Taco Bell Taco Salad

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Everything you used to love in a Taco Bell Taco Salad – but made at home. Crispy shells filled with seasoned beef, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, and more!

A FAST FOOD COPYCAT RECIPE

Raise your hand if you mss the taco salad at Taco Bell! It was my favorite thing on the menu so I was so bummed she they took it away. So I figured I would start making my own version at home. I do feel like this is a little less of a recipe and more of a set of guidelines since it’s all very customizable. I even share a bunch of homemade options for different ingredients in the ingredients and FAQ sections, but if you want this to be a silly simple recipe, grab the premade ingredients at the store and toss it all together. Or, leave all the ingredients out buffet style and let everyone build their own salads!

A plate with a Taco Bell Taco Salad and garnishes.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

What hard shells work best to make a Taco Salad with?

You can use whatever brand you have available, I grabbed this one from Kroger (not a paid affiliate link). But, any shells from the refrigerated section of the grocery store should work. Sometimes, if you can’t find them in the refrigerated area, you can check the refrigerated section (where you’d look for Queso Fresco or Crema Mexicana, etc.) They’ll usually come with oven-safe formers that help the bowls keep their unique bowl shape.

Can I make my own Taco Salad Bowl?

Yes. I haven’t done it myself, but if you’d like to use other tortillas and then buy some taco shell formers (paid affiliate link). If you don’t want to get a former, I suppose you could ball up some aluminum foil and shape them that way. Just lay the tortilla over the aluminum foil ball and gently push down.

Can I fry the taco bowl instead?

Sure. The original taco salad bowl was fried, so if you’ve like to have that, here you go. It’s not hard at all to make. Just heat up some oil in an electric fryer or use a dutch oven. Heat the oil to 350F and then place a large burrito size flour tortilla into the oil and take a large (hot oil safe) ladle and push it down in the middle. Hold it down so it forms a well. Once the tortilla gets golden brown and crispy, remove it from the oil and put it on a paper towel to drain any excess grease.

What else could I add?

The original salad, back in the day, had sliced olives and sliced green onions on it. I know those can really be controversial ingredients with so many people, so I opted to leave them out. But, when I make these for me at home, I totally love throwing a handful of sliced black olives and green onions on and I’m not really an olive person, but they work so well on this salad! If you like some heat, add chipotle crema, hot salsa, or jalapeños.

Does it matter what order I put stuff in the salad?

Actually it does. You’ll want to start with the beans and rice at the bottom so they can help soak up the beef juices without making the salad shell get soggy too fast. The rest of the things can be tossed on, but keep that in mind when layering your salad. I also like to wait to add the crunchy tortilla strips until serving so they actually stay crunchy.

Can I make this without the meat?

Certainly, go for a Veggie Taco Salad. To do this, just omit the meat, double up on the beans and rice, and add some of your favorite roasted veggies.

How should I store leftovers?

Leftovers should be stored in individual containers for each type of ingredient if you haven’t assembled the salad bowls yet. They’ll last longer that way. Keep them in air tight containers in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. If you’ve assembled Fiesta Taco Salads already, I’d recommend storing the shell separately from the rest of your salad ingredients as it’ll get soggy quick.

A plate with a hard taco salad bowl with Taco Salad inside.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)

Azteca Bake & Fill Crispy Flakey Taco Salad Shells with formers– I shared how you could make your own as well in the FAQ section above. I have found that these Azteca shells are best when you first make them. So, I don’t like to prep these too far in advance.
ground beef– you could use precooked shredded chicken, or cook up some ground chicken or ground turkey instead of beef. Shredded Taco Chicken is another option. You could try fajita steak strips for a Steak Taco Salad.
Taco Bell taco seasoning – if you don’t want to use this Taco Bell brand of taco seasoning, you can use whatever your preferred or favorite brand is. Additionally, Homemade Taco Seasoning is always an option.
water
refried beans– warmed up. You can use whatever brand you prefer or use some Homemade Refried Beans.
premade taco-flavored rice– you can use a store-bought pouch, like this Rice Pouch or Homemade Mexican Rice. If you don’t want Mexican rice, you could use white rice, white rice with salsa mixed together, or some Cilantro Lime Rice.
shredded iceberg lettuce
shredded Colby cheese– additionally, you could try Monterey Jack, cheddar, or a Mexican blend
diced tomatoes
Taco Bell mild sauce– I used this Mild Sauce, but you could use a different sauce or chunky salsa. Sauce or salsa is optional, if you don’t want it, omit it.
crunchy tortilla strips– you can use any brand of tortilla strips. These are an optional ingredient. If you don’t have tortilla strips, you could just crush up some tortilla chips.
sour cream– if you need a different option, try out some plain Greek yogurt. Feel free to omit if you don’t like it.
Optional toppings: sliced black olives, green onions, guacamole, jalapeños

Azteca Bake & Fill crispy taco salad shells, ground beef, taco seasoning, water, refried beans, taco-flavored rice, shredded iceberg lettuce, shredded colby cheese, diced tomatoes, Taco Bell mild sauce or chunky salsa, crunchy tortilla strips, sour cream, and optional toppings like sliced black olives, green onions, guacamole, and jalapeños.

HOW TO MAKE TACO BELL TACO SALAD

Prepare Azteca taco salad shells on a large baking sheet according to package directions until golden and crisp. Let cool slightly.

Taco salad shells on formers and on a plate.

In a skillet over medium heat, cook ground beef until browned. Drain any excess grease and put it back into the skillet..

Add in taco seasoning and water. Bring it up to a simmer and simmer for about 3-4 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat.

To prepare taco bowls, spread a layer of warm refried beans into the bottom of each shell. Add a large spoonful or two of taco rice.

Ground beef and rice and beans in taco salad shells.

Then top the rice with some of the taco-seasoned beef (as little or as much as you like.)

Layer shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, cheddar cheese, taco sauce or salsa, and crunchy tortilla strips. Then top it all off with a little dollop of sour cream.