Easy Layered Beef Taco Salad
This post contains affiliate links or images. When you grow up in a house with 6 kids, you tend to eat a lot of the same foods. We had pot roast on Sunday, spaghetti on Thursday and tacos on Tuesday.
I looked forward to Taco Tuesdays because I loved that zesty meat mixture topped with my favorite ingredients. I love adding fresh tomatoes and the crunch of those corn tortillas. As an adult, I have not lost my love for Taco Tuesday.
To mix things up a bit, I make my Easy Layered Beef Taco Salad! This salad has everything you love about tacos, all in one bowl. This dish is especially perfect for those hot summer days when it’s too hot to cook.
I make a large batch of the mixture for the layered taco salad and freeze. This way, I can defrost it in the microwave and I am ready to go! Also, this salad is absolutely gorgeous! Trust me. People will be afraid to dig in because it is almost too pretty to eat.
If you are a vegetarian, you can leave out the beef or turkey. You can add vegetarian beans and lots of fresh vegetables. My husband loves corn and black olives in his. I am not a fan, so I leave it out of mine. That is another reason making an individual layered taco salad is so great.
You can make it to suit the tastes of each person. I serve this 6 layered taco salad in a glass trifle bowl. In less than 3 minutes, I have a happy family with happy bellies!
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 small red or yellow onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons of diced garlic
- 1 pound 93%-lean ground beef or turkey
- 1/4 cup beef broth
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1 avocado, pitted
- 1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- 1 1/2 cups crumbled unsalted tortilla chips
- 1 cup prepared salsa
- 1 15-ounce can spicy pinto beans, rinsed
- 1 5 ounce can of black beans, rinsed
- 5 cups thinly sliced romaine lettuce
- 1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
- 1 medium tomato, chopped
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and cook 1-2 minutes or until translucent. Add beef or turkey and cook until no longer pink, stirring and breaking up lumps as you go.
- Add beef broth, chili powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Turn heat down to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mash avocado, yogurt and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl with a fork until smooth.
- Transfer the taco mixture to a serving bowl. Layer chips, salsa, beans and lettuce over the taco mixture. Spread the avocado mixture over the lettuce. Top with cheese, then tomato.

What would you add to your Layered Beef Taco Salad for Taco Tuesday?

I love the idea of serving the taco salad like this. I will have to take out my trifle dish!
Me too that is very clever! BTW this looks amazing!
that looks to die for! We love Mexican food in our house and I know this would be a huge hit!
That looks fantastic! Taco salad is one of my favorite dishes! It’s all the deliciousness of tacos without all the filling slopping down your shirt.
This is definitely on the menu for this weekend. My husband and I love taco salad, and you made it look so fancy!
this is how we make our taco salads but not as pretty at yours. That would be great for a party
What a cute entertaining idea! I think a layer of guacamole would really add some great texture too!
YUM! This will be a huge hit in my house! Love that you use Greek yogurt.
Your taco salad looks so delicious! I prefer topping taco salad with plain non fat Greek yogurt, Mexican cheese, diced tomatoes, and hot sauce. My hubby is for a huge dollop of sour cream, cheddar cheese, and tomatoes. Love doing layered taco salads. We always lay all the stuff for our salads on the counter buffet style, so everyone can make it their own way.
I know what you mean by eating the same things over and over again. I love Tacos and this is a great way to switch things up.
Finally, my kids have all reached the age where they love Tacos! We have a taco inspired meal at least once a week! These little layered taco salads have definitely made the menu!
That looks so good! I’d love to make some taco salad like this for guests. It’s so pretty in those dishes.
We just had this… except in burrito form for dinner. I would love to cut out the shell to save some of those calories- great recipe!
That looks great. I love Mexican food. I want this now!
I’m glad you mentioned that it’s pretty. That’s why I like to make these, they make me happy to look at the/serve them to family and guests. 🙂
YUMMY!! I enjoy food and especially salads. This looks delicious.
This looks so good! We are making a version of this on the menu this week. Such an easy dinner idea on busy nights.
This looks so good, and such a pretty presentation! Plus, you get to use your trifle dish which for me is not a frequent occurrence. haha! Very good idea!
