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Making Thursday night tacos a thing, with this Spicy Turkey Taco Salad with Baja Dressing. Chipotle chili seasoned turkey taco meat, mixed with fresh greens, black beans, avocado, mango, and a little cheddar cheese too. Topped with tortilla chips for crunch, and finished with a creamy Baja style dressing that’s spicy and cooling. SO GOOD. If you’re looking for a non-boring salad, this is it!
Raise your hand if you ate tacos at least once or twice a week growing up? My brothers and I were served ground beef tacos all the time as kids. Tacos were an easy, quick dinner that my dad could make in under 30 minutes. They were a dinner that every single one of his kids would eat. So all 7 of us…
OK. So back then Asher was non-existent (which is soooo weird to think about life without Asher!), and Red was just a baby. So I guess it was more like 5 of his kids. Still, we all ate them, and we all loved them. Mom and I preferred hard shells with melted cheddar. While the boys ate theirs rolled up in a flour tortilla burrito style. Absolutely nothing fancy about it, but we loved them.
Still do.
And no, we definitely were not eating mango salsa back then. Though it would have been really good, and I wish we did.
It’s really hard to believe, but I don’t have a ground beef taco recipe on HBH. I have plenty of other taco recipes, but nothing like the tacos we ate as kids. Probably because they were nothing that special. But I don’t know, maybe I can come up with something good to share some day soon.
In the meantime, I have this taco salad. It’s DELICIOUS, and much, much better than the tacos we ate as kids. Both mom and dad agree.
It’s big, it’s green, and loaded with spicy homemade turkey taco meat, black beans, mangos, avocado, cheese, tortilla chips, and topped with the best Baja style dressing. Again…delicious! And not boring, which is very important when it comes to salad eating around here. I like my salads loaded, colorful, sprinkled with carbs, and always topped with cheese.
Here are the details.
For the taco meat, I seasoned it with smoky chipotle chili powder, smoked paprika, and cumin. I love this combo, as it leaves the meat really flavorful, a touch smoky, and not too spicy.
For the greens, I know romaine is traditional in a taco salad. But I wanted to use a green that would hold up well for meal prepping, and also be good for taking on the go. So I went with kale. It’s a little thicker and tends to wilt less than romaine. It’s the perfect green to make a salad with the night before. That said, you can of course use whatever leafy green you love most!
To finish this salad off, I went with a Baja Dressing. Oh how I love this dressing! It’s creamy, cooling, spicy, extra limey, and addicting. The dressing alone makes you want to eat salad. It kind of reminds me of a spicy ranch, but so much better. I used plain greek yogurt to keep it creamy, fresh jalapeños for some spice, a little honey to balance everything, and then fresh cilantro and chives for a somewhat herby flavor.
Trust me, it’s one of the better salad dressings I’ve ever made.
This is the perfect salad to meal prep with too! You can make everything ahead of time. Even tossing the salad together and then packaging it up in glass containers (these are my favorite). I recommend keeping the meat and greens separate, just in case you might want to reheat the meat (which I like to do).
Just as much fun as a desk salad as it is as for a nice weeknight dinner!
PS. I’d love to know if you guys are enjoying these healthy January recipes. I’m trying to keep them, fun, fresh, and filling, all at the same time! Let me know if you’d like to see more salads! Or maybe some meal prep?
If you make this turkey taco salad, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Spicy Turkey Taco Salad with Baja Lime Dressing
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 650 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground turkey or chicken
- 2-3 teaspoons chipotle chili powder
- 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds (or 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- kosher salt and pepper
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 6 cups mixed leafy greens
- 1 cup cooked black beans
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1 mango, diced
- 3/4 cup cubed cheddar cheese
- crushed tortilla chips or strips
Baja Dressing
- 1 cup plain greek yogurt
- juice of 2 limes
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 jalapeño, seeded if desired
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
- kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- 1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the turkey and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the chipotle chili powder, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Add 1/2 cup of water and cook, stirring occasionally, until the water has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro.2. To make the dressing. Combine all ingredients except the chives in a blender and pulse until mostly smooth. Stir in the chives. Dressing will keep for 1 week in the fridge.3. In a large salad bowl, combine the greens, black beans, avocado, mango, and cheese. Top the salad with the turkey taco meat and then drizzle with the dressing (below). Toss to combine and then top with tortilla chips. Enjoy!
loving the healthy recipes so much!!
