Chorizo & Beef Taco Salad with Lime-Cilantro Dressing is a great recipe to shake up taco! Spicy chorizo, beef, loads of toppings and a delicious dressing make for the ultimate fiesta.

Name: Chorizo & Beef Taco Salad with Lime-Cilantro Dressing
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1/2 pkg chorizo sausage; 1/2 lb. ground hamburger; 1 can pinto beans (rinsed); 1 tsp chili powder; 1 tsp cumin; 1 cup lettuce; 1 tomato; 1/2 bunch green onion; 1 box taco salad shells (I used Fiesta Flats from Ortega); 1 cup mexican blend shredded cheese; avocado (for topping, optional); sour cream (for topping, optional); 1 bunch cilantro; 2 cloves garlic; 2 limes; 1/2 cup avocado or olive oil; 1 sugar; 2 cups instant brown rice; 1-3/4 cup water; 1 cube Knorr Tomato Boullion; 1/4 tsp cumin; 1 tsp chicken bouillon

I have to admit that I have never imaged that I would one day say that a ‘taco salad’ was appealing to me. In a sense, isn’t a taco in general, a taco salad? It has all the elements it’s just assembled differently and adds a lot more lettuce—and is that a good thing? Up until I made this recipe I would say a definite, “No!” My mind changed though when I decided to play around in the kitchen and created this chorizo and beef taco salad.

For this Cinco de Mayo inspired Mitten Movie Night, I remade and shot one of the very first posts I made. Wow, has my photography came a long way. Guess what though? The recipe was just as delicious then as it is now. Okay, enough patting myself on the back!

What beer pairs well with Chorizo & Beef Taco Salad?

The beer: Modelo Especial.

We are drinking some Modelo Especial and catching up on Better Call Saul. If you don’t follow me on social media you may not have heard that we recently moved into a new house :’) So in between moving and everything we haven’t had time to catch up on the 2nd Season that just started. This show is in my Top 5 of shows, it’s awesome.

What TV shows go well with eating tacos and drinking beer?

If you are interested in 5 shows that I am in love with for future viewing here they are:

30 Rock. Tina Fey is my idol. The question ‘Who would you want to have lunch with dead or alive.’ It would be her 100%. A close 2nd would be Steve Martin. A 3rd would be any cast of any season of Saturday Night Live. Some great things have come out of that show.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. So cute! And of course, let me refer to #1…Produced by Tina Fey.
Shameless. All of the actors in this series are spot on.
A new one that just came out and surprised me was Santa Clarita Diet. It reminded me a lot of Weeds. Great show!
And finally Better Call Saul.

Now let’s get on to this taco salad recipe! When I first made this I had the intention of making the taco bowls on my own using flour tortillas but then scratched that when I found these Fiesta Flats. They worked out perfectly because we ate them like tacos with a little flair and then the 3 yr old could scoop his goodies by himself.

How to make Chorizo & Beef Taco Salad with Lime-Cilantro Dressing:

First, for the taco salad, let’s get our meat and beans cooking on the stove top. Add your chorizo and ground hamburger to a pan.

I was sad that when I had plans to make this I found a great recipe from Mexican Please on how to make your own Easy Homemade Chorizo but I wasn’t able to find chilies in our local grocery store so I did purchase the local fare. If you have a chance though check out this recipe and make it for yourself!

Sprinkle the cumin and chili powder on top. Start sautéing everything together over medium/high heat until the sausage and meat are completely cooked through and no longer pink.

When cooked put the meat into a strainer to drain off the grease, chorizo has tons of it and you don’t want it making your taco shells soggy. Drain, drain, drain!

Now the best part of this chorizo and beef taco salad, in my opinion, the lime-cilantro dressing. It’s amazing and well worth getting out and cleaning your food processor (can you tell I find this to be a chore?) Put all ingredients in the food processor-EXCEPT THE OIL.

Ok, now we can get to the oil. Put the lid on your food processor and you will then pour the oil slowly into the top while it chops up the ingredients you’ve already put into the bowl.

When it gets to the consistency you like then stop adding. I put a ½ cup of oil as a general rule but you may like it a little chunkier (that’s how I prefer it) over runny. Trust me, once you make this you will make it again and again so adjust until you get it the way you like it.

A bonus recipe for GREAT Mexican Rice:

I also recently perfected some rice that is amazing with anything that is spicy inspired that goes perfectly on this chorizo and beef taco salad. This recipe is as simple as buying one of those pre-made packets. We live close to an amazing restaurant El Rodeo. Everything they serve is pretty amazing and I wanted to recreate it at home and I think I nailed it!

Add rice, water, tomato & chicken bouillons, spices then frozen veggies as you like-I use corn & peas. Now if only I can remake their Enchilada Sauce….I could eat that stuff in a bowl with a spoon it’s so good.

Layer the chorizo and beef taco salad as you see fit. I prefer lettuce, meat, cheese, tomatoes, green onion then the Lime-Cilantro Dressing.

Heat up some refried beans and plate the rice. Add some avocado and sour cream on top if desired.

And here you are….

From our home in the Bottom Left of the Mitten to yours ~ Enjoy!