Healthy Taco Salad with Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing

This healthy taco salad features warm spiced meat (or beans!), crisp romaine lettuce, loads of toppings and a creamy cilantro dressing. It's packed with flavor and texture and is way more delicious (and nutritious!) than the "iceberg-and-Fritos" taco salads of my youth. [Don't miss the VIDEO below!]

This healthy taco salad is one of my family's favorite weeknight (or anytime) meals. I set out the lettuce, meat and toppings, and everybody builds their own bowls. (If you have any salad haters in the house, they can easily make tacos or nachos instead!).

Key ingredients

The salad features lean ground beef or ground turkey (or you can use meat-free crumbles or beans, see below), which is spiced with chili powder, ground cumin and coriander. Romaine lettuce offers a cool, crisp contrast to the warm meat while plenty of toppings add flavor and texture.

Taco salad toppings

You can go for all the toppings below or pick and choose what you like (I'll take them all, please!):

• Halved grape tomatoes
• Fresh or frozen sweet corn
• Thinly sliced radishes
• Sharp cheddar cheese
• Avocado slices
• Crushed tortilla chips

How to make a healthy taco salad:

1. Make the cilantro lime dressing: You can make the dressing up to a week ahead, giving you a jumpstart on the recipe.
2. Sauté the meat: You can use lean ground beef, bison, turkey, meat-free crumbles or drained and rinsed black beans. It's seasoned with chili powder, ground cumin and ground coriander. A splash of water at the end helps keep it moist. 
3. Set out toppings: You can use any toppings you like for this salad, but I like to go BIG, with cherry tomatoes, radishes, avocado, corn, cheddar cheese and crushed tortilla chips. These little wood bowls and these cute bowls are perfect for serving. 
4. Build the salad: Set out all the ingredients and let your family and friends build their own salad bowls! Shallow serving bowls like these and these work great for one-bowl meals. 

Cilantro lime dressing

The secret to this taco salad is the creamy cilantro lime dressing. Greek yogurt (or you can use vegan mayonnaise for a dairy-free dressing) is flavored with garlic, jalapeño, cilantro, scallions, lime juice and a touch of honey. It's vibrant and creamy, and it ties everything together.

Vegetarian taco salad

For a vegetarian taco salad, swap out the ground meat for meat-free soy crumbles (make sure they’re gluten-free if you can’t eat gluten) or for 2 cans of drained and rinsed black beans. 

Tips for this recipe:

• You can use ground beef, bison, turkey or even chicken in this recipe, or you can go for meat-free crumbles or beans.
• You'll need to start by making a batch of this Cilantro Lime Dressing. It can be made up to 1 week in advance, perfect for meal prep!
• If you prefer, you can transform this salad into tacos by serving the meat in tortillas with the toppings.
• You can also make nachos! Pile the meat and cheese onto tortilla chips and warm them in the oven until the cheese is melted. Add the toppings (I even add the romaine) and drizzle with the dressing. YUM.

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Healthy Taco Salad with Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing

This healthy taco salad has it all: warm spiced meat, cool romaine lettuce, a slew of crunchy toppings and a Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing. You’ll need to start by making a batch of the dressing—you can make it up to 1 week ahead. I like to set out all of the toppings and let my family build their own salad bowls (or you could do tacos instead!). You can choose whichever toppings you like (I go for everything!). For a vegetarian salad, swap out the meat for meat-free crumbles or 2 cans of drained and rinsed black beans. 

Prep Time35 mins

Cook Time10 mins

Total Time45 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cilantro lime dressing recipe, healthy taco salad recipe, taco salad recipe

Servings: 4 people

Author: Nicki Sizemore

Ingredients

Taco Filling

• 1 tablespoon neutral vegetable oil, such as grapeseed or safflower
• 1 pound lean ground beef (preferably grass-fed), or ground turkey
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼ cup water

Bowls (pick your toppings!)

• 2 romaine hearts, chopped
• Halved grape tomatoes
• Fresh or frozen sweet corn
• Thinly sliced radishes
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Sliced avocado
• Crushed tortilla chips
• Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing (recipe link in header)

Instructions

Make the taco filling

• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until browned and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes. Spoon off any fat. Add the chili powder, cumin and coriander. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the water, and cook, stirring often, about 30 seconds. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

Build the bowls

• Pile the romaine into large serving bowls, and top with the taco meat. Add the toppings of your choice (everything for me, please!), and drizzle with the dressing. Serve additional dressing at the table.

Notes

Tips: 

• You can use ground beef, bison, turkey or even chicken in this recipe, or you can go for meat-free crumbles or beans.
• You'll need to start by making a batch of this Cilantro Lime Dressing. It can be made up to 1 week in advance, perfect for meal prep!
• If you prefer, you can transform this salad into tacos by serving the meat in tortillas with the toppings.
• You can also make nachos! Pile the meat and cheese onto tortilla chips and warm them in the oven until the cheese is melted. Add the toppings (I even add the romaine) and drizzle with the dressing. YUM.