Chopped Taco Salad with Homemade Catalina Dressing

This chopped taco salad with homemade dressing comes together in less than 30 minutes. It is easily adaptable and so yummy!

This easy main dish salad is one of our favorite meals! It can be served all the salad ingredients tossed together or as a build-your-own meal for everyone to customize.

Salad Ingredients

The ingredients for this chopped taco salad are easily adaptable based on what you have on hand or what you like! Below are the salad ingredients we love to use:

• Ground meat: Lean ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken can be used. Cook it with a bit of salt and pepper (or add taco seasoning, if you’d like!).
• Lettuce: I like to use a mix of romaine and iceberg lettuce, but all of one or the other can be used.
• Cheese: I prefer cubing Monterey Jack and sharp cheddar cheese for this recipe. Shredded cheese can also be used, as well as a variety of different cheeses, like Pepper Jack or Colby Jack.
• Corn kernels: Fresh or frozen corn kernels can be used. Thaw and pat dry if using frozen corn.
• Tomatoes
• Olives
• Black beans: Another variety of beans can be subbed in for the black beans.
• Cilantro: This can easily be left out if you don’t like the flavor.
• Avocados
• Tortilla chips: Don’t add crushed chips to the salad while tossing the ingredients together, otherwise, they may get soggy. Add them on top of the salad.

Homemade Catalina Dressing Ingredients

This flavorful, sweet and tangy dressing is perfect for taco salad. Often, we drizzle this homemade Catalina dressing plus ranch or cilantro lime dressing over the salad. The combination is so yummy!

All the dressing ingredients are blended together until thick and creamy:

• Ketchup: This ingredient is important for the sweet tomato base of the Catalina dressing.
• Sugar: Regular granulated sugar works best in this recipe.
• Red wine vinegar: Other types of vinegar can be subbed in for the red wine vinegar, like apple cider vinegar or white vinegar (the flavor will change a bit with different varieties of vinegar).
• Onion: Finely chopped shallots, red onions, or yellow onions can be used.
• Paprika: Both sweet and smoked paprika work great in this dressing.
• Worcestershire sauce: Only a very small amount of Worcestershire sauce is used but it helps add depth of flavor to the dressing.
• Olive oil: I prefer using extra-virgin olive oil; however, other types of oil can be subbed in for the olive oil.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This salad was outstanding!! The homemade Catalina dressing was sweet, tangy and amazing. I can’t go back to the store bought now. I added some chopped fresh jalapenos for a kick which turned out well. Thanks for another keeper!! -AmandaZ

This salad is really exceptional and one of our all-time favorite meals. I love how adaptable it is based on the ingredients I have on hand…but the dressing is non-negotiable (my kids willingly offer to make it if I haven’t had time, they love it that much).

Add this chopped taco salad to the menu for an easy weeknight meal OR for when you’re serving company. All of the components can be prepped ahead of time, making it one of the easiest, yummiest meals ever!

Chopped Taco Salad with Homemade Catalina Dressing

Yield: 6 Servings

Prep Time: 25 minutes mins

Cook Time: 8 minutes mins

Total Time: 33 minutes mins

4.83 stars (64 ratings)

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Ingredients

Salad:

• ½ to 1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Pinch of black pepper
• ½ head romaine lettuce, chopped
• ½ head iceberg lettuce, chopped
• 1 cup cubed cheese, like cheddar, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, etc.
• 1 cup frozen or fresh corn kernels, thawed if frozen
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1 (6-ounce) can olives, sliced or chopped
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• ½ cup cilantro chopped
• 1 to 2 avocados, chopped
• Crushed tortilla chips

Dressing:

• ¼ cup ketchup
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• ¼ cup finely chopped onion
• ½ teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika
• ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

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Instructions 

• For the meat, in a large, nonstick skillet, brown the ground beef or turkey with salt and pepper, breaking up the meat into small pieces as it cooks. Cook until no longer pink. Drain excess grease.
• For the dressing, combine all the dressing ingredients together in a blender and process until very smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve. The dressing can be made up 3 to 4 days in advance.
• For the salad, in a large bowl, add the lettuce and all the toppings you are using (including the meat, but not the chips). Toss.
• Alternately, the salad can be served with ingredients in separate bowls as a build-your-own style meal for everyone to customize.
• Serve with the dressing and crushed tortilla tips.

Notes

Meat: I prefer the ground turkey or beef simply seasoned with salt and pepper but if you want more kick, try adding cumin, chili powder or a variety of other flavors to the meat while cooking.

Author: Mel

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Method: Stovetop

Serving: 1 Serving, Calories: 571kcal, Carbohydrates: 37g, Protein: 30g, Fat: 36g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 61mg, Sodium: 704mg, Fiber: 10g, Sugar: 14g

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Recipe Source: salad from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe, dressing slightly adapted from Kitchen Simplicity (used olive oil instead of canola oil)

Recipe originally posted July 2013; updated January 2026 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.

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