Savory Lotus

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Quick and Easy Taco Salad (gluten free and paleo)

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avocado, peppers, tomatoes, and green onions in a white bowl

Want to know how to get dinner on the table in 15 minutes?  Try out this quick and Easy Taco Salad. It’s one of our summer time favorites when we don’t want to spend a ton of time in the kitchen. 

Oh, summer, how I love you!  I love your long sunny days.  I love your late sunsets. Nothing is better than lazy days by the river.  You make me happy. I wish you would last forever.

Anyone else get lazy in the kitchen in the summer?  I know I do. I am all about keeping it simple so I can have more time to be outside doing all the fun summer things.  Today I am stopping by to share one of my favorite quick and easy summer recipes: Taco Salad. It can be thrown together in just minutes and is loaded with healthy goodness.

taco salad in a white bowl with a half of an avocado

Quick and Easy Taco Salad (paleo and Whole30) ~~ www.savorylotus.com

Quick and Easy Taco Salad (paleo and Whole30)

One of the things that helps me get in and out of the kitchen quickly is to keep my fridge stocked with lots of fresh seasonal vegetables.  I can whip up a salad in just minutes.  Pre-washing your salad greens before you store them makes this process even faster.  Basically for this taco salad, all you have to cook is the ground meat, which takes about 5 minutes.  Chop some veggies and make your dressing and you are good to go.  You can even prep the dressing ahead of time. (Oh, and BTW, this taco salad taste uh-may-zing with my dairy free ranch dressing as well.)

green salad dressing in a glass jar

So I know that taco salad traditionally has corn tortillas, but in order to make this recipe a bit healthier, I like to use plantain chips instead. Plantain chips are made from banana’s slightly larger, starchier, less sweet cousin. They can be found in many grocery stores and online HERE. We use than often as little scoopers for various dips and spreads. You can even use them to make nachos.

two Taco Salads in white bowls

taco salad mixed up in white bowl

two taco salads with ground beef and veggies

The recipe below will make 2 very large taco salads for dinner OR 3-4 smaller taco salads for lighter meals or lunches.  Hope you enjoy!

xo,

Katja

NOTE: This recipe used to be categorized as Whole30 compliant.  As of March 2017, the Whole30 program has decided that the plan does not allow any store-bought chips of any origin (potato, tortilla, plantain, coconut, kale…)

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Quick and Easy Taco Salad

★★★★★ 4.9 from 9 reviews
  • Author: Katja from Savory Lotus
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 5 mins
  • Total Time: 15 minutes
  • Yield: 2 large salads or 3-4 small salads 1x
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Ingredients

CREAMY AVOCADO DRESSING

  • 1 avocado, pitted and peeled
  • 1/3 cup coconut cream (the thick stuff from the top of a full fat coconut milk can)
  • 3 tbsp olive oil (I use THIS organic brand)
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 packed cup fresh cilantro
  • 1 clove of garlic, peeled
  • juice from 1/2 lime
  • 1/4 tsp unrefined salt
  • a pinch of black pepper
  • optional: 1/4 tsp chili powder
  • extra water for thinning

TACO MEAT

FOR SALAD

  • 1 large head of romaine lettuce, chopped
  • 1 avocado, sliced
  • 1 cup cherry tomatoes
  • 1/3 cup green onions, chopped
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • 1 yellow pepper, diced
  • 1 cup of plantain chips (like this)

Instructions

  1. To make dressing: Combine all dressing ingredients in a blender and process until creamy smooth. Adjust for salt and pepper. Thin with additional water to desired consistency.
  2. For taco meat: Combine spices and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of fat of choice and saute ground meat for 1 minute. Add spices and cook until meat is cooked through. Turn off heat.
  3. For salad: Combine salad ingredients in bowl. Add spiced ground meat and drizzle with creamy avocado dressing. Enjoy!

Click HERE to PIN THIS!

white bowl with ground beef, veggies, and plantain chips

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. I just made this for lunch and it is delicious!! I used spinach instead of romaine (because that is what I had) and all the favors work really well together. Well done!! Thank you!!

    Reply

  4. Oh but that DRESSING! My goodness! Sounds perfect! I wouldn’t have thought to put the plantains on a taco salad but they are beautiful and I bet taste so good with the savory salad!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  11. This recipe makes me crave summer so badly!

    And those plantain chips look absolutely delicious, this would be such a great recipe to have at a barbecue!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  19. Yum I just had this for lunch and will have it for next 3 days! Whenever I make salads with homemade dressings the dressing always tastes bland by itself but when you mix it with the flavors of the salad and meat it tastes like heaven! This one is no exception. Delicious and very filling salad!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  20. Hi! Where do you purchase coconut cream? Can it be purchased at Kroger? I just don’t know what I’m looking for, if you could help out 🙂

    Reply

    • Hi, Megan! The coconut cream is the thick part from a can of full fat coconut milk. Place the can in fridge overnight, and when you open can, you will see that the thick part and watery part have separated. Carefully remove thick part and use that for this recipe. Most health food stores sell full fat coconut milk. So does Trader Joe’s. Hope that helps.

      Reply

  22. This was delicious! I especially loved the dressing. I purchased some spicey plantain chips at the farmers market and used them like nachos. Thank you for sharing.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  23. Hi! Curious how long the dressing would last in the fridge, if, for example, I made enough for a week’s worth of lunches?

    Reply

  25. I made this without the plantain chips due to wanting it to be Whole30 compliant. My wife and I love it. I did add a sweet onion and I put some small diced fresh jalapeño peppers (jalapeño on my salad).

    Thank you for the recipe. Unbelievable good. Diet or not.

    Reply

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