before meal time.
- You can store taco meat in refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat slightly.
I generally try to cook lean, so this recipe is a great addition to our family meals. Love ALL the ingredients including the homemade taco seasoning and dressing.
Thanks Jackie! This is one of our fav salads too! 🙂
I made this for the first time which is surprising since TexMex is my favorite. I am not much of a salad girl but this is soooooo good I will make it often. The mix of ingredients and the dressing are so perfect and delicious together.
Yay! So glad you enjoyed the taco salad, Shari! Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
This salad tastes amazing and it is very different than most salads! I love it and I could use more lean and mean……
This salad is amazing! It’s light but full of flavor. I made the homemade taco seasoning & will use it in other recipes. The dressing is wonderful. I’ll be making this again!
Hi Lori! I’m so glad you enjoyed the taco salad. It’s definitely one of my favorites! 🙂 Great hearing from you too!
I love taco salads and usually make a dressing from sour cream and salsa mixed. I decided to try your dressing recipe. It was a bit more spicy than I like, even though I scraped out as many of the pepper seeds as I could. Hubs liked it, so I’ll use it again. Next time, I’ll use the adobo sauce without the pepper in the dressing. Meanwhile, I have most of the rest of the can left—what am I gonna do with that?? 😂
Hi Ginger. I guess I’m just a spice loving gal! FYI, we keep the leftover chipotles in a small container in the refrigerator since we make that dressing A LOT! LOL!
I always put the leftover peppers and adobe sauce in the food processor and then freeze in ice cube trays. After they are frozen, put in a freezer bag and you can easily take out as much as you need. I add half a cube to my black bean chili…so good. I haven’t tried this recipe yet but it does sound yummy.
That’s a great idea, Linda!