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In my kitchen, hot summers equal easy, one-pan dinners that avoid the oven and don’t require keeping the stove on for too long. Salads are perfect for checking those boxes, but of course you still need some protein in there to make it a full meal. That’s where this easy and healthy taco salad recipe with ground beef comes in — you’re going to love it!
What Is Taco Salad?
You’ve probably seen ground beef taco salad at restaurants before. It’s basically like an enormous Mexican taco in bowl form — no taco shell needed! Unlike most restaurant versions, my healthy taco salad recipe is low carb and gluten-free.
Is taco salad healthy?
Yes, this taco salad bowl is healthy! It uses natural and fresh ingredients.
Why You’ll Love This Taco Salad Recipe
- The best ground beef salad
- Healthier take on tacos
- Quick and easy
- Customizable taco salad ingredients
- Ready in 20 minutes
What makes this the best taco salad recipe is simple ingredients and minimal prep. After browning the meat and chopping the veggies, all you have to do is mix everything together!

Easy Taco Salad Ingredients
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for taco salad recipes, what each one does, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
- Ground beef – I prefer 85/15 for a ground beef taco salad, but you can use any kind you like. If you don’t like beef, you can also replace this with ground turkey, or even Mexican chorizo or shredded chicken.
- Avocado oil – Just a bit for browning the beef. Olive oil works fine as well.
- Taco seasoning – I like to make homemade taco seasoning, but store bought saves time and is convenient. Check labels to avoid fillers and sugar if possible. I like this store bought taco seasoning, but it does not contain salt, so you’ll need to add 1 teaspoon of salt if your seasoning is unsalted.
- Romaine lettuce – Romaine is my go to for ground beef salads, but you can use any kind of greens you like.
- Grape tomatoes – Served halved in the salad. You can also use cherry tomatoes, or chop up larger tomatoes, such as roma.
- Shredded cheese – I usually use cheddar cheese, but you can also try a Mexican cheese blend, or pepper jack if you like a kick. You can omit if you want to avoid dairy.
- Avocado – Avocado is a must for a healthy taco salad! You can also swap this with guacamole if you like.
- Onions – I used green onions, but any kind you like will work. Diced red or white onions also work great.
- Salsa – I like this pre-made one — medium heat and clean ingredients! Choosing different kinds is an easy way to get creative without adding complexity. Use mild salsa if you want it mellow, spicy if you want a kick, or go outside the box with more unique flavors like green chile or peach. You can totally make your own, too — try simple fresh tomato salsa or avocado salsa verde.
- Sour cream – Salsa and sour cream stand in lieu of a dressing here, which works out surprisingly well. Why spend time creating a complicated taco salad dressing, when these work just as well? When you mix it all up, it tastes like there’s dressing in there. If you need a dairy free option, swap this with coconut cream and a bit of salt.

You can easily customize this healthy taco salad recipe to your liking. Feel free to throw in any other veggies you have on hand, or omit anything you don’t like. That’s one of the great things about easy salad recipes – you don’t have to be that precise!
Ultimately, what goes in a taco salad is very much up to you, but no matter what combo you choose, the key to making taco salad healthy is using natural ingredients.
You really don’t need any store bought dressings or chips in there. But, for those that do want a little crunch, you can try adding tortilla chips (I make these low carb tortilla chips!).
How To Make Taco Salad
This section shows how to make taco salad with step-by-step photos and details about the technique, to help you visualize it. For full instructions, including amounts and temperatures, see the recipe card below.
Possibly the best part of this taco salad recipe is that the whole thing is on the table in merely twenty minutes. The only cooking involved is browning the ground beef on the stove. So simple.
- Brown beef. Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Add ground beef and cook until browned.

- Add taco seasoning. Stir seasoning into the ground beef until combined. If you like, you can also add 1/4 cup of water when adding the seasoning and let it simmer a bit.

- Combine taco salad ingredients. Place the lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, avocado, onions, salsa, and sour cream into a large bowl. When the taco salad meat is done, add it to the bowl.

- Toss and enjoy! Serve in bowls or plate individually.

