This recipe introduces “Dorito Taco Salad,” a unique and flavorful dish touted as “My Great-Grandmother’s Secret”. The image vividly displays the finished salad, a colorful and appealing medley of fresh ingredients and crunchy textures. A large bowl brimming with crisp green lettuce, diced red tomatoes, shredded yellow cheddar cheese, seasoned brown ground beef, and white diced red onion is generously topped with crushed Dorito Nacho Cheese Chips. A smaller, individual serving is also shown, illustrating the appealing presentation of this hearty salad. This salad stands out from traditional taco salads due to the inventive inclusion of Dorito chips, which add a distinctive cheesy, savory crunch and an extra layer of flavor that replaces traditional tortilla chips or taco shells. It’s designed to be a satisfying meal, balancing fresh vegetables with seasoned meat and a creamy dressing, making it a popular choice for casual meals, potlucks, or family gatherings. The combination of textures—crisp lettuce, tender meat, juicy tomatoes, and crunchy chips—along with the interplay of savory, cheesy, and tangy flavors from the dressings, creates a truly addictive and memorable salad experience.
Ingredients:
- 1 large bag Dorito Nacho Cheese Chips, broken into smaller pieces, but not crumbs
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 packet taco seasoning (standard 1 oz / 28g packet)
- 1 red onion, diced
- 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1 head lettuce, shredded (such as iceberg or romaine for crispness)
- 6 tomatoes, chopped
- ½ cup Italian dressing
- 2 cups Ranch dressing
Equipment:
- Large skillet or frying pan
- Colander (for draining beef)
- Large mixing bowl (for the salad)
- Cutting board
- Sharp knife (for chopping vegetables)
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Serving tongs or large spoons
- Individual serving plates or bowls
Instructions:
Part 1: Prepare the Ground Beef
- Brown Ground Beef: Place the 1 pound of lean ground beef in a large skillet or frying pan over medium-high heat. Break up the meat with a wooden spoon or spatula as it cooks.
- Drain Fat: Cook the ground beef until it is fully browned and no longer pink. This typically takes about 7-10 minutes. Once browned, carefully drain any excess fat from the skillet using a colander or by tilting the pan and scooping out the fat with a spoon.
- Season Beef: Return the drained ground beef to the skillet. Add the entire packet of taco seasoning to the beef. Follow the package directions for adding water (usually about ½ cup) and simmer until the liquid has evaporated and the beef is well-coated with the seasoning. This usually takes another 5-7 minutes. Remove the seasoned ground beef from the heat and set it aside to cool slightly.
Part 2: Prepare the Fresh Ingredients
- Prepare Vegetables: While the ground beef is cooking or cooling, prepare the fresh vegetables.
- Shred Lettuce: Wash and thoroughly dry the head of lettuce. Shred it into bite-sized pieces. Place the shredded lettuce in the large mixing bowl.
- Dice Red Onion: Peel and dice the red onion into small, even pieces. Add the diced red onion to the bowl with the lettuce.
- Chop Tomatoes: Wash and chop the 6 tomatoes into desired bite-sized pieces. Add the chopped tomatoes to the bowl.
- Shred Cheese: If your cheddar cheese is not already shredded, shred 2 cups of cheddar cheese. Add the shredded cheese to the bowl with the other vegetables.
Part 3: Assemble the Salad
- Combine Ingredients: To the large mixing bowl containing the lettuce, red onion, tomatoes, and shredded cheddar cheese, add the slightly cooled, seasoned ground beef.
- Add Dressings: Pour the ½ cup of Italian dressing and 2 cups of Ranch dressing over the ingredients in the bowl.
- Toss Gently: Using large tongs or serving spoons, gently toss all the ingredients together until they are well combined and the vegetables and beef are evenly coated with the dressings.
- Incorporate Dorito Chips: Just before serving, add the large bag of Dorito Nacho Cheese Chips, broken into smaller pieces (not crumbs), to the salad. Gently toss again to incorporate the chips without crushing them too much. The goal is to have distinct chip pieces for crunch, not a powdery texture.
