Cool Ranch Doritos Taco Salad is so simple to make and will be loved by even the pickiest eaters. It combines the great flavors of taco salad with deliciously spicy Cool Ranch Doritos in one tasty salad entree.

All you need are some common ingredients that you probably already have: a bowl, tortilla chips, taco seasoning mix, lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese, and Cool Ranch Doritos!

It’s an easy recipe for lunch or dinner. Get ready to have your taste buds sing!

The inspiration behind this salad is the Doritos Los Taco. You know, the one that makes you go, “Wow!”

Let’s take a look at how to make this easy salad that has lots of flavor and is perfect for a weeknight meal.

Ingredients

For this tasty taco salad recipe, you need the following:

a pound lean ground beef
taco seasoning
Cool Ranch Doritos
lettuce mixture
tomatoes diced (or 1 cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half)
shredded cheese
cucumber
black olives
Ranch Dressing

How To Make Cool Ranch Doritos Taco Salad

It’s a really easy salad to make. Really. (I think I might have mentioned that a time or two already.)

Cook ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat until it is no longer pink. For best results, drain cooked ground beef on a paper towel to drain the grease. Place the cooked beef back in the pan and add the taco seasoning (follow the directions on the packet).

Once the beef mixture has cooked, set it aside.

Assembling the Salad

Place a layer of crushed Cool Ranch Doritos on a plate. (You can use a baked tortilla bowl, but I don’t recommend it.)

You can either crush the chips directly on the plate or you can crush them in the bag.

Next, the following ingredients top the chips:

lettuce
chopped cucumbers
shredded cheese
seasoned ground beef
cherry tomatoes
olives
Ranch dressing

Recipe Notes

Make this salad your own. Top it with your favorite toppings. Below are some items that go well with this salad:

pinto beans or black beans (simply drain them and add them to the salad)
chili beans
avocado
chopped cilantro
restaurant style salsa
lime wedges

Substitutions and Variations

Lettuce – Shredded lettuce, pre-cut Romaine lettuce, chopped iceberg lettuce, or a prepackage blend of lettuces work well.
Cheese – Use your favorite cheese. Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, Mexican cheese blend, and Cheddar cheese are good options.
Taco Seasoning – You can make your own homemade taco seasoning by combining chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
Salad Dressing – While Ranch dressing is the default for this recipe, Avocado-Lime Dressing or Jalapeno Ranch are also good options.
Ground beef – You can replace the beef with ground chicken or ground turkey.

Can I make this salad in advance?

Yes and no. You can prep all of the items and store them in the refrigerator separately. When you are ready to make the salad, reheat the meat in the microwave until it is warm throughout. After the meat has warmed, then you can assemble the salad. You don’t want to store warm meat with cool salad ingredients.

Tossed Cool Ranch Taco Salad

Doritos Cool Ranch Taco Salad is the love child of a tasty taco salad combined Cool Ranch Doritos. It is an amazing salad that even picky eaters love.

4.25 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Dishes

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 25

Servings: people

Calories: 638kcal

Author: Lynda – Southern Kissed

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef
1 package taco seasoning
1 Cool Ranch Doritos
1 8 oz. package shredded lettuce
1-2 to matoes diced (or 1 cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half)
2 cups shredded cheese
1 cucumber peeled, sliced, and cut into quarters
1 small can of sliced black olives
Ranch Dressing

Instructions

Brown ground beef in skillet until thoroughly cooked. Add taco seasoning and cook according to directions on package. Set aside to cool slightly.
Hold bag of Doritos in both hands and crush chips.
Place small layer of chips on plate. Next, add shredded lettuce. Top with ground beef, tomatoes, cheese, cucumbers, and olives.
Drizzle with Ranch dressing.

Nutrition

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I like to add one more layer of crunch by adding a few more crushed Doritos to the top after I have drizzled Ranch dressing on top.

Love Salads?

Be sure to check out these other delicious salad recipes:

Spicy Roasted Corn, Chicken, and Avocado Salad – This salad is a refreshing, unique way to use fresh corn.
Low Carb Italian Salad – This salad is perfect when you want to eat your veggies and still keep your carb intake on the low side.
Wendy’s Southwest Avocado Salad – No, this isn’t a recipe for how to make Wendy’s delicious salad. However, it’s great for those times when you just don’t want to “cook” anything.
Zaxby’s Salads – Zaxby’s also has delicious salads – have you tried any?

Don’t Forget To Come Back And Let Me Know How Your Taco Salad Turned Out!