Doritos Taco Salad

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BeefDinnerEasyEatsMexicanpotluckSaladssavorySouthwestTacos

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This Doritos Taco Salad is loaded with seasoned ground beef, black beans and more. What makes this salad so delicious is the nacho cheese Doritos chips!

Doritos Taco Salad - Life In The Lofthouse (1)

My family and I love this salad. It is packed with all kinds of deliciousness. Seasoned ground beef, black beans, cheese, lettuce and don’t forget the Nacho cheese Doritos. 😀 They make the salad!

Doritos Taco Salad - Life In The Lofthouse (2)

This Doritos Taco Salad comes together in just about 20 minutes tops! Salads like this are my go-to for easy and simple dinners. I especially love to make them during the summer time, so we don’t have to turn on the oven.

The version I’m sharing today is pretty basic, but absolutely delicious, and the one I typically make. Sometimes we add corn, chopped green onion and even use different dressings to mix things up. I’ve even used the Ranch flavored Doritos instead of the nacho cheese, and it’s pretty awesome with those, too.

Doritos Taco Salad - Life In The Lofthouse (3)

Most importantly, with any salad, is the dressing. Feel free to use your favorite dressing! You don’t have to use Catalina dressing. Sometimes I serve it with ranch dressing too. It’s delicious either way!

MORE SALAD RECIPES YOU MAY LIKE:

Doritos Chicken Taco Salad

Crispy Chicken BLT Salad

Tex-Mex Chicken Chopped Salad

Bajio Chicken Chile Salad

Print Pin

4.95 from 18 votes

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Holly

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef
1 packet (1 ounce) taco seasoning
3 to 4 Romaine lettuce hearts, rinsed then chopped
1 cup black beans, rinsed
1 large tomato, chopped OR sliced cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 ½ cups nacho cheese Doritos, broke into bite-size pieces
1 cup Catalina dressing OR use your favorite salad dressing (we like to eat this with ranch dressing too)
fresh cilantro, optional

Instructions

Brown and crumble ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain grease. Add taco seasoning and water called for on packet. Stir until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let meat cool slightly.
In a large salad bowl add chopped lettuce, black beans, tomato and cheese. Add slightly cooled ground beef and gently toss to combine everything. Serve now, or chill in refrigerator until ready to eat. (Don’t add chips until ready to serve.)
When ready to serve, add Doritos chips and dressing to salad. Toss to coat. Serve. 🙂

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Doritos Taco Salad - Life In The Lofthouse (5)

