I made up this taco salad as I went along not expecting it to be anything special… and let’s just say I was very, very wrong. It was easy to make and super delicious. Keep reading for your new favorite healthy weeknight dinner.
Normally I avoid meals with too many steps and/or pots and pans. I’ll be honest with you, this has a decent amount of steps. It also involves a pot AND a pan (I know, the horror). But somehow, it’s still easy.I promise – I am the queen of easy meals (my entire cookbook was based on them!) and definitely wouldn’t tell you something it was easy if it truly wasn’t EASY.
The best part of this meal? It’s also pretty easily customizable. Want a different type of lettuce? Simply swap it. Want to use a different protein? Follow the instructions the same way using ground chicken, ground turkey or crumbled tofu. Feel like adding some cheese? Go for it. As a bonus too, Jordan seriously loved this meal. And you know by now that that’s always saying a lot.
Ingredients
- 8- ounce container of romaine lettuce
- 2 red bell peppers
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 ears corn
- 1 lb lean ground beef I used 92% lean
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 1 can low-sodium kidney beans
- 2 avocado
- Salsa
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
- Roughly chop romaine. Set aside.
- Slice bell peppers and onions. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a pan over medium high heat. Add peppers and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, until soft. Set aside.
- Bring a pot of water to boil. Remove outer husk from corn and place corn in boiling water. Let water return to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes. Turn off water and leave corn in warm water until ready to use.
- While corn is cooking, add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan that contained the peppers and onion. Add ground beef, using a wooden spoon to break it apart into small pieces. Add taco seasoning, salt and pepper and combine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until beef reaches an internal temperature of 160 F on a thermometer. Once cooked, set aside.
- Drain and rinse kidney beans. Set aside.
- Dice avocado.
- Remove corn from the pot. Using a knife, cut corn off the cob.
- Toss romaine lettuce with any store bought dressing (I used a store bought mix of olive oil, lemon juice and spices).
- Assemble salads: add romaine lettuce to a bowl or plate. Top with sautéed peppers and onions, boiled corn, ground beef, kidney beans and avocado. Top each salad with desired amount of salsa.
