Taco Salad with Catalina Dressing

Chopped vegetables with seasoned ground beef in bowl.

4.67 from 6 votes. Tap stars to vote

My Easy Taco Salad with Catalina Dressing is a potluck favorite, and one of my family's favorite dinners, too! It's loaded with taco-spiced beef, peppers, corn, and cheese. Grab a bag of tortilla chips and dig in.

Prep Time20

Cook Time15

Total Time35

Course: Appetizer, Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Servings: servings

Calories: 546kcal

Author: Nancy Mock

Ingredients

2¼ cups sweet corn sliced from approximately 3 cooked ears of corn on the cob, or use frozen or canned corn kernels
2 medium tomatoes (I use Roma tomatoes)
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
4½ ounces can diced green chiles
1 pound ground beef
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1½ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon dried oregano
1 cup Catalina dressing (sometimes labeled as California French)
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese (or cheddar cheese)
Tortilla Chips

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prepare the veggies:

Put the 2¼ cups sweet corn into a large bowl. Slice the 2 medium tomatoes in half; scoop out the seeds, then dice them. Add the diced tomatoes to the bowl.
Slice open the 1 green bell pepper and 1 red bell pepper, remove the membranes and seeds, then dice the peppers. Add these to the bowl with the corn and tomatoes. Pour the 4½ ounces can diced green chiles (with the liquid) in as well, and stir all of the veggies together. Hold this aside while you cook the beef.

Cook the beef:

Crumble the 1 pound ground beef into a medium-sized skillet and brown it over medium heat. When all of the beef is browned, drain off the excess grease then add the spices to the pan: 2 tablespoons chili powder, 2 teaspoons cumin, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1½ teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon onion powder, ½ teaspoon black pepper and ¼ teaspoon dried oregano, along with a ½ cup of water.
Stir the spices and water in with the beef and bring everything to a simmer. Cook the mixture for 3 to 5 minutes until the beef is fully seasoned and most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove the pan from the heat.

Assemble the salad:

Spoon the beef and sauce into the bowl of veggies. Pour in the 1 cup Catalina dressing; stir to combine the beef, veggies, and dressing. Sprinkle in the 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese and fold it into the salad.
Serve the taco salad immediately with Tortilla Chips: portion it into bowls if you're having it for dinner like we do! You can set the whole bowl of taco salad out as an appetizer with a big bowl of tortilla chips next to it.
Leftover taco salad can be stored in a covered container for up to 2 days. Makes about 10 cups.

Notes

Use cooked, fresh sweet corn sliced right off the cob if it's in season. Otherwise, use good-quality canned or frozen sweet corn instead.
I like Roma tomatoes because they have fewer seeds and thick walls—so you get a lot of diced tomato with less mess! Romas are great to use in salsas, too.
Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to two days

Nutrition