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white plate with nachos, lettuce, cut cherry tomatoes, and dressing on top, with slices of avacado on the upper right. On a white background with several tomatoes and some lettuce up top and two tortilla chips on bottom right
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Easy Nacho Salad with Ground Beef

Dinner in 15 minutes? Coming right up! This nacho taco salad recipe with ground beef, plus a creamy, homemade taco salad dressing is flavor-filled and extra easy to make. It’s the perfect meal when you’re in a pinch!
Cuisine American
Diet Gluten Free
Keyword gluten free, nachos, salad
Prep Time 7 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 585kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • ½ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 6 tablespoons sour cream
  • 3 tablespoons salsa
  • 1 large bag of tortilla chips (about 16 ounces - some may be left over)
  • 12 ounces shredded cheese (some may be left over)
  • 1 head of green leaf lettuce (some may be left over)
  • 1 pint cherry tomatoes

Instructions

  • Place the ground beef in a large non-stick pan over medium heat. Measure out the kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder with measuring spoons then add them into the pan. Break the meat up and stir everything together with a wooden spoon, cooking the meat for 5 to 7 minutes until it is not longer pink. Take pan off heat and set aside.
  • While the meat is cooking, measure out the sour cream and salsa and combine them in a medium-sized bowl with a spoon. This will be the “dressing” for your nachos. Set the bowl aside once combined.
  • Take a medium-sized plate out and put a single layer of tortilla chips on it. Measure out ⅓ cup of the cooked ground beef and pour it in an even layer over the tortilla chips. Do the same with the shredded cheese, sprinkling the cheese in a single layer over the chips and ground beef.
  • Place the plate in the microwave and heat on high for 30 seconds. Check the cheese and if it’s not melted all the way, keep microwaving in 10 second intervals until the cheese melted. Remove the plate from the microwave and set aside.
  • Take out the lettuce and remove two large leaves from the head. Wash then dry the leaves with a towel. Tear them into small pieces with your hands and place them in a layer over the nachos.
  • Measure out ⅓ cup of cherry tomatoes then wash and dry them using a towel. With a cutting board and small sharp knife, cut them in half and evenly disperse them on top of the lettuce.
  • Using the knife, cut the avocado in half then on the side without the pit make long cuts into half of the avocado piece (resulting in slices from a quarter of of the avocado). Scoop out the sliced pieces with a spoon and place it on your nacho plate. Alternatively, you can peel the avocado half, then slice up the quarter of the avocado on a cutting board.
  • Drizzle the salsa/sour cream mixture on top of the nachos with the spoon. Repeat for however many people you are feeding or save the remaining ingredients for leftovers.

Notes

  • This recipe serves up to 6 people with medium-sized plates of nachos. If you use larger plates or like more meat, cheese, or other toppings on your nachos, it will serve less.
  • You can swap out the ground beef for ground turkey if you're cutting back on red meat.
  • You can absolutely use a pre-packaged taco seasoning if you have it, or add a dash of ground cumin or cayenne pepper if you want a smokier or spicier flavor to your meat. Also, this recipe uses Diamond Crystal kosher salt which is less salty by weight than other salts. If you're using a different salt you'll need to cut back on the amount in the recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 585kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 78mg | Sodium: 757mg | Potassium: 553mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 3995IU | Vitamin C: 17.7mg | Calcium: 358mg | Iron: 3.4mg