Recipe for Taco Salad with Spicy Avocado Dressing at Life's Ambrosia

Ryan and I do not eat a lot of big salads. Sure we eat salad as a starter but very rarely is that all we have for dinner. However, this week has been really busy both at work and at home so I was looking for some quick fix meals and this taco salad fit the bill. It is loaded with all of my favorite taco fixin’s like beans, tomatoes, cheese, tortilla strips and seasoned ground turkey. But the star of this salad is the spicy avocado dressing that it is tossed in.

More often than not I am a vinaigrette kind of girl when it comes to salads but I got the idea for an avocado dressing after going to lunch with my mother-in-law a couple of weeks ago. We went to a favorite Tex-Mex style restaurant while we were visiting family. My mother-in-law ordered a salad that came with a ranch avocado dressing. While I liked the idea of avocado ranch, I’ve had a lot of ranch lately so I decided to take the avocado element and make a spicy dressing for my taco salad. It was thick, creamy and dressed this salad nicely. And I must confess, maybe now I am a spicy avocado dressing kind of girl.

Serves 2-4

You will need:

Dressing:

1 large avocado, pitted, skin removed
2 tablespoons minced red onion
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
juice of 1/2 lime
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 jalapeno, chopped
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
salt to taste

Salad

1/2 pound ground turkey
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
salt to taste
2 corn tortillas cut into strips
oil for frying
1 head green leaf lettuce, washed and chopped
2 tomatoes, seeded and diced
1/2 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 green onions, chopped

Combine dressing ingredients in a food processor. Process until smooth. Cover and chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
In a skillet brown ground turkey. Season with chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and salt to taste.
Heat 1/2 inch of oil in a saucepan. Once hot, fry tortilla strips until golden brown. About 3-5 minutes. Transfer to paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle with salt and set aside.
Depending on how much dressing you like spoon about 1/3 to 1/2 of the dressing in the bottom of a large salad bowl. Add lettuce, meat, tomatoes and kidney beans. Toss to coat. Top with tortilla strips, cheddar cheese and green onions. Serve.

If you don’t want to make the tortilla strips, you can break up some tortilla chips over the top for a nice crunch.

You will probably have some dressing left over which made the perfect dip for some tortilla chips. Also, for those of you that aren’t big on spicy foods, just eliminate the jalapeno from the dressing recipe for a milder version.

Enjoy!

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Responses to "Taco Salad with Spicy Avocado Dressing"

“
Don’t you just love cumin? It makes all things yummy. Nice salad!
”

- cassie

“
Well, I am the kind of guy who will make a meal out of a salad and this sounds really good. I am particularly keen on the spicy avocado dressing you give the recipe for us to try. I probably would be curious to kick it up some with an habanero.
”

- Harold (SMM)

“
Looks so delicious. I make my salad almost the same as yours, but I love your avocado dressing, I will definitely try!
”

- Southern Grace Gourmet

“
I’m eating this now. Yum! My boyfriend loves it, too. Thanks for the recipe!
”

- nfmgirl

“
This salad looks hands down wonderful and I wish I was having some right now! My tummy’s rumblin’!
I can’t wait to try this….the dressing sounds like one at our favorite Mexican restaurant-I loved the salad it was on and didn’t they go and take it off the menu? Now I’ll be able to make it at home….WOO HOO!!!!!!!!!!! :) Yep-I’m happy……
”

- Carol

“
nfmgirl: You’re welcome! :)
”

- Deseree

“
Des, I just made this dressing tonight…it was delicious!! And much lighter, I’m sure, than the green goddess dressing that I usually use to dress my taco salad (which is also very good but has 3/4 cups of olive oil in it..yikes)

Thank you for sharing your recipe..it’s definitely a keeper for me :-)
”

- LisaA