Veggie Packed Taco Salad

When my husband and I first got married, it also happened to be the time that Taco Bell released their new green “Salsa Verde” sauce. I have always had a strange love/hate relationship with the food chain, but after that green sauce came out, it was definitely leaning towards more of a love thing.

We only went to the food chain about once every quarter, but we would always get massive amounts of the little green packages. Some to take home, and others to pour all over our iceberg lettuce topped taco-bell meals (like tostadas, hard tacos, and seven-layer burritos). Mmmmmm. Those were the days.

I has been about about two years since I’ve been to Taco Bell and the other day I was thinking about it and I got this strange craving for a ground beef taco covered in crisp iceberg lettuce and a drizzle of sour cream. There is just a distinct smell and taste that comes with that combo, and I was craving it something fierce.

The following day my sister Natalie texted me about an amazing ground beef taco filling she had created; about 10 minutes later I stumbled upon Taco Salad Skillet dinner from Budget Bytes. It was like the world of Mexican food was speaking to me, and so this dish was created.

For this “one dish” or  “skillet” meal, you will need a decent size skillet. Mine was a 3-quart skillet, and it seemed to be perfect. Chop 1 small onion, ½ bell pepper, and grate 1 ½ carrots (totaling 1 cup grated carrots).

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat. Add in the chopped onion and 8 ounces (1/2 pound) of ground beef. I prefer 97% lean or ground chuck, but those are obviously the pricier options (and since I am a poor med student’s wife, we obviously don’t splurge that often). You can go with the normal 70% and just drain the fat. Whatever tickles your fancy (and budget). Brown the ground beef. As soon as it’s lost it’s pink-ness, add the chopped bell pepper and shredded carrots and sauté another 7 minutes. Also add in your seasonings at this time -  ½ tablespoon taco seasoning, ½ teaspoon cumin, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, and ¼ teaspoon of salt.

This step is important to me, because if you are adding a hefty amount of vegetables to your meat mixture, they need to blend well, and cook down enough to become a real part of the meat mixture. In essence, you don’t want it to look like and/or taste like you threw some carrots into your beef at the last minute.

After the bell peppers have softened, add in 1 can of rinsed and drained black beans, and 3 tablespoons (1/4 cup if you prefer spicy) El Pato Hot Tomato Sauce and 1 tablespoon water.  Three tablespoons was the perfect amount of kick for my 14-month old. It was a subtle punch with every bite, but after about 5 seconds, the kick was gone. Bring to a simmer, turn to medium low, cover, and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Go ahead and give your filling a taste. It’s okay if you have 3-4 tastes (I sure did). Delicious, right? Thaw ¾ cup of frozen corn in the microwave, and sprinkle on top. Follow with 1- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese. Put the lid on and let the cheese melt. This should take 2-3 minutes.

Once the cheese is melted, crush about 1 ½ cups corn chips and sprinkle on top. Then add the iceberg lettuce. I bought the bag of pre-shredded lettuce and used about 2 cups. You really can adjust this to your liking. I preferred using a lot so it seemed more like a salad to me. Dice 1 Roma tomato and sprinkle on top. Serve immediately with a dollop of sour cream.

There you have it, a gluten-free, budget friendly, veggie packed take on a taco salad.  It may even be 21 day fix, clean eating approved? Maybe? YUM.

Veggie Packed Taco Salad Skillet

Inspired by Budget Bytes

Serves 4-5 generously

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

½ pound ground beef

½ green bell pepper, finely chopped

1 cup shredded carrots (about 1 ½ carrots)

½ tablespoon Taco Seasoning

½ teaspoon cumin

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons El Pato Hot Tomato Sauce

1 tablespoon water

1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained

¾ cup frozen corn, thawed

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

1 ½ cups crushed tortilla chips

2 cups iceberg lettuce, chopped

1 Roma tomato, chopped


Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat. Add in the chopped onion and 8 ounces (1/2 pound) of ground beef. Brown the ground beef. As soon as it’s lost it’s pink-ness, add the chopped bell pepper and shredded carrots and sauté another 7 minutes. Also add in your seasonings at this time -  ½ tablespoon taco seasoning, ½ teaspoon cumin, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, and ¼ teaspoon of salt.

After the bell peppers have softened, add in 1 can of rinsed and drained black beans, and 3 tablespoons (1/4 cup if you prefer spicy) El Pato Hot Tomato Sauce and 1 tablespoon water.  Bring to a simmer, turn to medium low, cover, and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Thaw ¾ cup of frozen corn in the microwave, and sprinkle on top. Follow with 1- 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese. Put the lid on and let the cheese melt. This should take 2-3 minutes. Once the cheese is melted, crush about 1 ½ cups corn chips and sprinkle on top. Then add the iceberg lettuce. I bought the bag of pre-shredded lettuce and used about 2 cups. You really can adjust this to your liking. I preferred using a lot so it seemed more like a salad to me. Dice 1 Roma tomato and sprinkle on top. Serve immediately with a dollop of sour cream.

Serve Immediately.