Frito Taco Salad is guaranteed to be your new favorite taco salad recipe. Made with Frito chips, ground beef, iceberg lettuce, fresh veggies, and topped with creamy French or Catalina dressing.
If you love tacos and salads, then you need to try this Frito Taco Salad recipe. Full of the taco flavors you love, this recipe is perfect for dinner, lunch, potlucks, or barbecues.
What makes this taco salad so special is the combination of crunchy Frito chips and the zesty flavor of French or Catalina dressing. Combined with crisp iceberg and seasoned ground beef, this salad is so satisfying and guaranteed to be a new favorite.
Also, if you love hearty and flavorful salads, be sure to check out my Kale Cranberry Feta Salad or try this Mexican Chicken Fajita Bowl for healthy and easy meal prep.
Ingredients for Frito Taco Salad
This is a very forgiving recipe and allows for many ingredient substitutions. However, what makes this salad so special are the crunch Frito chips, creamy green taco sauce, and zesty French or Catalina dressing.
The ingredients (and substitutions) for Frito Taco Salad include:
- iceberg lettuce (could use romaine or whatever greens you like)
- red onion (green onion or white onion would work)
- tomatoes (Roma or cherry tomatoes)
- avocado
- Frito chips (could use tortilla chips, but try to find Fritos if you can)
- green taco sauce
- pinto beans (kidney is a great substation here)
- cheddar cheese (Monterrey Jack would be great)
- French dressing (or Catalina dressing)
- ground beef (could substitute ground turkey or chicken)
- taco seasoning
Once you have the ingredients ready, it’s just a matter of prepping the veggies and cooking the beef with the taco seasoning. If you are making the salad for a party, simply prep the ingredients then combine them together before serving.
More Potluck Favorites
Frito Taco Salad is a potluck favorite, and for good reason! It’s relatively inexpensive to make, easy to put together, and people love it. Here are some more potluck favorites that are great whenever you need to bring a dish:
- Bacon Spinach Dip Loaf is a delicious hot dip that’s served in a hollowed out bread bowl. Also, be sure to serve with toasted baguette, crackers, or tortilla chips.
- Sausage Hash Brown Casserole is a great option if you are having an early morning potluck or need to bring a dish to brunch.
- Cheese Beef Stuffed Shells are always a crowd favorite! Cheesy beefy filling inside a pasta shell topped with marinara sauce.
- Limoncello Tiramisu is a bright and fun take on this classic Italian dessert. The best part is that you can make it up to two days in advance.
- Large Batch Cookie Bars are the perfect potluck dessert and really feed a crowd! Made with both white and milk chocolate chips, these bars bake in a sheet pan.
If you do bring this Frito Taco Salad, don’t forget the extra bag of Fritos and the French or Catalina dressing. You may also want to print out a couple copies of the recipe, because you’re going to get asked for it!
Frito Taco Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 1 head iceberg lettuce, chopped
- 1 15 ounce can pinto or kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 3 large tomatoes, chopped
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup diced red onion
- 6 ounces green taco sauce (like La Victoria)
- 2 cups Frito chips
- French or Catalina dressing for serving
- sour cream and cilantro (optional)
Instructions
- In a pan over medium heat, cook the ground beef until cooked through and no longer pink, using a spoon to break up. Stir in taco seasoning. Set aside to cool.
- In a large bowl, layer the lettuce, beans, tomatoes, avocado, cheddar cheese, red onion, and top with cooled ground beef mixture. Pour on green taco sauce and toss to coat.
- Before serving, top with crushed Frito chips. Serve with your favorite French or Catalina dressing. Garnish with sour cream and cilantro if desired.
Notes
This recipe brings back so many memories of my childhood. My mom used to make something similar and she named it Frito Bandito Salad! I can’t wait to try your version since she never wrote it down!
This is one of my childhood recipes too! hope you love it!
This is my kind of salad! Plus this could be so easily substituted to fit anyone’s diet or tastes! I just might have to make this tonight.
I can totally see myself eating the vegetarian version of this! So flavorful!!
Yes! Just double the beans and add taco seasoning to them. Yum!
I like the fusion of taco salad with french Dressing
This colorful salad looks so tempting and inviting: I am going to make it tomorrow. I hope to get the same result (look and taste) like yours:)