I love that you served these up in small trifle bowls! So pretty. Shoot, I only have 3 kids and we have repeat meals. It is so much easier sometimes to have a safety net for dinner that everyone will eat. I am going to have to make these soon. The layered look is so classy!
My family’s love tacos. WE have Taco Tuesdays every week and this would be a great change of pace. Pinning for later.
Yum!!! I love taco salad. Totally making this tomorrow.
This looks really good. wonder if I could get my kids to eat it?
I love a good taco salad! That looks sooo good! I want it for myself!
That looks yummy! And the layers look amazing and fancy!
This looks so good and so easy to make. I love those glasses you have them in. Thanks for sharing.
That looks so good! I wish my kids liked tacos. I’m sure I could make an individual portion, though, for just me.
I love taco salad! It’s one of my favorite things to eat. This recipe sounds very delicious! I’ll have to try it out soon.
This looks amazing! I love taco salad and how you have it layered in the glass bowl!
This looks SO delicious! We eat TexMex food for a large portion of our meals and I’m always looking for new meal ideas to bring into the rotation.
I would never have thought about using Greek yogurt in this. What a fabulous idea… will have to give it a try. Thanks for sharing.
I love taco salad! So yummy and perfect for lunch or dinner!
This looks delicious. I love making Taco Salad. I will have to try this recipe next time i make it. It is a family favorite.
These look amazing. I’m so hungry I could eat one now!!
that looks really good. i’ll have to make it soon!!!
These look yummy I can’t wait to try these out with my family. I love the individual servings.
Mmm, this looks delicious! I have the ingredients and I am cooking this!
Fantastic way to spice up Taco Tuesday! Going to do this next week.
What a pretty presentation! This would be great for a garden party!
I am going to have to make this! Mexican salad is my favorite.
I love anything that doesn’t take forever to cook and this surely hits the spot. Will have to give this a try one day.
I would add the tiniest bit of coco powder {1 tsp} to the meat while I was cooking it.
Family secret but it sure is YuMmY!!
Oh, yum! That taco salad looks so tasty! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
You cannot go wrong with Taco Salad so easy and looks amazing displayed like you did. Nice job by the way it looks great. I like how versatile it can be no matter how I dress it it is always a huge hit in my family.
As a person who loves tacos I wold love to try this. This Taco Salad looks delicious.
Love Mexican food. This sounds like a nice change to taco’s. Yum!
I love taco salad! That presentation is amazing!
I love to make taco salads. I like how you served them in the trifle bowls
This looks so good! I am getting hungry looking at it. I would love to add some guacamole and pico de gallo to the layered taco salad.
Taco salad is one of my favorites! I am definitely going to be making this for my family!
Oh man, I just made taco salad tonight. I like this better lol.
This looks like a tasty dinner idea!
This looks so good! I never thought to add beans to taco salad, but it makes sense. I’m going to try this tomorrow.
Yup this one is going on the dinner menu next week. I am literally licking the screen! This looks SO good!
That looks delicious and that bowl you have it in is spectacular! What a lovely layered taco salad!
We love Taco Tuesday in my house!! This is a great idea for dinner!
Great Recipe Kelly! I’ts great to change things up just to keep things interesting
yum! yum! yum! I love anything taco related – especially in a bowl!
Love all the colors. Such a great salad – might be a good one to make over the weekend
I love a good layered taco salad, and especially this time of year. I can’t get enough of salads, I so need to try out your recipe, it’s a little different than mine.
These are darling I want to use those cups and make that salad. Thanks for the cute idea
This is an amazing idea for taco Tuesday! I love easy dinners to make up like this plus its easy to customize for anyone in the family!
Woah! This looks delicious. I love the use of Greek Yogurt in it too!
Love how your served it! I have a cake stand just like that that I am going to use for taco salad now.
How cute are those mini taco salad containers. Looks easy and delicious.
That looks really good! I haven’t had a taco salad in ages.
This is good but can even be better. I take a small bottle of taco sauce and a half bottle of catalina dressing mix together an pour over salad. Very good and keeps well.
I love the presentation of the salad. I usually get Taco Salad when we go to a Mexican restaurant. I like all the textures. Thank you for the recipe.