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Join the Conversation

This is a taco salad my boys and I would love!
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This salad has me drooling over here! I love Doritos – they’re my favorite chips ever! – so this salad is right up my alley. I totally wish I had a bowl right now!
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YUM. Gotta love taco salad night – and something besides ranch dressing! Love the tang and sweet of Catalina. Perfect for summer!
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1. and don’t forget the sour cream
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  1. We have this a lot I put in cucumber as well. GrCanned pinto beans instead of black beans. Ground chuck is better (just drain the meat) I also make my own dressing, I call it spicy French dressing… mayo, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco. It is really good. Mix in ketchup until pink, add a dash of WS and Tabasco too, make it as tangy or not as you like.
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This looks incredible. I could definitely see it being a hit at my house. I’ll be trying it out for sure.
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Got a similar recipe from a friend and like using the Chili/BBQ Fritos in place of the Doritos!
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I make this dish all the time and it is delicious! But do note that the Doritos do get soggy after awhile. I haven’t figured out how to prevent that. Any suggestions?
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1. Karen, I don’t add the Doritos until right before serving!
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  1. EXACTLY!
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  2. What else do you serve with this?
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2. I add the Doritos first on my plate then the salad last the dressing. That way if you have any salad left you can save it for the next day. I have made this for years. Everyone loves it. I always have to make it for our church potlucks or people will be disappointed.
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3. Sprinkle the doritos over the top of the salad.
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4. I have a similar recipe and I put the chips in each individual serving. Then if you save some salad for later, you can add the chips and have a crunchy salad again.
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5. I know what you mean, the only other solution is to cruse the dorito’s and have sone in a bowl on the side and add them to the salad when it’s put in the bowls to eat it, mix them in.
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6. I would break them up and have them on the side and then add them individually because we have salad left over for the 2 of us because it’s a big salad for 2 and that what we do otherwise they do get soggy!
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7. You can also have them on the side and everyone adds to their own.
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8. Have guests Add Doritos to their liking. Saves the Doritos
  getting soggy
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9. Let everyone put their own Doritos on their salad. That’s what we do.
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10. Leave Doritos on the side and let people add it themselves. That way they are always fresh.
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11. Add your Doritos INDIVIDUALLY
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I have made this since I was in high school. I would use the plain doritoes which are very hard to find now. (It was your only choice back then lol). To keep the doritoes from getting soggy I would never mix them in with the salad but would add as I served salad. I always used Ranch dressing.
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1. That is how I do mine. Serve the chips in side
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My dh is Diabetic and we are trying to watch out for his type of diet. If I skip the dorritos…doesn’t everythng else fit ok?
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1. I did fix it tonight for my dh. I used Bison ground meat because its lean and high in protein. Did not use the dorittos though. LOL He probably would have liked that. Layered and mixed with lettuce/spinach to make a salad. I only had ranch dressing but it was good.
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Man this picture took me right back to my childhood and the hundreds of summer BBQs my mom had! This was definitely a family food staple! Went to the store and bought all the ingredients for tomorrow’s dinner!!
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I make this all the time. I add a small can of sliced black olives and sometimes I add a chopped green onion. Delish!
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I made this tonight for dinner. It was so good. Everyone loved it. I’ll definitely be making it again.
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This is a great recipe! I have been making it since 1975!
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Much better tasting if you use creamy Italian dressing instead.
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1. Can I use thousand island dressing?
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  1. yes. Thousand Island id great too
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I make this but use creamy Italian dressing instead.
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We used to eat this growing up but instead of catalina we used French dressing mixed with Tapatio hot sauce And diced red onion and a bell pepper.
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how could i make this without the meat? i mean what could i add the taco seasoning in?
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1. I think you could just cook black beans in a saucepan with a couple Tablespoons of the taco seasoning. let cool slightly then add into the salad…
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  1. I make this a lot, and don’t always use meat. Instead I use thousand island dressing with a couple tablespoons of taco seasoning mixed in the dressing. That’s the way we like it!
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2. Just use taco flavored doritos!!!
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To keep Doritos from getting all soggy I present them in a separate bowl so guests can top there salad with them.
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Made this yummy taco salad for the first time last night and it was a BIG hit! Lots of flavor. Changes I made: used ground turkey with sautéed onion instead of beef and Frontera seasoning packet for chicken tacos from Whole Foods. (It’s not a powder, little packet with tomatoes and taco seasoning sauce. Different flavor – but good.) I also added avocados and next time (there will definitely be a next time) I’ll toss in some corn. I also used Whole Foods 365 Nacho Chips – they are thicker and not as salty. I never would have thought to use Catalina/French salad dressing and it was the perfect match. Thanks for a fun, easy, flavorful, big bowl salad! Oh, I also used three romaine hearts and made three big salads.
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This was good and all of my kids loves it. Thank you!
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I have made this for years. I don’t use taco seasoning (I imagine it would give a fantastic flavor) and use chili beans instead of the black beans. My original recipe called for advocado but use it. LOVE IT!!
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My family has made this salad for over 25 years, except it was made with Taco Flavor Doritos and we switched to the Southwest Chipotle Salad Dressing.
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Love this salad. I always use my leftover taco meat to make a little Doritos taco salad for lunch the next day.
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What kind of side would you have with it?
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1. It’s really a meal in itself but I guess you could have Spanish rice or corn on the cob or whatever you like.
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2. You really don’t need any sides as it’s a complete meal by itself. You might serve a nice light dessert afterwards.