Thank you Amanda!
Yes, really excited about this January’s healthier recipes….you are presenting “healthy but want to eat”recipes!
Funny, right before the holidays I made a taco salad remincient of my aunt’s growing up in the 80’s….but adding black beans and avacado! And my family loved it….my two teens said that is the kind of salad they like to eat!
I think yours looks even better though! ☺️ So I will try it out on them soon! Thanks Tieghan!
That is so amazing! I am so glad you loved this Valerie! Thank you!
I am LOVING your healthy recipes!!!! also i didn’t comment on yesterday’s post but i’m making that skillet tonight- can’t wait! and YES to revamps!!!
I hope you love this Jackie! Thank you so much!
Excited to try this taco salad!! I think it could be great as a jar salad too! I agree with everyone- meal prep ideas would be great! Especially, things you can prep on the weekend and make through the week or take to work!
Thank you so much Jackie! I hope you absolutely love this recipe!
I am loving all of these new salads!!
Thank you Jess!
I love making taco salads with bagged pre-shredded coleslaw mix – it reduces the time needed to wash and prep any greens, holds up well if prepped ahead of time, and overall I just prefer its taste and crunch in a taco salad! I think it would work well in this recipe too if someone wasn’t a fan of kale.
Thank you Robyn!
Love your fresh salad recipes Tieghan! I’ve started a Whole30 Program for the month of January, and it’s very easy to eliminate the cheese, beans and gluten that I can’t eat right now and still have a delicious lunch or dinner. Adding my Whole30 compliant dressing is also required but in the reintroduction phase I’d love to try your Baja Dressing. Keep the healthy options coming please!
I am so glad you like this Jackie! Thank you so much!
Hi Tieghan
I am loving the healthy January recipes! Meal prep recipes would also be great.
This taco salad looks unreeeeal. Can’t wait to try it!
Amanda
Thank you so much Amanda! I hope you love this!!
Looks delicious! Definitely making it.
Can I just say…..that photo of the cut limes is stunning! The shadows….gorgeous
I wanna frame it!
Thank you so much Kim! You are so sweet!
We’re watching the calories this month and this looks amazing! Can you tell me the total calorie count for the salad so I can estimate the servings calories?
Hi Christin! I do not calculate the calories for my recipes, I am so sorry about that. I find that using an app or online calculator then dividing by the serving size works well to find the calories and macronutrient content. I hope you try this!
This looks tasty but I would use ground beef. I just can’t do ground turkey. Tried a meat loaf years ago and it smell awful and taste awful. Can’t get past that. HA!! I love taco salad!
Yes, it would be great for you to bring back some of your older recipes again.
I hope you love this recipe Charlotte! Thank you!
I am living for this salad right now! Can’t wait to try it!
And I am loving Healthy January, it’s fresh and fun and delicious.
I hope you love it! Thank you Samantha!
What a beautiful salad! Love the mango and bright greens ( you can tell it’s winter, my eyes are missing all the green colors!!). You were asking a couple days ago if you should bring back recipes from previous years, and I think it’s a great idea– you post every single day and there are so many great recipes that people forget about.. I would love to see some of them modified for Instant Pot. Always struggling with my time, it runs way too quickly!!
Thank you so much Nikki!
Yes, love the January recipes. More salads and skillet dinners. Quesadillas would be fun.
Yes! Love those ideas. Thank you Joyce!
Hi Tieghan,
I love your vegetable heavy januari, and meal prep would be very welcome!
Thanks for your tasty and colourful recipes.
Thank you so much Loes!