Last updated on October 9th, 2024 at 05:19 pm
Change up taco night with this easy 20-minute Instant Pot Taco Salad recipe. Let the Instant Pot do all the work while you prep the romaine, tomatoes, cheese avocados, and most importantly the nacho cheese Doritos corn chips. Top it off with the BEST two-ingredient creamy salsa taco salad dressing.
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Taco salad recipes can be made in a variety of ways and there's no wrong way to make a taco salad. This recipe was adapted out of necessity for busy weeknights when school pick up and kids activities make for a small time window to get kids fed and back out the door. Getting the taco meat started just before picking up the kids from school and having the produce washed and chopped ahead of time allows for this seriously delicious and easy dinner to come together quickly. Of course, you can prepare the taco meat and beans in a skillet but, you can't walk away from that and rush off to pick up kids while that is cooking, can you?
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Ingredients
For this recipe you'll need:
- Lean ground beef or ground turkey
- Red beans
- Water
- Romaine lettuce
- Grape tomatoes
- Colby Jack cheese
- Nacho cheese Doritos corn chips
- Black olives
- Avocado
- Sour Cream or Plain Greek yogurt
- Salsa
Taco Seasoning:
- Sea salt
- Black pepper
- Chili powder
- Ground cumin
- Onion powder
- Granulated garlic/ garlic powder
Instant Pot Directions
To start add the EVOO to the Instant Pot and select the sauté function. Add the lean ground beef when the display reads HOT. Sauté for 4-5 minutes. Season the ground beef with chili powder, onion powder, granulated garlic, ground cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Cancel/turn off the sauté function and add water and scrape the bottom of the Instant Pot to be sure there is nothing stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add the rinsed and drained kidney beans on top of the ground beef. Lock the lid in place with the vent knob turned to the sealing position.
While the ground beef and kidney beans are cooking in the Instant Pot assemble the salads. Start with a bed of romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, sliced avocado, sliced black olives, and shredded Monterey jack cheese on top.
When the Instant Pot beeps to signal that the cooking time is complete allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes. When the lid can be safely removed spoon taco meat and beans onto the salad. Top the salad with cheese, a few broken-up Doritos Nacho Cheese Chips, and pour over the creamy salsa dressing.
Creamy Salsa Dressing
To make this simple two-ingredient taco salad dressing you will need Greek yogurt or sour cream and salsa. I like a thicker consistency salsa when making this dressing. We call this creamy salsa taco salad dressing "pink" dressing because when you blend up the Greek yogurt and salsa it turns a light pink color. For a creamy dressing blend the two ingredients for 30 seconds in the blender. If you prefer a chunky texture you can mix the two ingredients by hand in a bowl. Keep in mind the spice of the salsa you are using will determine how much heat the salad dressing will have.
Meal Prep
To have an even easier weeknight dinner ready to go, pre-cook the ground beef and kidney beans and store it in an air-tight container like this for up to 4 days before. Blend up the creamy salsa dressing and store it as well for up to a week. Wash and chop up the salad ingredients and assemble everything when you're ready to serve.
Recipe Varriations
If you prefer lean ground turkey you can substitute it for lean ground beef. You may also enjoy spicy nacho cheese Doritos or plain tortilla strips instead of Doritos. Swap out Monterey jack cheese for pepper jack or your favorite Mexican cheese blend.
Stove Top Instructions
Heat 1-2 Tbsp. of EVOO in a skillet on medium heat. Brown the ground beef until there is little to no pink left about 7-10 minutes. Season with taco seasonings and stir to combine. Add the rinsed and drained kidney beans and turn the heat to low. Continue to cook for an additional 3-4 minutes to warm the beans through.
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Doritos Taco Salad With Creamy Salsa Dressing
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsps. EVOO
- 1.5 Lbs. Ground Beef
- ¼ cup water
- 15.5 oz. Red Kidney Beans can
- 1 Cup Tomatoes grape or cherry
- 1 can Olives Sliced
- 1 Avocado Diced
- 1 Cup Monterey Jack Cheese Shredded
- 6 Cups Romaine Lettuce
- 1 Cup Doritos Corn Chips Nacho Cheese
Creamy Salsa Dressing
- ½ Cup Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream
- ¾ Cup Salsa
Taco Seasoning
- 1 ½ tsp. Chili Powder
- 1 ½ tsp. Garlic Powder
- 1 ½ tsp. Onion Powder
- 1 ½ tsp. Ground Cumin
- 1 tsp. Sea Salt
- 1 ½ tsp. Black Pepper
Instructions
- Add the EVOO to the Instant Pot and select the sauté function
- When the display reads HOT add the lean ground beef
- Sauté for 4-5 minutes
- Season the ground beef with chili powder, onion powder, granulated garlic, ground cumin, salt, and pepper
- Stir to combine the meat and spices.
- Select cancel/turn off the sauté function and add water
- Scrape/deglaze the bottom of the Instant Pot to be sure there is nothing stuck to the bottom of the pot
- Add the rinsed and drained kidney beans on top of the ground beef. Lock the lid in place with the vent knob turned to the sealing position set the pressure cooking time to 5 minutes.
- While the ground beef and kidney beans are cooking in the Instant Pot assemble the salads.
- Start with a bed of romaine lettuce. Top it with grape tomatoes, sliced avocado, sliced black olives, and shredded Monterey jack cheese
- Blend or mix together the sour cream or Greek yogurt with the salsa for the sales dressing
- When the lid can be safely removed spoon taco meat and beans onto the salad.
- Top the salad a few broken-up Doritos Nacho Cheese Chips
- Pour over the creamy salsa dressing.
Notes
Nutrition
For a classic taco salad the toppings can include tomatoes, avocado, beans, olives, cheese, and tortilla chips. But feel free to make it your own and add purple onion, corn, or cilantro.
Taco salad should be served with cold lettuce and toppings and warm meat and beans on top.
Mixed together taco salad will only keep in the fridge for one day. If stored separately or layered properly it will keep for up to 5 days.
A simple two ingredient taco salad dressing is a mix of 1 cup of salsa to 1 ½ cups of sour cream or Greek yogurt. Mix or blend the ingredients together for a delicious and simple taco salad dressing.
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