Storage Instructions
This taco salad recipe also makes a generous amount – six large servings to feed even a larger family. But if you don’t need that many, don’t worry. It’s also super easy to adjust it to fewer servings if you need to, or store it for later if you plan ahead.
- To store: Store leftovers in the fridge for 2-3 days. If you know you’ll have leftovers, set extras aside without the sour cream, salsa, and avocado, as these are best added fresh. The beef is also best stored separately so that you can reheat it later.
- To reheat: Reheat ground beef taco meat in a hot skillet or in the microwave before adding to the salad.
- To meal prep: Brown the meat with taco seasoning and chop all your taco salad ingredients. Store in meal prep containers untossed, with the sour cream, salsa, and beef stored separately. Don’t cut the avocado ahead of time. Right before serving, heat the meat and add to the salad. Add sour cream, salsa, and freshly cut avocado, and toss together.

Wondering what to serve with taco salad? I really like 4-ingredient almond flour biscuits on the side. But you really don’t need anything — it’s an easy one bowl dinner on its own!
More Healthy Mexican Recipes
If you have Mexican night (or Taco Tuesday!) at your house, this low carb taco salad will fit right in. When we do it, we often have:
- Wraps & Tacos – Made with my low carb tortillas or crispy cheese taco shells
- Taco Stuffed Peppers
- Chicken Fajitas
- Stuffed Poblano Peppers
- Mexican Beef Casserole
But this easy taco salad is even simpler than all of those, and it’s still packed with all your favorite Mexican flavors.
Tools To Make Ground Beef Taco Salad
- Heavy Bottom Skillet – One of my favorite sets! The larger one is the perfect size and has a heavy bottom for browning the beef evenly for this taco salad recipe.
- Nesting Bowls – This set of bowls includes all different sizes. The large bowl will be perfect for mixing your salad.
Healthy Taco Salad Recipe
Easy Healthy Taco Salad Recipe with Ground Beef
Learn how to make taco salad in just 20 minutes, using common ingredients! The whole family will love this EASY, healthy taco salad recipe with ground beef.
Recipe Video
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Ingredients
Tap underlined ingredients to see where to get them. Please turn Safari reader mode OFF to view ingredients.
Instructions
Tap on the times in the instructions below to start a kitchen timer while you cook.
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Stir taco seasoning into the ground beef until well combined. If you like, you can also add 1/4 cup of water when adding the seasoning and let it simmer a bit.
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Meanwhile, combine all remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Add the ground beef. Toss everything together.
Last Step: Leave A Rating!
Share your recipe picture by tagging @wholesomeyum and hashtag it #wholesomeyum on Instagram – I’d love to see it!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition information is estimated based on 85/15 ground beef and typical tomato salsa.
Serving size: 1/6 of entire recipe
Recipe from The Easy Keto Carboholics’ Cookbook.
Nutrition facts are provided as a courtesy. Have questions about calculations or why you got a different result? Please see our nutrition policy.
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173 Comments
Helene
0It was a big hit tonight and I made the low carb tortilla chips too! Thank you for this recipe
Jen
0Another delicious recipe! I accidentally got parsley instead of cilantro but I didnt notice anything off. Thank you!!!
Lee
0Can this be made with ground turkey instead of ground beef thank you
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Lee, Sure, you can!
Kellsi Nichols
0Hi, I am looking to meal prep this recipe. With the salsa, and oil, would it be okay to meal prep it or will it be soggy after sitting like that?
Wholesome Yum
0Hi Kellsi, I wouldn’t recommend mixing all the salad components together if you meal prep it. If you do make it ahead of time, you’ll want to pack the “wet” ingredients like the tomatoes and sour cream separately.
Elizabeth Black
0I loved this taco salad and I added some color hope you like it: diced -jalapenos, red onions, waxy yellow bell peppers and sliced skinned cucumbers with lemon wedges.
Tom
0This taco salad is the better then any restaurant by far.
Regina Knight
0I made this Taco Salad and it was delicious!
I plan on making it again.
🙂
Beth
0Salads are my favorite food group & this one is a fast favorite!! Delicious!
Patricia
0How many servings is this recipe?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Patricia, It’s 6 servings for the nutrition info as listed. Or you could divide it into 4 servings instead to make larger meals.
