Taco Salad with Homemade Dressing

This Taco Salad with Homemade Dressing is perfect for your next pitch-in or as a fun weeknight dinner for the family.

Barbara first had a version of this taco salad at her godson’s baptism. It was love at first bite so she, of course, asked for the recipe.

Aren’t these the best kind of recipes? The ones that are passed from a friend of a friend to us?

Taco Salad with Homemade Dressing

If you are serving a big crowd and anticipate eating this Taco Salad with Homemade Dressing at one sitting, then go ahead and mix all the ingredients.

If not, Barbara recommends making individual, customized salads for each member of the family. That way instead of being stuck with soggy leftovers, you can have crisp salads another day that taste just as great as the original.

The secret ingredient in this homemade dressing is a can of tomato soup. Yes, I said TOMATO SOUP!

The dressing will stay in the fridge for a couple weeks, just give it a good shake to re emulsify the oil. The dressing recipe makes 2 pints, so it is easily halved (as is the salad recipe) if you aren’t feeding a crowd and don’t want leftovers.

You can easily prep the salad, meat mixture and dressing the night before serving and just throw them all together at the last minute (just be sure to shake the dressing before adding).

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Taco Salad with Homemade Dressing

Ingredients

• Salad
• 1 head of lettuce torn into bite sized pieces
• 1 yellow onion chopped
• 1 package cherry tomatoes halved
• 16 oz. package shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 can dark red kidney beans
• 1/2 bag of your favorite Doritos Taco or Sweet Chili are especially good
• Dressing
• 1 can Campbell's Tomato Soup
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 t. salt
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

1. Brown the ground beef in a skillet, crumbling as you go; drain fat.
2. Add the ground beef back to skillet with the drained beans. Simmer on low for 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat.
4. For dressing, add all ingredients to a blender. Blend until smooth.
5. When ready to serve, toss lettuce, onion, tomatoes, cheese, Doritos, ground beef mixture and dressing; serve immediately,