Spicy Turkey Taco Salad with Baja Dressing.
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!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Spicy Turkey Taco Salad with Baja Lime Dressing
Chipotle chili seasoned taco meat, 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, delish!
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!
Our Favorite Recipes
No-Guilt Broccoli Fettuccine Alfredo.
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!
Yes, love the January recipes. More salads and skillet dinners. Quesadillas would be fun.
Yes! Love those ideas. Thank you Joyce!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!
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!!
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!
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!
I am loving all of these new salads!!
Thank you Jess!
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 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!
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!
loving the healthy recipes so much!!
Thank you Amanda!
I just made this recipe this evening & it is delicious! It came together quickly & easily. The Baja Dressing is such a bright note to the salad, loved it. I also served it with corn tortillas so we could make wraps out of the salad too. I didn’t have cumin seeds so I used ground cumin & it tasted terrific. I will definitely make it again. Thanks for posting it!
I am so glad you loved this Amy! Thank you!
Oh, wow, I already had a different meal planned for tonight, but decided your Baja dressing would be wonderful compliment to the seared steak salad I had planned. It’s got a great smoky arbol pepper marinade for the meat, so this cool citrusy dressing sounded like it would be a delicious last-minute substitution. I’ll have to try the whole recipe sometime soon.
I hope you love this recipe and especially the dressing tonight! Thank you Nan!
a very nice reprise of a taco salad I used to make but this one is much better with all of the ingredients and the dressing that you’re brought to this elevated version, thank you
Thank you Sabrina!
Definitely more salads! I love your big, creative salad recipes!
Thank you so much Christine!
I love the healthy January recipes, and am excited to try this salad!
I think that meal prep ideas/recipes would be great and super helpful : )
I am so glad you are liking Healthy January! Thank you Alicia!
I’m all about this salad and the Baja dressing sounds so good!! Can’t wait to make this 🙂
I hope you love this Laura! Thank you so much!
This is a taste explosion, exotic yet familiar. My husband, with his mouth full, said, “this is fantastic!” That dressing I know I will use again and again – so flavorful and zippy. Made this with ground beef because that’s what we had, perfection. Holy chipotle, Batman!
I am so glad you loved this Julie! Thank you for trying it!
I love, love reading your posts and trying your recipes, they are amazing! Yes, more salads please!
Another cookbook in the near future? YES PLEASE!
Thank you so much Sue!
Made this for dinner tonight – so good! I make taco salad for dinner fairly regularly, but never thought to dress it with anything more than a bit of salsa and sour cream. This dressing made such a flavor impact! I’m already trying to think of additional ways to use the leftover dressing throughout the week 😀 Loved the chipotle chili powder as well, that will definitely be replacing plain chili powder in my pantry.
I am so glad you enjoyed this Laura! Thank you for trying it out!
Looks delish! Unfortunately, I have that unlucky gene where cilantro tastes like soap (which is extra awful because Mexican food is my favorite!) – any suggestions for a substitute? Maybe parsley?
Hey Dee! I would actually use basil, but parsley would be fine. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan
This is soooooo good and healthy! So easy to prepare! Not a lot of dishes to clean which is amazing during weekdays! Would love meal prep!!!! Please please do!
Thank you so much Viviana! I am so glad you are loving this recipe and I hope you try it!
Eating this for lunch, its soooo yummy! Thanks for sharing!
I am so glad you are enjoying this! Thank you Nicole!
The pot stickers were a delicious hit. But important to note they cannot be made ahead of time before cooking; they turn to mush. And they take a lot of time to construct, so you have to have lots of meal prep time for this one! Thank you!
Laura
Thank you Laura! I am so glad you liked these!
Could you please elaborate on the onion powder listed in the instruction portion of the recipe. Is this a typo or is onion powder needed?
HI! I am so sorry, that is a typo. No onion powder. Recipe fixed! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan
Omg the salads that you make are FIRE. You could make a cookbook just of your salads and I would make everyone 100 times over!
That is so amazing! I am so glad you are loving the salads on my blog Libby! Thank you!
This was delicious and came together super quickly ! Love the dressing
Thank you Jill!
This looks delicious!! I am wondering if you could recommend a substitution for cilantro? I’m one of those people who really dislikes it and would love to try this recipe using a substitute if possible.
Thanks!
HI! I would use fresh basil. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan
I have Bunco at my house this weekend and was thinking of making your tortilla soup and adding this salad to the menu but leave out the turkey since I am already adding chicken to the soup. Do you think both pairs well?
OH! I think that sounds so great. Love the idea! Enjoy both the salad and the tortilla soup. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan
I saw this on Instagram when you first posted and immediately screenshot to make this week, I was reading the recipe and noticed you call for cumin seeds, are these left whole or ground? I love the idea of more salads, meal prep plans, and thankful for the healthy option inspiration! Cheers!
I like to use whole seeds, but you can also use 1-2 teaspoons ground cumin. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan
I saw this on Instagram when you first posted and immediately screenshot to make this week, I was reading the recipe and noticed you call for cumin seeds, are these left whole or ground? I love the idea of more salads, meal prep plans, and thankful for the healthy option inspiration! Cheers!