Diana
0That’s a wonderful idea to just throw together a taco salad. I looove tacos!
Sabrina
0I love this option during the summer. Such a great twist to keeping it healthy while getting my taco fix.
Andrea Metlika
0This was easy and delicious, my favorite things.
Eric
0I will be making this tonight. Just one suggestion for those of you wishing a bit of crunch with tortillas. Why not make some cheddar crisps on the stove, in the oven or microwave. Personally I nuke small rounds of cheddar in the microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes on some parchment paper. These are a nice snack all by themselves too. Nice added crunch.
Amy
0This is so fresh and tasty!
Pam
0So simple, but so good. Perfect for a summer supper.
Shana
0I just started on the Keto Diet and this was so yummy!! 🙂 I never thought I would be eating tomatoes and avocados, but here I am. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Pat
0You don’t list how much sodium per serving. Is that because it’s VERY high?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Pat, I only have the macronutrient information available for my recipes, and provide it as a courtesy. This is across the entire site, not because it’s very high. You are welcome to enter the ingredients you use into an online calculator if you need other information.
Andrea Zurbrick
0I LOVE this recipe. I make it all of the time. I use Classic Taco Skillet Sauce Starter from La Tortilla Factory, Gluten-Free. (Found at Walmart Neighborhood Market) For 1/2 tbsp, the sauce is 35 cal, 1 g of carbs, 3.5 g fat, and 0.5 g of protein, 0 fiber. I also add a dill pickle for a little extra punch. DELICIOUS!
Andrea
0And, my other go-to for this salad instead of the salsa is Marie’s Creamy Avocado Poblano salad dressing.
2 Tbsp = 80 cal, 8 g of fat, 1 g of carb, 0g protein.
Jo
0One of my go-to recipes. I use my own taco seasoning – which is super simple to make in bulk and keep on hand.
Tara
0I LOVE a good taco salad! We used to add Fritos to them when I was little — of course, that would destroy the low carb factor, LOL…
Tayler Ross
0You had me at taco! This is totally my kind of salad!
Diane Smith
0The taste was great, but the texture was gummy.
What is missing here is the water mixed with the taco seasoning mix (pkg. instructions), which would make a nice creamy sauce without adding any carbs or calories.
Tina
0Where do you buy low carb tortillas and what is the brand, never seen any at any of our stores?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Tina, You can make them like this.
Rhonda
0Made this today for the 1st time and it’s a keeper!!!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I am so happy to hear that, Rhonda! Have a great day!
Riya Panday
0I really need to try this! It looks wonderful!
Tamika
0Hello I am going to try the Keto diet. I am afraid because I don’t eat avocados or tomatoes. Can I substitute with something? Or add more salsa or butter? This recipe looks great and I will make this weekend. Thank you for explaining everything about the Keto diet. It helped me alot! The macro part still has me nervous I don’t want to gain!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0You can easily leave the avocado and tomato out of this recipes, Tamika! Thanks for stopping by!
Donna M Shelton
0Yum, Yum! I added a little cilantro to our Pace Salsa and a little to the meat when cooking. I down loaded the recipe for the Taco seasoning, but when I looked at my Chili powder it had all the ingredients except salt and onion powder so it was 0 carbs. I highly recommend this salad.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I am so happy you liked the taco salad, Donna!
Susan Eddy
0Do you have Sodium and Sat Fat nutritionals on this recipe. I would like to try it for my school lunch program.
Love the presentation… I may borrow that idea! 🙂
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Susan, The only info I have off hand is on the recipe card. If you need other information, the best way to find out is to enter the ingredients into an online calculator.
RC
0Absolutely LOVED THIS!! Made it last night after a day at work and then working out- great simple yet healthy and exciting meal! LOVED IT! Sent the recipe to many friends/family.
Brandon
0This was a great, and very easy, recipe! Thanks! We added chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime to the salad to give it the street-taco flavor and it was perfect!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0I love that you added cilantro and lime, Brandon! Have a great day!
Randy
