Oops, do I make too many taco dishes?
NOT POSSIBLE.
Okay really, I’m sorry if you’re not as into tacos as I am, but I just can’t help it. Today I was craving the classic American style taco salad with seasoned ground beef, cheese, iceberg lettuce, and a crunchy corn chips. I changed up the presentation by layering all of the ingredients right into the skillet used to cook the ground beef, making it a Taco Salad Skillet. Not only did this cut down on the number of dishes that I had to wash, but it made the presentation a little more fun, which is always nice when you’re in a weeknight dinner rut.
What’s In Taco Salad Skillet?
This delicious dish starts with a base layer of seasoned ground beef, black beans, and corn. A little layer of cheddar cheese is melted on top of the beef, beans, and corn, then everything is topped with crunchy tortilla chips, crisp iceberg lettuce, fresh tomatoes, and green onion.
Does it Need Salad Dressing?
In lieu of salad dressing, I just topped mine as I would top tacos—with sour cream. You could also use something like Lime Crema or Ranch Dressing.
What Else Can I Add?
Just like tacos, this Taco Salad Skillet is extremely flexible. Check your refrigerator for other ingredients you may have on hand that need to be used up. Here are some other topping ideas:
- avocado
- jalapeño
- black olives
- pineapple
- pickled red onions
Can I Make it Vegetarian?
Yes, absolutely! If you want to do a vegetarian version, you can either use two cans of black beans or a mix of black beans and pinto beans. Or, you can also go the other way and use all meat (1 lb.) instead of a half and half mix of beans and beans.
Taco Salad Skillet
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 1/2 lb. ground beef ($1.37)
- 1/2 Tbsp chili powder blend ($0.15)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1 15oz. can black beans, drained ($1.19)
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed ($0.50)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese ($1.30)
- 2 cups broken tortilla chips ($0.50)
- 1/2 head iceberg lettuce ($0.75)
- 1 large tomato ($0.73)
- 3 green onions ($0.17)
- 8 oz. sour cream ($1.00)
Instructions
- Heat a deep skillet over medium heat. Add the cooking oil and ground beef. Sauté the beef, breaking it into crumbles as you go, until fully browned. Drain the excess fat if needed.
- Add the chili powder, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and salt to the skillet. Drain, but do not rinse, the black beans and then add them to the skillet. Stir until the beef and beans are coated in the spices. Continue to sauté until heated through (3-5 minutes).
- Spread the corn kernels and shredded cheese over the beef and bean mixture. Place a lid on the skillet and let the mixture warm through until the cheese is melted (about 5 minutes).
- Meanwhile, dice the tomato, slice the green onions, and shred the lettuce.
- Once the cheese is melted, turn off the heat. Top the skillet with the broken tortilla chips, lettuce, tomato, and green onion. Scoop the layered salad into each of four bowls, then add a dollop of sour cream to each serving.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Nutrition
How to Make Taco Salad Skillet – Step by Step Photos
I got an incredible deal on a pound of ground beef because it was the last of its shelf life. When you find these sales, the meat needs to be cooked or frozen that day. I used a half pound for this recipe and froze the second half. Brown the beef in a deep skillet over medium heat with 1 Tbsp cooking oil. Once it’s fully browned, drain off the excess fat if needed.
After the beef is browned, add 1/2 Tbsp chili powder blend (not ground hot chile pepper), 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, and 1/8 tsp salt.
Drain one 15oz. can of black beans, but do not rinse them. You want a little bit of that starchy liquid to help hydrate the spices and create a little bit of sauce. Add the beans to the skillet and stir until everything is coated in spices. Stir and cook the mixture until it’s heated through.
Add one cup of frozen corn kernels (thawed) and one cup of shredded cheddar to the skillet. Place a lid on top and allow everything to heat through until the cheese is melted (about five minutes). While that’s heating, dice a large tomato, slice three green onions, and shred 1/2 head of iceberg lettuce.
Once the cheese is melted, turn off the heat. Add about 2 cups of slightly crushed tortilla chips to the top of the skillet.
Finally, add the lettuce, tomato, and green onion to the top of the skillet.