Part 4: Serve
- Immediate Serving is Best: For optimal crunch from the Dorito chips, it is best to serve this salad immediately after assembling. The longer the chips sit in the dressing, the softer they will become.
- Presentation: Serve individual portions of the Dorito Taco Salad on plates or in bowls. Garnish with a few extra Dorito pieces or a sprinkle of fresh cilantro if desired, though the recipe does not explicitly call for cilantro.
Tips for Success:
- Chip Texture: The “broken into smaller pieces, but not crumbs” instruction for the Dorito chips is key. You want distinct, crunchy bits of chip throughout the salad. You can gently crush the chips directly in the bag or transfer them to a bowl and break them by hand.
- Lean Ground Beef: Using lean ground beef reduces the amount of fat you need to drain, making the preparation quicker and the final dish less greasy.
- Cooling Beef: Allowing the seasoned ground beef to cool slightly before adding it to the salad helps prevent the lettuce from wilting too quickly.
- Dressing Ratio: The recipe calls for ½ cup Italian dressing and 2 cups Ranch dressing. This creates a creamy, tangy, and savory flavor profile. You can adjust the ratio to your preference, or use all one type of dressing if you have a strong preference.
- Vegetable Customization: Feel free to add other vegetables to your taco salad, such as corn, black beans (rinsed and drained), bell peppers, or sliced black olives for additional flavor, color, and nutrition.
- Serving Fresh: As mentioned, the crispness of the Doritos is best enjoyed immediately. If preparing for a large gathering and you anticipate leftovers, consider adding the Doritos to individual portions just before serving, rather than mixing them all into the large bowl at once.
- Make Ahead Components: You can prepare the seasoned ground beef and chop all the vegetables ahead of time. Store them separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator. Assemble the salad just before serving.
- Layering for Presentation: For a visually appealing salad, especially in a clear bowl, you can layer the ingredients: start with lettuce, then add a layer of beef, followed by cheese, tomatoes, and onion. Drizzle with dressing, then top with Doritos.
- Beyond the Recipe: This is a versatile recipe. While it’s a “Great-Grandmother’s Secret”, it is still a Dorito Taco Salad, and thus a savory dish. It’s distinct from desserts such as Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake, Classic Homemade Fruit Cake, Classic Apple Bundt Cake, Fluffy Asian-Style Sponge Cakes (Mamon), Super Soft Vanilla Breakfast Cake, Lemon Meringue Cheesecake, Classic Homemade Strawberry Cake, Healthy Carrot Cake, Chocolate Cake, various Pound Cakes (e.g., Caramel Cream Cheese Pound Cake, Pineapple Pecan Cream Cheese Pound Cake, Orange Blender Cake, Peach Cobbler Pound Cake, Strawberry Yogurt Cake), other Bundt Cakes (e.g., Blueberry Bundt Cake), Cranberry Cake, Pineapple Coconut Dream Cake, Pineapple Upside Down Cake, Cinnamon Apple Crumb Cake, or Pineapple Upside Down Cupcakes. It is also not a cookie, a pie, a cobbler, a pudding (like Creamy Lemon Pudding, Leche Flan, Strawberry Banana Pudding or Pineapple Dream), ice cream, fudge, or a pastry (like Mini Cherry Cheese Danish or Vanilla Custard Puff Pastry Squares). This is a savory dish, unlike any sweet dessert. It is also not a condiment like Lemon Curd, a quick bread like Southern-Style Cheddar Cheese Quick Bread or Jamaican Banana Bread, a loaf of bread that requires kneading, a beverage, or other savory meals such as Crispy Ground Beef Rolls, Mac and Cheese, Shepherd’s Pie, Braised Oxtail, Pan-Fried Cod with Lemon Butter Sauce, Fish Cutlets, Old Fashioned Salisbury Steak, Hearty Ground Beef Cabbage Soup, or Garlic Parmesan Fried Lamb Chops.