Healthy Taco Salad
Posted: 01/10/20
Updated: 09/12/23
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This healthy taco salad might be Whole30, paleo, and low carb, but it’s oh so flavorful! Quick to throw together, it’s versatile, too, and great for a quick Mexican dinner.
Why This Salad Is So Good!
- This salad is so quick and easy to make, it’s on the table and ready to eat within 30 minutes.
- It’s whole30 compliant and low carb. You can easily make it keto too.
- It’s a great salad for meal prep and is full of Mexican flavors.
How to Make It
- Make the ground meat: Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add ground meat and sprinkle taco seasoning over. Brown completely, crumbling with a wooden or metal spatula to incorporate seasoning.
- Make the guacamole: Mash the avocados with the juice of 1 lime and salt to taste. Add in half the red onion and cilantro if desired. Stir.
- Make the pico de gallo: Toss the tomatoes with juice of 1/2-1 lime, salt, the remaining red onion, and a pinch of cilantro, if desired.
- Make the dressing: Combine all ingredients and whisk. Add more almond milk to reach desired consistency, if needed.
- Assemble the salad: Divide lettuce evenly between four bowls then top with ground meat, then guacamole and pico de gallo. Garnish with additional toppings as desired then drizzle with cilantro-lime ranch.
Can You Make This Ahead of Time?
This salad is so quick and easy to make, but if you like, you can make the ground meat, guacamole and ranch ahead of time and keep covered in the fridge. Then, assemble before serving. You can also meal prep the salads in individual containers, but it’s best not to add the cilantro-lime ranch until you are ready to eat it so that the lettuce stays crispy.
This is Such a Super Easy Whole30 Recipe!
This healthy taco salad contains no added sugar or grains and is whole30 compliant. Make sure you use Whole30-compliant mayonnaise for this recipe. You can use my Immersion Blender Mayonnaise recipe or try compliant store-bought mayonnaise. Make sure you use Whole30-compliant almond milk too.
Recipe Variations
You can use your favorite ground meat in this recipe, beef, chicken, bison and turkey all work really well. This low carb salad conatins 7g net carbs, to make it compliant for a keto diet, simply omit the red onion.
Chef’s Tips
- Ensure that your lettuce is really fresh so that it is crispy and adds texture to the dish.
- You can use your favorite store bought taco seasoning for the ground meat or make your own whole30 compliant batch using this recipe.
- If making ahead of time, it’s best to not add the ranch dressing until you are ready to serve.
More Whole30 Salad Recipes:
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Whole30 Taco Salad
A flavorful taco salad that happens to be Whole30, paleo, and low carb. An easy Mexican dinner recipe with seasoned ground meat, guacamole, and pico de gallo.
servings
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground meat like beef, chicken, or bison
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 8 cups romaine or iceberg lettuce chopped
- 1 ½ cups tomatoes chopped
- 2 avocados peeled and seeded
- juice of 1-2 limes divided
- ⅓ cup red onion chopped, divided
- cilantro chopped, divided
Cilantro-Lime Ranch
- ½ cup mayonnaise See Note for Whole30
- ½ lime juiced
- 2 tablespoons cilantro leaves
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened plain almond milk to thin, See Note for Whole30
Optional Toppings
- fresh cilantro chopped
- sliced black olives
- fresh jalapenos sliced, or pickled jalapenos slices
Instructions
- Make the ground meat: Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add ground meat and sprinkle taco seasoning over. Brown completely, crumbling with a wooden or metal spatula to incorporate seasoning.
- Make the guacamole: Mash the avocados with the juice of 1 lime and salt to taste. Add in half the red onion and cilantro if desired. Stir.
- Make the pico de gallo: Toss the tomatoes with juice of 1/2-1 lime, salt, the remaining red onion, and a pinch of cilantro, if desired.
- Make the dressing: Combine all ingredients and whisk. Add more almond milk to reach desired consistency, if needed.
- Assemble the salad: Divide lettuce evenly between four bowls then top with ground meat, then guacamole and pico de gallo. Garnish with additional toppings as desired then drizzle with cilantro-lime ranch.
Notes
Make sure you use Whole30-compliant mayonnaise for this recipe. You can use my Immersion Blender Mayonnaise recipe or try compliant store-bought mayonnaise.
Make sure you use Whole30-compliant almond milk.
7g net carbs. To make keto, you can omit the onion for a lower carb count.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 544kcal, Protein: 28g, Fat: 42g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 82mg, Sodium: 381mg, Potassium: 1264mg, Total Carbs: 17g, Fiber: 10g, Sugar: 5g, Net Carbs: 7g, Vitamin A: 8949IU, Vitamin C: 25mg, Calcium: 74mg, Iron: 5mg
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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