Hi! This recipe looks wonderful. I have that annoying thing where Cilantro tastes like soap – any recommendations on a replacement/different dressing? Thank you! 🙂
I would use basil! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan
Made this last night and it was DELISH!! You spice things so beautifully and the dressing is out of this world.
FYI, This is the 6th or 7th recipe I’ve made of yours and they’ve ALL been home runs. My brother gave me your cookbook for Christmas and it is so swoon worthy. I’m officially your biggest fan. Keep it up 🙂
This salad sounds and looks fantastic! Excited to put it in my meal prep list for next week. Do you have any suggestions for what to substitute the greek yogurt to make the dressing dairy free (please)? Thanks!
Hi Heather! There are many vegan yogurts, like coconut, you could use in place of greek yogurt. I would choose a plain flavor though! I hope you love this!
This is the best freakin’ salad I’ve ever made. EVER.
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you Julie!
Made this for dinner tonight, delicious!!!
Thank you Kara!
Making this tonight! Loving the healthy January recipes – they are definitely helping me stay on track for the New Year without feeling like I can only eat boring, bland food.
YES! I love that and that is how eating healthy should be! I hope you love this salad, Kelsey!
This was delicious! I used shredded kale so it would keep well for multiple dinner schedules and lunches the next day! Thanks for the great recipe.
Thank you so much Margaret! I am so glad you loved this salad!
I made this salad for dinner last night…it was amazing!!!
Thank you so much Kelsey!
I made this for dinner on Monday and it was SO GOOD! I will definitely be making it again 🙂
Thank you so much Jenna!
Yummy, heathy, modern take on taco salad – the hubs and I both liked it. Was hesitant about the mango but it actually adds a nice hint of sweet with all the smoky spice and jalapeno in the dressing. I couldn’t find chipotle chili powder so subbed 1 tsp regular chili powder and a TBSP or so canned chipotle chiles in adobo. The dressing is really good and will save the rest for another salad. Consider it pinned! Sorry – too hungry to snap a pic.
No worries! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for trying it!
This was sooooooo good- all of the flavours came together in a really incredible way! Love the lightness and brightness of the dressing. A new favourite!your site is amazing, thanks again 🙂
Thank you so much Elle! xTieghan
Absolutely delicious ?
Thank you Linda! xTieghan
I just used the dressing recipe and it was OUTSTANDING!! Thank you! I tasted it without the salt and thought, hmmmm, this is great. I added a bit of salt and bam! Brought out the flavor, added more salt and perfect.
So happy to hear that Jenn! Thank you so much! xTieghan
I made the dressing with coconut milk yogurt and it was fantastic! What a great meal!
Thanks Kelly! xTieghan
My husband and I made this for dinner tonight and LOVE it. We loved the addition of mango! So good!
Thank you so much Susan! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This salad is so delicious – she’s not lying that the dressing is one of the best. I used 5% fage Greek yogurt and added a drizzle of olive oil in just to add a bit of richness. I also used 1/4 teaspoon in the spices for ground chicken because I like a little extra heat. So so good.
Thank you so much Nina! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This salad is amazing! I follow the recipe as written and even though it is a little labor intensive I have this salad for days. I keep all the components separate so I can take it to work with me for a couple of days straight. I just heat the turkey and the beans in the microwave and assemble the salad. The Baja dressing is to die for! Thank you for your healthyish clean recipes!
I am so glad it was all worth it! Thank you so much for trying it! xTieghan
Added corn and a little red onion but this was awesome and filling.?
Thank you so much Connie! I am so glad you enjoyed this! xTieghan
So fresh and delicious! All the flavors blend so well. The dressing really brings it home! And there’s a mango and avocado? Mic drop.
Haha thank you Dana!! So glad you loved this one!! xTieghan
This was great!! Loved the salad and the Baja dressing!!
Thank you Barb! xTieghan
This was awesome! Easy to make, and the Baja dressing just pushed it over the top. This is going into the rotation!!! Thx!!
Thank you Wendy!! I am so happy to hear that! xTieghan
Again another winter recipe of yours that I made tonight in the summer that is so delicious! Thank you for this incredible taco salad! So yummy and healthy! ❤️
Thank you so much Lisa!! xTieghan
This was excellent, refreshing and an easy meal to make! I have made so many of your recipes and have yet to find one that I didn’t like!
Thank you so much Rachel! I am really glad this turned out so well for you!! xTieghan
Delicious!!! Vegetarian here so I subbed meat for walnut mushroom crumble. The Baja dressing was so good loved the kick from the jalapeño! I also want to thank you for delivering another fantastic book. Just got it and your vegetarian dishes / desserts look amazing! Actually made your Thai curry wraps the other day! Winner!!
Hey Jiseman,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Happy Sunday! xTieghan
You are my go-to for new, healthy, delicious and exciting recipes. This is an immediate favorite hit! You know how to combine all the foods I like into a collaboration of yum! Thank you.
Hey Sandi,
Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Have great week:) xTieghan
You NEVER disappoint!! This salad is SO GOOD! Healthy too!!
Hey Tina,
Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Hi! Just checking—Are we supposed to use a tablespoon of the paprika or a teaspoon?
Hey Mallory,
The recipe calls for 1 tablespoon of paprika! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan