Perfect Low-Carb Taco Salad is something I never get tired of, and it’s ideal to prep on the weekend and eat all week for a quick meal. And everyone who’s watching carbs and likes taco salad is going to love this version that’s so delicious and easy to make ahead!
PIN Perfect Low-Carb Taco Salad to make it later!
For me prepping food on the weekend to eat during the week is the best tip I know for a healthy eating plan, which is why I have a Weekend Food Prep category on my website. So for this week’s Friday Favorites pick I’m featuring Perfect Low-Carb Taco Salad that’s without a doubt the food prep dish I make most often.
Of course, everyone has their own preferences about what makes a perfect Taco Salad, but this is the one that completely suits my tastebuds, and taco salad has been one of my favorites for many years.
And years ago when I taught school and had to take a lunch to work, I used to prep the ingredients for Taco Salad on the weekend, store them in individual containers in the fridge, and I’d have Taco Salad for lunch several times a week. And now years and years later I’m still making Taco Salad regularly for food prep and enjoying it often. Hope you will try the recipe and love it too!
What ingredients do you need?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
What makes this Low-Carb Taco Salad perfect for my tastebuds?
Besides the spicy beef that I make with Kalyn’s Taco Seasoning, the other things that make this a perfect taco salad for me are using a mixture of Iceberg and Romaine lettuce, using a generous amount of Ranch Dressing, and topping the salad with black olives, Mexican Blend Cheese, and diced avocado. I sometimes skip tomatoes to avoid the added carbs, but you can add them if you like.
How low in carbs is the Low-Carb Taco Salad?
When it’s made without tomatoes like you see in these photos and calculated without optional avocado and salad dressing, my favorite taco salad has only about 7 net carbs per serving. If you’re careful to use a salad dressing that’s low in carbs, this will be great for a low-carb meal. Even if you added the avocado and some cherry tomatoes, this is still going to be quite low in net carbs for a full-meal salad.
Three ways I make the beef for Low-Carb Taco Salad:
When I’ve just pulled some ground beef out of the freezer and want to make taco salad, I cook the beef in a frying pan, then add spices and some hot sauce and water and let the meat simmer while I prep the other ingredients. But if I want to make a larger amount of meat I’ll make easy Slow Cooker Taco Meat or Instant Pot Taco Meat and use it for this salad. The Slow Cooker taco Meat recipe or the Instant Pot Taco Meat recipe will make extra meat to go in the freezer, and I store it individual plastic containers that hold enough for one taco salad.
Food Prepping the lettuce for Low-Carb Taco Salad:
- See complete instructions below for preparing the two kinds of lettuce I use for this salad.
- When I want to prepare enough lettuce to eat all week, I use a large plastic storage container with a snap-tight lid (affiliate link) to store the extra lettuce in the fridge. If you spin your lettuce quite dry it will stay crisp for at least a week.
How to make Perfect Low-Carb Taco Salad:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Heat oil in frying pan, then cook ground beef until it’s well-browned, breaking apart.
- Add Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), Kalyn’s Taco Seasoning, Cholula Hot Sauce (affiliate link), and water and simmer until water has mostly evaporated.
- When water is evaporated, season meat with salt and fresh-ground black pepper and transfer meat you’re not using to containers and let it cool to go in the fridge or freezer.
- (If you want more meat for food prep, you can make Slow Cooker Taco Meat or Instant Pot Taco Meat to use in this recipe.)
- I use BYU Creamery Ranch Copycat Recipe, so make that if you want a homemade dressing.
- I always use a Salad Spinner (affiliate link) to prepare the lettuce for Taco Salad.
- I like a mixture of Romaine Lettuce and Iceberg Lettuce. Tear the Romaine Lettuce apart into small pieces, soak in ICE COLD water in the salad spinner, then remove water and spin so it’s as dry as you can get it. Transfer to a bowl.
- Repeat the same process with the iceberg lettuce. Combine the two lettuce types.
- Prepare sliced olives, grated cheese, and diced avocado.
- When it’s time to assemble Taco Salad, start by putting the lettuce mixture in a bowl (2 large handfuls lettuce mixture for each salad you’re making.)
- Toss lettuce with salad dressing; use any low-carb Ranch or dressing you prefer.
- Then add spicy beef (one cup per salad you’re making.) Toss beef with the dressed lettuce until it’s well combined.
- Put salad in a bowl, add toppings of your choice, and enjoy. (Sliced olives, Three Cheese Mexican Blend, and diced avocado are my three must-have toppings for Low-Carb Taco Salad, but use toppings you prefer.)
- Store ground beef, washed lettuce, and extra toppings separately in the fridge to use on salads during the week. (Diced avocado needs to be tossed with lime juice if you’re making it ahead, and it will only stay good about one extra day.)
- This is a low-carb lunch or dinner option that I eat over and over and never get tired of!
More salad dressing suggestions for Taco Salad:
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. ground beef, thawed if frozen
- 2 tsp. olive oil (more or less, depending on your pan)
- 1 tsp. Spike Seasoning or other all-purpose seasoning blend (see notes)
- 1/4 cup Taco Seasoning (see notes)
- 2 T hot sauce (or more, to taste. See notes.)
- 2 cups water
- salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
- 1 head Romaine Lettuce
- 1 head Iceberg Lettuce
- one 3.8 oz. can sliced olives, drained
- 1 cup grated cheese (see notes)
- Ranch Dressing or other salad dressing, use the amount you prefer (see notes)
- diced avocado, optional
Instructions
- Heat some oil in the frying pan, then crumble in the ground beef and cook until it’s well-browned.
- Add the Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), Kalyn’s Taco Seasoning, Cholula Hot Sauce (affiliate link), and 2 cups of water and let it simmer until the water has mostly evaporated.
- When the water is mostly evaporated, season meat with a little salt and fresh-ground black pepper and transfer the meat you’re not using right away to the size container you prefer and let it cool to go in the fridge or freezer.
- (If you prefer to make even more meat for food prep, you can make Slow Cooker Taco Meat or Instant Pot Taco Meat to use in this recipe.)
- I love this salad with BYU Creamery Ranch Copycat Recipe, so make that if you want a homemade dressing.
- I’m emphatic about using a Salad Spinner (affiliate link) to prepare the lettuce for Taco Salad. (You can often find them in thrift stores.)
- I like a mixture of Romaine Lettuce and Iceberg Lettuce for Taco Salad. Tear the Romaine Lettuce apart with your fingers into small pieces, then soak in ICE COLD water in the salad spinner for a few minutes. Then remove the water and spin so it’s as dry as you can get it. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat the same process with iceberg lettuce. Combine the two lettuce types in the bowl.
- Prepare sliced olives, grated cheese, and diced avocado if using.
- To assemble the Taco Salad, start by putting the lettuce mixture in a bowl (2 large handfuls lettuce mixture for each salad you’re making.)
- Toss the lettuce with desired amount of salad dressing; use any low-carb Ranch or dressing you prefer.
- Then add desired amount of spicy beef (about one cup per salad you’re making.) Toss the beef with the dressed lettuce until it’s well combined.
- Put salad in a serving bowl, add toppings of your choice, and enjoy. (Sliced olives, Three Cheese Mexican Blend, and diced avocado are my three must-have toppings for Taco Salad, but use any toppings you prefer.)
- For Weekend Food Prep, store the taco meat into containers in the fridge or freezer. Store the lettuce in a large plastic container with a snap-tight lid. Store olives and cheese separately. (Diced avocado needs to be tossed with lime juice if you’re making it ahead, and it will only stay good about one extra day.)
Notes
I use Spike Seasoning (affiliate link), Kalyn’s Taco Seasoning, and Cholula Hot Sauce (affiliate link) for this recipe. Use less Taco Seasoning and hot sauce if you prefer less spicy.
I used grated Three Cheese Mexican Blend from Costco. I would use my favorite BYU Creamery Ranch Copycat Recipe for the dressing.
Nutritional information does not include salad dressing of your choice or optional diced avocado.
Recipe perfected by Kalyn after years and years of making Taco Salad!
Nutrition Information
Yield
6
Serving Size
1
Amount Per Serving
Calories 578Total Fat 37gSaturated Fat 14gUnsaturated Fat 17.6gCholesterol 153mgSodium 1210mgCarbohydrates 12gFiber 4.9gSugar 3.9gProtein 48g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Low-Carb Taco Salad is a great dish for low-carb or Keto diet plans, and for any phase of the original South Beach Diet. South Beach would recommend lean ground beef and reduced-fat cheese as well as lower-fat salad dressing, and other low-carb diets would prefer higher-fat ingredients.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Salad Recipes for more tasty salads like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe for my idea of a perfect low-carb taco salad was posted in 2019. It was updated with more information and featured for Friday Favorites in 2021, and last updated with more information in 2024.
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