Scoop individual portions (4-6 portions per skillet, depending on how big you want them), then top with a dollop of sour cream.
You can have extra tomato, lettuce, or chips nearby incase anyone wants to customize their bowl. :)
Served this to my family last night, and it got two thumbs up! My DH loves taco salad, so I figured this was going to be a slam dunk. It definitely was.
This was good. The only substitution I made was adding ranch dressing to the finished product instead of sour cream (to make it more “salad-y”). Very easy too. I’ve never looked forward to meals as much as I have since I’ve found this site! Thanks Beth!!!
I made this last night and my husband and I LOVED it! Tonight, we’re trying the Spinach Ricotta Pasta.
I just made this for my folks today. It was a huge hit. It’s almost embarrassing how easy it was to make, too. I think it’s going on the rotation!
Just made this last night and it was a big hit! Will be making it again. Keep the taco dishes coming, you can never have too many!
This was yummy! The brilliant part is I only used 1/2 the meat I normally would and I freezed the over half for later. Saved some $!!
I made this last night with a few modifications- I used a full pound of ground beef, and I added some diced onion and bell pepper, and a small can of tomato sauce. (I’m also storing the toppings separately so the leftovers don’t get soggy). Yum!
Hi! I’m lactose intolerant and I was wondering what substitutes would be good for this dish? Would a light tofu still work and taste good?! It looks delicious! Can’t wait to try this :)
You could omit the cheese for the taco salad. I think it’ll taste good without the cheese.
I’ve made this with tofu twice. I diced some super firm tofu and season it exactly as she does – though I add a little over half a tablespoon of vegan Worcestershire sauce as well; additionally, I add the along with the black beans instead of waiting. The tofu comes out excellently seasoned with this method as it soaks up the flavor of the corn, beans and seasoning. As far as the cheese is concerned, it can either be omitted, replaced with goat cheese, or you can use a vegan cheese – all work well, though the goat cheese might make the dish overly acidic.
This looks amazing, can’t wait to try it! Thanks so much for this wonderful blog. I make at least two to three of your recipes per week since stumbling on this site last year. My little family of four thanks you!
I save on the cost of tacos by cooking tomatoes and onions with the meat. The tomatoes and onions are frozen ones from the garden. No need to buy fresh veggies for the top and it stretches the meat farther. Mr. LC isn’t a fan of raw tomatoes but has no issues with them cooked in the meat.
At my store they are manager specials and I love hunting down those bright orange stickers. One week I made every meal with them. Some of them aren’t even going to expire for weeks like hard cheeses.
This looks great and I think I will make it soon. Thanks for the great ideas.
I saw this the day we were planning making turkey tacos anyways, so I made it. I added shredded cabbage and some Trader Joe’s broccoli slaw that was in the fridge too to bulk up the veggies. I loved having fewer dishes to wash, and it was easy to portion leftovers out for lunches the next day. The chips did get soggy overnight. Next time I’ll leave them out of the skillet, and pass the chips on the table, and add them separately for lunch the next day.
Thanks!
I cant wait to cook this for myself at college when I get bored of normal tacos! Itll be perfect for leftovers too!
What kind of cheese did you or can be used to make this? I will definitely be making this soon. Thank you for posting this.
I just used cheddar, but you could use pepper jack or something like that instead if you prefer.
That’s a lot of food for a small family and the toppings won’t keep. It halved quite nicely, though. I cooked all of the meat and seasonings, adding the beans, too, then saved half of the meat and bean mixture as “planned overs,” which did very nicely as tacos for 2 tonight
Because we’re a family of 2, I never add things like the lettuce topping directly to the skillet. I’d transfer the cooked part into bowls (putting half in a storage container in the fridge), add the toppings to the bowls, and then do the same thing the next time I served it. (I might store the chopped tomatoes, as they’d be OK for a day or two in the fridge, but I’d shred fresh lettuce each time.)
You could NEVER make too many taco recipes! Love them. Anyhow, I just wanted to leave you a comment to tell you how excited I get too when I see the “special today” sticker on meats, especially when it’s the free-range and organic version. I actually stock up and get butterflies in my stomach. Ha. It’s true!
Haha! Glad I’m not the only one! :D