Taco Salad Recipe As A First Course Or Side

October 1, 2013 at 8:09 am · Filed under International Foods, Recipes, Vegetables-Salads-Herbs

[1] First course or side taco salad (photo © Kraft Heinz).

Taco Salad
[2] No taco bowl? No problem! The original recipe used Fritos, and so can you (photo © Taste of Home).

When we see a taco salad on a menu, we generally order it, and get a huge salad the size of a dinner plate. But there are smaller options.

With this “taco salad makeover,” you can enjoy a taco salad as a first course, or as a side with a sandwich or soup.

This recipe, from Kraft, keeps the classic ingredients along with an ingenious way to make the shell fresh, from tortillas. You get to a family-restaurant favorite in just 20 minutes of prep time.

The recipe follows, along with the history of the taco salad.

Elsewhere on The Nibble:

> The history of tacos and Taco Tuesday.

RECIPE: TACO SALAD

Ingredients For 4 Servings

4 flour tortillas (8 inch diameter)

3/4 pound extra-lean ground beef

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 cup rinsed canned kidney beans

1/2 cup chunky salsa

4 cups packed torn mixed salad greens

1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 large tomato, chopped

2 tablespoons ranch dressing or olive oil-lime juice vinaigrette

Preparation

1. HEAT the oven to 425°F.

2. CRUMPLE 4 sheets of foil to make 4 (3-inch) balls; place on baking sheet. Top each with 1 tortilla; spray with cooking spray. Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until tortillas are golden brown. The tortillas will drape over balls as they bake, to form shells. Meanwhile…

3. BROWN meat with chili powder in large nonstick skillet. Stir in beans and salsa; cook 3 to 5 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

4. FILL tortilla shells with salad greens, meat mixture, cheese and tomatoes. Drizzle with dressing.

THE HISTORY OF TACO SALAD

The Tex-Mex taco salad was invented by Elmer Doolin, the founder of Fritos, in the mid-1950s, to promote Fritos corn chips. Originally called the Ta-Cup, it was first served at the Casa de Fritos restaurant in Disneyland around 1955.

Fritos were used to make an edible bowl filled with taco ingredients: A small bowl made of fried corn chips was filled with ground beef, shredded Cheddar cheese, and other taco ingredients such as iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole, and salsa.

Initially a small snack, it evolved into a “main” salad, with recipes appearing in publications nationwide during the 1960s.

Taco Bell famously added the Fiesta Taco Salad to its menu in 1984 (but removed it in 2017).

The dish remains a crowd-pleaser, easy to make at home on Taco Tuesday.

It can also be made into a lighter version by keeping the fillings but substituting a sprinkle of Fritos or tortilla strips on top.

[3] Taco salad without the bowl (Pixabay Photo).