Whip up an easy taco salad recipe with ground turkey for a fast, hearty dinner salad! With cool crunchy iceberg lettuce, seasoned ground beef, crunchy tortilla chips, and a cool, creamy sour cream dressing, your whole family will be asking for salad for dinner!
water, as neededto thin out dressing so it can be poured
Instructions
In a large heavy skillet, heat the 2 tablespoons canola oil over medium heat. Add the 4 corn tortillas, cut into strips, and fry until golden brown crispy, flipping with a spatula every so often. Keep an eye on them as once they start to get golden brown they will cook quickly. Remove to a paper towel lined plate, keeping as much oil in the skillet as possible.
In the same skillet, add the 1 lb. ground turkey and the drained and rinsed 15 oz. canned black beans, along with the 2 tablespoons taco seasoning. Cook until turkey is fully browned, breaking apart with a wooden spoon as much as possible so it is in small crumbles. Add 2 tablespoons water and stir to thicken it slightly and make a bit of a sauce, adding more if needed. Allow to cool slightly to thicken more and so it's not steamy hot when you add it to the salad, as this will wilt the lettuce almost immediately.
To make the dressing: Add the ¼ cup sour cream, 2 tablespoons lime juice, a few dashes hot sauce, ¼ cup cilantro leaves, ½ large avocado, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil to a blender or food processor and blend until very smooth and creamy. If you like, you can add water, as needed to thin the dressing out so you can drizzle it on top of the salad. Taste and add salt if needed.
On a large platter, or evenly distributed among 4-6 salad plates, layer the 4 cups chopped iceberg lettuce, the cooked turkey and bean mixture, the shredded 4 oz. cheddar cheese, the crispy tortilla strips, the diced 1 large tomato, the ½ cup diced red onion, the ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro.
Drizzle the salad with the dressing and serve.
Notes
Substitutions: Use ground beef or chicken instead of turkey, other beans such as pinto instead of black beans, omit the cilantro if you don't like the taste of it, and feel free to add or take away any of the other taco salad ingredients - throw in some corn, diced avocado, or other toppings if you want!
Make it vegetarian: use 2 cans black beans instead of ground turkey, or a vegetarian ground meat substitute or crumbled tofu.
Make it vegan/dairy-free: make it vegetarian plus omit the cheese (or use a vegan alternative) and just omit the sour cream in the dressing - the avocado will be creamy enough.
Leftovers are great as traditional tacos! Just microwave a tortilla topped with the turkey mixture and some shredded cheese, then top with whatever leftover fixings and sauce you have.