This fun twist on traditional tacos is a hearty, filling meal that is loved by both kids and adults. Serve with your favorite taco toppings for an easy weeknight dinner.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
We love tacos around here–especially my husband–but sometimes the usual ground beef tacos can get a little boring. Tacos Salad Dippers are a fun way to add a twist to taco night!
The addition of rice and beans to the taco meat stretches your ground beef even further, and makes this meal more filling. Which is super important when you’re feeding a bunch of ravenous teenage boys like I am.
Even better, the taco filling cooks in one pot (even the rice) which means less mess to clean up when dinner is done!
And the possibilities for toppings are almost endless. We tend to go for the classics, like shredded cheese, lettuce and diced tomatoes. My husband insists on sour cream, and I like to throw in some guacamole or diced avocado.
You don’t have to stop there though–sliced green onion, chopped fresh cilantro, pico de gallo or your favorite salsa–they all make great toppings for taco salad dippers!
Fritos Scoops are perfect for this dish, so I highly recommend them. Tostito’s Scoops tortilla chips are another favorite around here, but regular tortilla chips will work too.
The important thing is to use a larger, sturdy chip to scoop up all that taco filling. Or, you can go taco salad style and just pile the filling and toppings over a big pile of chips.
The recipe does make a lot of taco filling, so you might want to cut it in half if you’re not feeding a crowd. I usually make the full batch, because it freezes well, and there are endless possibilities for the leftovers.
Our favorite way to use extra filling is in burritos, but enchiladas and quesadillas are also great ways to use up leftovers. If you’re looking for a new and different way to enjoy taco night at your house, you’ve got to try these Taco Salad Dippers.
Be sure to save this recipe to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Ingredients
- Ground beef
- Produce: onion, garlic
- Rice
- Spices: oregano, chili powder, salt, cumin
- Tomato sauce
- Tomato paste
- Pinto beans
- Tortilla chips
- Taco toppings
Taco Salad Dippers
Ingredients
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 6 cups water
- 1 cup white rice
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce
- 2 6 oz. cans tomato paste
- 1 15 oz. can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- Tortilla chips and your favorite taco toppings shredded cheese, chopped tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, avocado, etc.
Instructions
- In a large pot, brown the ground beef with the onion and garlic and cook until the meat is no longer pink and the onions are translucent. Drain any accumulated grease.
- Add the water, rice, seasonings, tomato sauce, tomato paste and beans.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, watching to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
- The mixture will seem very watery at first, but after simmering, but will thicken as it simmers.
- Serve warm with tortilla chips for dipping and other taco garnishes.
Video
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Nutrition
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8 comments
claire
i feel ya on the expensive bulldog… that is pretty much the only thing holding me back! 🙂
claire
this is perfect for football season! i would love this for tailgating and watching games!
Jodi
Yum this looks great! Gonna have to try this at my next party 🙂
Lindselicious
So smart to freeze half!! This looks super yummy I would gladly give up my dinner and eat this instead!
Christy
this looks delicious. i love the idea of freezing half..particularly during football season. sometimes we have people just drop in to watch the game…it would be great to have this on hand at a moments notice!
All Things Yummy
oh yum, looks so so yummy.
Kristy {Sweet Treats and More}
Making this for our next football party!
Sunshine
Mmmmmm…looks delish! I have some pita chips I can do that with. Thanks for the idea.
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