Healthy Taco Salad with ground turkey, veggies, greens, cheese and one simple ingredient that replaces unhealthy bottled dressing. It is easy, filling and a family favorite.
Taco Salad
This healthy taco salad is so easy and filling, you will keep making it again and again! With wholesome ingredients it is perfect for a quick weeknight dinner. You will not need anything else. I made my kids and Alex pasta to go with the salad, but I was good.
You can also meal prep taco salad in jars for a week ahead. Just don’t add crunchy chips or one ingredient secret dressing. Now, about that.
Healthy Taco Salad Dressing
What I despise the most about unhealthy salads is the bottled high calorie, sugar and sodium loaded salad dressing. And what I don’t like even more is a complicated salad dressing in a healthy salad. I just know that I will never make it, especially for one meal – “Ain’t nobody got time for that”.
So, all there is to my healthy taco salad dressing is plain whole yogurt. Here is why…
Is Taco Salad Healthy?
This low calorie taco salad is made with very well Tex Mex seasoned ground turkey and corn. Then mixed with all the classic ingredients like black beans, tomato, avocado, cheese and chips. That’s a lot of flavor going on here.
So to help all ingredients “marry each other” all you need is quality plain yogurt. The best dressing and totally enough. Buy organic or grass fed Greek or regular yogurt with fat content of 3% and up and you will be blown away by its taste. No more low fat 0% crap. Healthy fat is good for you in moderation like anything else. Even kale.
Oh, and a lot of salad greens because they are healthy and yummy.
How to Make Healthy Taco Salad
- Add vegetables, tortilla chips and cheese to a large salad bowl. You want to be able to mix salad comfortably as it is a large meal size salad.
- Cook turkey and corn. Saute ground turkey with taco seasoning and onion flakes. Then remove to a plate and cook corn with taco seasoning in the same skillet. You want to give it a good char, so cook undisturbed.
- Drizzle plain yogurt over all ingredients combined in the salad bowl. Then gently toss and serve immediately.
Variations of The Salad
You don’t have to do what I do exactly. I know many of you liek to make my recipes “your own” and it’s fantastic!
- Taco bowl: Place large whole grain tortilla in an ovenproof deep bowl (stainless or metal works) and bake at 450 degrees F until crispy. Place salad in a bowl and voila.
- Vegetarian: Replace ground turkey with cooked chickpeas or tofu. Cook with spices just like I do.
- Shredded chicken: Use shredded chicken and cook it in spices following teh recipe. Just 5 minutes less than raw ground turkey.
- Other greens: Romaine lettuce, baby kale or regular kale and spinach create a healthy and tasty base for this taco salad.
What Tortilla Chips Are Healthy?
Chips are chips. They are a treat. But there are better and worse chips. Here is my guide for buying healthy tortilla chips:
- Organic and non-GMO will have the best ingredients list.
- Multigrain or corn are both made with wholesome ingredients.
- Look for lower in sodium ones. Often the case but not always with organic and non-GMO, so read the label.
- Baked vs. fried if you can find those. Deep fried is deep fried but in organic oil vs. GMO canola is already a step ahead.
- Brands I buy (as an avid Costco shopper LOL): Que Pasa, Food Should Taste Good, Kirkland.
How Long Does Salad Last?
You can refrigerate salad leftovers for up to 2 days. Surprisingly, this healthy taco salad doesn’t become too soggy. I don’t know about you but I do love the mushy mess of flavored meat and veggies.
Enjoy!
More Healthy Salad Recipes
- Healthy potato salad – creamy classic without a cup of mayo. So good cold!
- Healthy broccoli salad loaded with superfoods.
- Healthy cobb salad -If you love taco salad, you will love this one!
- Chickpea avocado salad – A bowl of delicious plant-based proteins.
- Mexican kale salad – Kale and veggies mixed with delicious avocado dressing.
- More 30 healthy salad recipes.
Healthy Taco Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 large container greens salad mix
- 14 oz can black beans rinsed & drained
- 4 small tomatoes chopped
- 2 medium avocados chopped
- 1/2 cup tortilla chips crushed
- 1/2 cup any hard cheese shredded
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 tbsp taco seasoning
- 1 tbsp onion powder/flakes
- 2 cups corn cooked or thawed
- 1/2 tbsp taco seasoning
- 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt not Greek
- 1/4 tsp salt or to taste
Instructions
- In a large salad bowl, add salad greens, beans, tomato, avocado, tortilla chips and cheese. Set aside.
- Preheat large ceramic non-stick skillet on medium heat and swirl oil to coat. Add turkey and cook for 5 minutes, constantly breaking into small pieces with spatula.
- Add 1 tbsp taco seasoning and onion flakes; cook for another 2 minutes, stirring a few times. Transfer to a salad bowl with other ingredients.
- Return skillet to medium heat and add corn. Cook for a few minutes undisturbed, sprinkle with 1/2 tbsp taco seasoning, stir and cook for another minute. Transfer to a bowl.
- Drizzle yogurt on top and gently toss. Adjust salt to taste. Serve immediately.
Store: Refrigerate leftovers for up to 2 days. Surprisingly, this healthy taco salad doesn't become too soggy.
Make Ahead: Refrigerate all ingredients except chips, avocado and yogurt for up to 24 hours. Assemble right before serving.
Notes
- Greek yogurt is too thick to mix well with other ingredients. I used 2% plain yogurt.
- You can use Romaine lettuce, spinach or any greens in place of a salad mix.
Nutrition
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Very good! Didn’t have lettuce or wraps so used cucumbers. Very good as always
Thank you Stephanie!
This recipe is delicious!! Just had it for lunch. I eat plant base so I subbed turkey for crumbled taco tofu and used plant base yogurt. Was a little skeptical about adding yogurt but adding it made all the difference, it made the whole meal come together. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
So welcome!!!
This is so good and tasted so so fresh! Wasn’t sure about the yogurt but it really added a lot to the recipe. It was so easy and quick to put together with not a lot of dishes and clean up. Will definitely be making again!
Thanks for sharing your positive thoughts Courtney!
Just a question can I use a silicone steamer basket in the instant pot?
Yes.
Thank you for recipe and a lot of helpful tips!
You are welcome Anastasiia!
Thank you for this recipe!! Trying it this week. 🙂
Yay!!! Hope you like it! Please let me know.
We love this recipe! Easy to prepare. I cut the tomatoes and avocado before heading to work as well as setting out all needed cookware and non-refrigerated items so I could get this on the table quick.
We used ground chicken but any meat would be good. Might try pork or shrimp next. If you like things spicey you will want to livein’ this up. Seasoning is good just not spicey hot.
Make sure you dont put chips in the serving bowl. Your leftovers will end up getting soggy in the fridge.
We will be making this again, soon.
Good work on meal prep and so happy to hear you liked my healthy taco salad!
This salad is a keeper. Super good and way healthier than restaurant taco salads. I used to think that only restaurants have good salads but so happy to realize that I can make even better salads thanks to your blog 😉
No-no-no. No way. 3 more salad recipes and you will not like restaurant salads anymore. TRUST ME. Glad you enjoyed.:)
I have just come across this recipe and cannot wait to make it. It is so easy and simple. I love that the carbs and protein are balanced out here too. So many recipes the carbs or protein are not even close to each other and for me and my daughter with IBS balancing both is important to keep food in.
I’m a strong believer in balanced amount of carbs, otherwise you end up eating mostly animal products which can’t be good. Enjoy!