Taco Salad

This Taco Salad is loaded with fresh lettuce, juicy chicken, tomatoes, fresh shredded cheese, red peppers, and optional cilantro and red onion for a light but flavorful effortless lunch or easy weeknight dinner. 

I love soup and casseroles in the winter, but when the weather starts to warm I find myself craving meals that are light and fresh.

I also start looking for ways to simplify our meals to make dinner at home feel more appealing and less like a chore. I’m drawn to spend more time outside enjoying the warm weather with my family, not inside working in a hot kitchen.

This taco salad recipe fits the bill. It is the perfect combination of light, fresh, quick, and easy – all to make a delicious salad that everyone will love.

Talking about quick and easy, I make this baked chicken breast early in the week, then use it in meals all week long. It’s a huge timesaver and makes throwing together this salad a breeze!

Try the recipe the next time you bake chicken – you’ll love it! It delivers delicious, tender chicken that you can serve on its own or shred to use in meals like taco salad, chicken tacos, chicken nachos, chicken enchiladas, and creamy chicken pasta with Cajun sauce.

This taco salad is hearty enough to hold its own as a main dish, but it can also be served as a satisfying side dish.

Want more delicious chicken recipes? Try my lemon pepper chicken, zesty blackened chicken, 3-ingredient pesto chicken, and incredibly easy chicken kabobs.

Why You’ll Love this Chicken Taco Salad Recipe

• Fast – ready in less than 10 minutes with pre-baked chicken
• So flexible- easy to customize with ingredients
• Fresh and light
• Fun to serve for parties

This recipe makes one of the best Summer Dinner Ideas! Don’t skip these incredible Summer Appetizers, too.

What to Put in Taco Salad

There are several required components for a taco salad, and lots that are totally up to you! Here’s my favorite necessities, with many more ideas for toppings as you scroll.

• Cheese – Monterey Jack, Cotija, Chihuahua, Pepper Jack or Cheddar
• Protein – Baked Chicken, Carne Asada or the Best Beef Tacos meat
• Veggies – Lettuce, cabbage, Jalapeños, Salsa, Pico de Gallo, Avocado, Guacamole, Peppers and so much more! Learn How to Cut a Bell Pepper here.
• Dressing – Sour Cream, Lime Crema, Creamy Salsa Guacamole or your favorite Mexican Salad Dressing
• Toppings – Beans, Corn, and so much more fall into this category!

Ingredients for Chicken

• 2 Chicken Breasts – fresh or frozen, thaw before baking
• Olive Oil or Lime Juice – for flavor and to help seasoning stick
• Fajita Seasoning – for that delicious taco flavor

How to Cook Chicken for Taco Salad

1. Preheat oven to 400 °F.
2. Lightly coat chicken in olive oil or lime juice. Sprinkle both sides with fajita seasoning. 
3. Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest 10 minutes – it will continue cooking. Slice or shred to serve.

How to Layer a Taco Salad

1. Cook chicken and chop lettuce and vegetables.
2. Make your taco bowl.
3. Fill with a bed of lettuce and top with fresh vegetables.
4. Top with cheese, sour cream, salsa or salad dressing – like this incredible ranch dressing – plus chicken or your choice of meat.

Homemade Taco Bowl

It comes together so quickly. You can throw it all together – including the fresh Taco Salad Bowl – in less than 30 minutes start to finish. Actual hands-on time is only 15 minutes!

If you’ve precooked and shredded your chicken, your time drops to just 10 minutes. It’s hard to believe that something so good can take so little time to prepare. It’s delicious!

Serving taco salad in a tortilla bowl definitely ups its appeal. There’s just something so fun about eating out of a Taco Bowl, don’t you think?

You can also purchase premade taco boats – just bake for a few minutes and they’re ready to go! Of course, it’s totally fine to eat the salad from a regular dish too. You can always serve a warm tortilla on the side. Either way is delicious!

You’ll love the buttery flavor and the little bit of crunch! Tear off a bite whenever you feel like it. It’s so good!

This is the perfect summer recipe for a family meal or an impromptu get together with friends. It is easy to prepare and light to eat. The flavors are so fresh and satisfying!

Chicken Taco Salad Topping Ideas

• cilantro
• tomatoes
• pico de gallo
• red onions
• salsa
• beans
• cheese
• sour cream
• cilantro lime crema
• avocado
• guacamole
• lettuce
• cabbage

What Goes With Taco Salad?

If you serve it as an entrée, simply include all of the food groups to make it a stand alone meal. That includes your meat of choice. If serving as a salad or side dish, I like to serve it with chicken or tacos.

The beauty of taco salad is that everyone can tailor it to suit personal taste. Family and friends can serve it with all the toppings or just pick and choose their favorites.

It’s also perfect for a spread on Cinco de Mayo. There’s no better way to celebrate a favorite Mexican holiday than with a classic Mexican dish.

Tips

• As always, fresh grate your cheese – it makes a world of difference!
• Try a variety of toppings for a flavor combo that is out of this world.
• If you’re eating low carb, skip the taco bowl and use a base of lettuce or sautéed peppers for a delicious option.

Love that cilantro lime flavor combination? Don’t skip this Cilantro Lime Crema and Cilantro Aioli!

More Mexican Flavor

• Cilantro Lime Salad
• Mexican Pasta Salad
• Mini Tacos
• Mexican Side Dishes
• Chipotle Corn Salsa
• Mexican Street Corn
• Cream Cheese Bean Dip
• Side Dishes for Tacos
• Avocado Salsa

Don’t forget, if you try this easy recipe, please come back to let me know what you think using my 5 star rating system, I always appreciate it and know readers do, too!