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I’ve always made my taco salads like this. And it is yummy…
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Great tasting salad. we added the chips to a plate and piled the salad on top. Delicious.
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I just made this came out great! A few things I did a little different ,I tossed the salad portion with ranch dressing , and mixed in salsa with the ground beef to make it a little richer. We love guacamole so added a dollop of that on top, also we used the taco flavored doritos – the old school flavor that came out after plain and before nacho cheese, gave it that nice taco flavor – so quick to throw together will do this again – Thanks!
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I love Doritos 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
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Try with venison instead of beef!!! AMAZING!
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I made this exactly as posted. It was good but I would recommend not using a cup of catilina dressing. It was too much. I think 1/2 cup at first would be fine.
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I use southwestern dressing instead of catalina
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This is delicious. Made it for dinner and will definitely be making it again.
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I liked it better when you could get “taco flavor” Doritos.
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My whole family loved this taco salad! I changed it up a bit. I added some red onion and canned corn and used Cool Ranch Doritos instead of the Nacho as we prefer the Cool Ranch flavor and I think it gave the salad flavoring some extra zing! Thank you for yummy recipe!
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Sounds delicious. Any other dressing you could suggest? We don’t like catalina.
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1. We like to use ranch dressing too!
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2. I stir Ranch dressing with taco sauce for my dressing. it is so good
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I have made this before many times, but I always add a big can of kidney beans, WITH the juices in the can. EXCELLENT!
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I mix the Catalina’ with equal parts Italian dressing….he combination of the two is amazing on this salad!
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1. Yum!
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This salad is actually a staple in Hawaii, except better than the dressing recommended here we use a home made dressing consisting of mayo, vinegar and sugar. It’s a plain but tart dressing which complement the already strong seasoning of the Doritos, and the taco seasoned meat if you use meat. We serve the Doritos taco salad at football game concessions (no Meat, just romaine lettuce, shredded cheese, and Doritos with the homage “Doritos salad dressing) and it always sells out. We even sell the dressingnin 7oz jars for $10 a pop and sell out of it as well
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I remember this salad from when I was a kid. I was hyped to try it again and mixed everything up except the lettuce….. thats where I went off the path…. when i was ready to eat i chopped the lettuce I found my lettuce was bad…. so what to do. I pre mixed everything else and had no lettuce. Digging in the fridge I had a pack of pillsbury pie crusts si I thought why not. I put spoonfuls into 4 inch pie dough pockets.. like an empanada. Oh my gosh it’s going to be my new favorite appy. A must try variation on your recipe
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AHHHHHHHHHHHH!! I love this stuff! my husband isn’t a huge Taco lover, but he loved this salad!!! It is a favorite in my book!!! Can’t wait to make it again!!!
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I make them with Doritos at the bottom , mince and beans on top, topped then with salad and then cheese, popped into the oven to just grill the cheese, serve with cream cheese/ cottage cheese and avocado , yummy
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I’m making this today for the first time for a friends baby shower. Another friend of mine made it every year for a pig roast we attend and she always used green goddess salad dressing. It was so delicious! I will be using green goddess dressing as well.
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1. I need to try that dressing. I’ve heard it’s amazing! 🙂
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Made this tonight. Huge hit! I prefer more cheese and used Italian dressing. So yummy
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1. Glad it was a hit for you! Using Italian dressing sounds delicious!
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I really need calorie counts. I’ve noticed that a lot of recipes on Pinterest don’t have them. I did make the salad and enjoyed it, but I need to know how many calories I’m eating.
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1. Nancy, I’m working on getting recipe cards that have calorie counts. Right now I don’t. There are a lot of online calorie calculators you can use by adding in the ingredients. Hope this helps 🙂
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Good tip regarding the soggy Doritos. I have been looking for the original taco flavored as well. I found them in Danbury Wisconsin.
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I am going to try this, but with my dentures, I DEFINITELY will have to soften those doritos. I’m sure it will taste great anyway.
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Omg this is how i eat my taco salads it is my FAVORITE salad ESPECIALLY with catalina dressing. Ive also used crunched up fritos! Ive never added corn will be trying that! Thanks for the idea
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I use taco dorittos
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IVe been using This recipe for a few years now. Pinned it forever ago. Just wish i had the nutritional info with out trying to figure out myself. We love taco salad night and this recipe does not DISAPPOINT!
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We like the Kraft Catalina dressing with honey.
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Easy recipe to follow and create. So easy to add extras or more black beans, in our case and simply delicious on a hot summer late afternoon. Thanks.
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Mu grandma made this a lot when I was younger, she would add homemade thousand island. Super delicious!!
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Love this, make with with no dressing, i add spicy salsa to my salad!
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THIS IS SO GOOD! Never would have thought of using Catalina dressing on taco salad!
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My friend sent me this recipe saying he wanted it. We both love it so much, I’m making it again tonight. I am doubling the hamburger and taco seasoning, as one pound of meat in this deliciousness was not enough for the Two of us.
I put the doritos on top of everything after making a bowl to keep them from getting soggy.
Thank you SO much for this wonderful, cheap, and effortless recipe!!
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Awesome!
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This was an excellent dinner choice. I added a can of drained fiesta corn and it was amazing!
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I put the taco seasoning in a container of sour cream and use that as the dressing. Yummy.
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This was supper tonight. A five-star recipe for sure. Only change i made was omitting the beans (Did not have any on hand)
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We love this salad! To us, the Catalina dressing makes it bc it goes so well with the spicy beef and mex veggies/beans. thanks for sharing!
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Russian dressing and a little chopped red onion is what my Mom always used and it is soooo good!
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Love this! so good.
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I use 1 can of ranch style beans instead of black beans and I add 1 small can of chopped black olives
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