Patriotic Taco Salad
Patriotic Taco Salad is a show-stopping dish for your 4th of July celebration. This patriotic taco salad, designed to resemble the American flag, is not only visually impressive but also packed with delicious flavors.
Equipment
- 9 x 13-inch dish
Ingredients
For the Taco Meat
- 1 pound (16 ounces) ground beef (See Tip 1)
- 1 ounce package taco seasoning (See Tip 2)
- 10 ounce can Rotel Diced Tomatoes & Green Chiles
- ½ cup water
For the Taco Salad
- 16 ounce can of refried beans (See Tip 3)
- Prepared taco meat from above
- 6 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
- 4 cups crushed tortilla chips
For the Red, White, and Blue
- 12 to 16 grape tomatoes cut in half lengthwise (See Tip 4)
- 1 ½ cups (6 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- ½ cup crushed blue tortilla chips
- ¼ cup sour cream (See Tip 5)
Instructions
For the Taco Meat
- Brown and crumble ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat. Drain and rinse well to remove as much fat as possible. Once the cooked ground beef cools a bit, further crumble it by rubbing it between the palms of your hands.
- Wipe the skillet used for cooking the ground beef with a paper towel. Then, return the cooked and crumbled ground beef to the skillet. Add the taco seasoning, undrained Rotel tomatoes, and water; stir to combine. Cook over medium heat until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 15 minutes.
For the Taco Salad (See Tip 6)
- Spread the refried beans on the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch dish.
- Add the cooked taco meat, spreading to cover the refried beans.
- Top with the shredded lettuce and finish with the crushed tortilla chips
For the Red, White, and Blue
- Start by placing a layer of halved grape tomatoes along the long side of the dish. Repeat for the second red stripe, about an inch and a half from the first stripe. Repeat for the third and fourth stripes, leaving a space where the star layer will go.
- Carefully place the shredded cheese between the tomatoes for the white stripes and also add the shredded cheese in the space where the stars will go.
- Finally, sprinkle crushed blue tortilla chips in the area left empty for the stars. Then, using a small star tip, pipe sour cream as stars on the blue tortilla chips.
- Yield: 8 servings.
Video
Tips/Notes
- For the taco meat, I've used ground beef, ranging between 85% and 93% fat. Since I drain and rinse the cooked ground beef, the fat percentage is not that important.
- Rather than using store-bought taco seasoning, use 3 Tablespoons of homemade taco seasoning.
- I used fat-free refried beans in this recipe, but you can use regular refried beans. You could also substitute rinsed and well-drained black beans.
- The number of grape tomatoes will depend on their size. However, for the best presentation, try to use grape tomatoes that are about the same size.
- If the sour cream is a bit runny, thicken it with 1 ½ teaspoons of cornstarch.
- This salad is best if assembled right before serving. Otherwise, the tortilla chips will become soggy.
Nutrition
Calories: 499kcalCarbohydrates: 62gProtein: 14gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.04gCholesterol: 19mgSodium: 1012mgPotassium: 442mgFiber: 9gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 1593IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 281mgIron: 3mg
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