0The ingredients of your recipe list 1 lb Ground beef and 1 tbsp Taco seasoning (store-bought or home-made), but when I tap on your Taco seasoning link, it states: “use 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning mix per pound of meat. All the premade packets recommend this, and it’s actually the same for homemade taco seasoning, too.”
So should it be 1 tbsp or 2 tbsp for this recipe? Thanks!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Randy, You’re absolutely right! I had originally tested this with 1 tablespoon but have been making it with two for a long time since. I updated the recipe card to say 2 tbsp. Ultimately you can choose to your liking though!
Jack Smith
0I love this salads! Such a great childhood memory for me. This looks delish!
And your site…this is the first time I’m seeing it on my big 27″ iMac and omg it’s so beautiful
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you so much, Jack! Thanks for stopping by!
Karen Dennis
0Love this recipe! I mix romaine and iceberg and add black beans, corn, and crunched up tortilla chips as well as ingredients in the recipe. I serve all ingredients separately and everyone tosses their own salad (for those that have different tastes). I also have a couple of dressings to pick from. My entire family likes this one!
Ella may Dillard
0I like all the recipes
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Ella! Thanks for stopping by!
Anita
0Just double checking – 8 oz. of chopped romaine for 6 servings?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Anita, Yes. 8 oz of romaine is approximately 3 cups, so it’s 1/2 cup romaine per serving but there are lots of other ingredients in a serving so the romaine is just a small part of it. You can definitely add more romaine if you want to, though!
Marie
0I made this and it was AWESOME! I loved it!! 🙂
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Marie! I am so happy you liked the salad!
Whitney
0Made this tonight after finding it on Pinterest! I absolutely loved it and especially LOVED how simple it was! Definitely something I will continue to make. 🙂
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Whitney!
Natalie
0I’m really craving for a salad now. The combination between sour cream and taco salad is always delish. xD
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Natalie!
Rhonda O'Neill-Duran
0It turned out great. I just use ground turkey instead.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Rhonda!
Chris
0Love everything about this recipe!! Very yum. Love that it’s easy to make.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Chris!
Heather
0Can’t wait to try this. I will leave out avocado so what would that do to the nutritional breakdown?
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Hi Heather, if you leave out the avocado there will be less fat, carbs, and protein. You can find out exactly what the nutrition facts would be by putting only the ingredients you use into a nutrition fact calculator. Hope this helps!
John
0Love this salad.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, John!
JD
0Very good! The whole family enjoyed it.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, JD!
Hannah
0You made this look so easy to do! I love the way it looks when it’s ready too. Thank you for sharing how to put this together.
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Hanna!
A
0I left out the cheese and this was still delicious. I didn’t have sour cream so I mixed Paul Newman pineapple salsa with Marzetti light coleslaw dressing–it was sweet and delicious, like a cross between thousand island and the sauce on a Big Mac. I can’t think why fast food restaurants don’t just make hamburger salads with a quarter pound of beef–it would beat the tasteless salads they have, and you don’t have to eat the godawful bun…
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you! Totally agree 🙂
Sarah
0This taco salad recipe has become a regular in our house! We love it because it’s filling AND healthy. Thanks so much!
Maya | Wholesome Yum
0Thank you, Sarah!
Jen
0Love the black bean idea. The only thing with ground turkey is that it has very very high instances of salmonella. Ground bison is very lean though!
Denise DeRose
0Using ground turkey would be healthier! I also add black beans, not from a can. I make a big pot and then freeze them in containers so they are ready when I want to put one of these salads together.
Brittany
0I could eat three servings in not put a dent in my carb intake. Thanks.
Kim | Low Carb Maven
0Mmmm. We love taco salads at my house and this one looks like a winner! You’re right! Perfect for those hot kitchen days. Lol.
Karly
0A low carb way to Taco Tuesday! This is cause for fiesta!!! Love everything about this recipe!