South-of-the-Border Beef Taco Salad
with Pickled Onion, Avocado Dressing & Lime Crema
- Milk
Looking to spice up dinner? Let’s give ‘em something to taco-bout! This taco salad’s got all the textures and flavors you’d expect from your fave Tex-Mex joint: crisp lettuce, spiced beef, onion, and tomato. But, it’s also got a little something extra. We’re talking pickled red onion, a zesty avocado dressing, lime crema, and blue corn tortilla chips for dipping, scooping, and crushing over top. Going the extra mile is just our style!
Ingredients
1 clove
Garlic
1 unit
Red Onion
1 unit
Lime
1 unit
Baby Lettuce
1 unit
Roma Tomato
1.5 ounce
Blue Corn Tortilla Chips
4 tablespoon
Guacamole
2 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
10 ounce
Ground Beef
1 tablespoon
Southwest Spice Blend
2 teaspoon
Hot Sauce
Not included in your delivery
½ teaspoon
Sugar
1 tablespoon
Olive Oil
1 teaspoon
Cooking Oil
Salt
Pepper
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Wash and dry produce. • Halve, peel, and thinly slice half the onion; finely chop remaining. Zest and quarter lime. Peel and mince or grate garlic. Trim and discard root end from lettuce; halve lengthwise, then chop crosswise into 1-inch ribbons. Dice tomato into ½-inch pieces. Gently crush tortilla chips in their bag into small pieces.
• In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine sliced onion, juice from two lime wedges, ½ tsp sugar, 1 TBSP water, and a pinch of salt (for 4 servings, use juice from four lime wedges, 1 tsp sugar, 2 TBSP water, and 2 pinches of salt). Microwave until onion is softened, 30 seconds. Set aside to pickle; stirring occasionally.
• In a large bowl, combine guacamole, half the lime zest, juice from one lime wedge (two wedges for 4 servings), 1 TBSP olive oil (2 TBSP for 4), and a pinch of garlic. Add water 1 tsp at a time until mixture reaches a thick drizzling consistency. Season with salt and pepper.
• In a second small bowl, combine sour cream and remaining lime zest. Add water 1 tsp at a time until mixture reaches a drizzling consistency. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat a drizzle of oil in a large, preferably nonstick, pan over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion; cook, stirring, until slightly softened, 2-3 minutes. • Add beef*, Southwest Spice, remaining garlic, ¾ tsp salt (1½ tsp for 4 servings), and pepper. Cook, breaking meat up into pieces, until almost cooked through, 3-5 minutes. • Add hot sauce and ¼ cup water (1⁄3 cup for 4). Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until liquid has absorbed and beef is cooked through, 1-2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Add lettuce to bowl with dressing. Toss until thoroughly coated. • Divide salad between bowls. Top with beef (draining excess grease if necessary), tomato, pickled onion (draining first), and tortilla chips. Drizzle crema over top and serve.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Dec 2025- Flavor: Many enjoyed the fresh, flavorful combination; some found it bland and added extra seasoning or cheese for more taste.
- Ease of prep: Quick and easy to make, though a few felt there were too many steps or bowls needed.
- Suggestions: Consider adding cheese, beans, corn, or pico de gallo for more flavor and texture 🌮.
- Portions: Some wanted more lettuce or chips; others found it surprisingly filling despite initial concerns.
- Leftovers: Tastes great cold the next day, though some felt the warm beef on cold lettuce didn't work well.
Reviews from our home cooks
First, the pickled onion was good, and even my husband ate it. Next, although I don't care for avocado or guacamole, I used the dressing as directed to coat the salad greens. It was fine; while I don't like a "glob" of guacamole, I have no trouble when it's used in a light dressing.
This was awesome. I added shredded Mexican cheese too. I also flavored the sour cream with some hot sauce. This was better than some taco salads I ordered in restaurants. I will definitely be getting this again!
Delicious, easy, quick to fix! What more can you ask for in a recipe? Loved the combo of lime in both the Avocado Dressing and Lime Crema...will definitely order again!
I would order again, my husband loved it, but would make twice as much lime crema. I think the meat was kind of bland; maybe add some avacados and radishes. But I LOVE having more salad options like this vs. just meat and veggies.
I liked how the guacamole and lime were used as dressing (I did not use any oil, instead I combined the sour cream since I wasn't using the hot sauce at all, and then added the water for consistency), and it was super easy to make and the beef was tasty enough with the southwest spice. I also liked the blue corn chips for crunch... but how about jicama or yucca for a nice crunchy veg alternative? Something to think about. :)
This was delicious. I added a little cheese. And had to add more chips. Please keep offering this cool salad in the summertime. I probably wouldn't order it in winter, but it was and will be a nice change up from a regular taco salad.
This was an outstanding salad! The guacamole lime dressing is to die for! I've never tasted anything like it. I want to order as a weekly dish.
We all really liked this. Both my kids, who NEVER eat salads, ate a good amount. The avocado dressing on the lettuce before adding the rest of the ingredients was so yummy. Great salad.
Really good. I swapped out the beef and used ground turkey but the recipe was awesome. I loved the avocado dressing. Kids ate them on tortilla shells and loved it.
Good but a lot of prep with the different sauces. The lime crema was way too bitter for me, too much lime zest went into that.
