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This quick & simple taco bowl is filled with fresh ingredients and topped with a creamy cilantro dressing. It’s a perfect taco twist.
A taco bowl is a take on Taco Salad and it’s also similar to a deconstructed Taco or Chicken Burrito Bowl!
We Love a Good Taco!
It’s no secret that we love Tacos in this house. Being Mexican, it’s pretty standard to have Mexican food at least once a week – usually more!
A taco bowl is hearty enough to fill you up for dinner, but could be light enough for lunch!
Why we love it:
- Healthy option. This tasty taco bowl is more like a Taco Salad!! It’s light and refreshing, and if you remove the taco shell base it can be made low-carb.
- Add your toppings. Just like tacos, and most Mexican dinners, you can customize this bowl with your favorite taco toppings!
- Meal prep. Easily prep the ingredients ahead of time for a busy weeknight.
Taco Bowl Ingredients
- Ranch dip mix
- mayonnaise
- sour cream – or plain Greek yogurt
- fresh cilantro
- minced garlic
- diced jalapenos
- milk
- Cilantro Lime Rice – rice, diced green chilies, cilantro, salted butter, chicken broth, lime juice, salt and pepper
- ground beef – or use ground turkey or chicken.
- taco seasoning – store-bought or Homemade Taco Seasoning
- water
- Romaine lettuce
- corn kernels – or Mexican Street Corn.
- black beans – or pinto beans
- Roma tomatoes
- avocado
Other proteins. This beef taco bowl uses ground beef seasoned with classic taco seasoning. Some other delicious proteins that you can use instead include:
how to make Taco Bowls
- DRESSING. Blend all ingredients in the blender. Add milk until it’s the consistency you want. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- RICE. Pour all rice ingredients into a large pan and bring to a boil. Add lid and simmer for 20 minutes (stirring occasionally), until rice is cooked.
- BEEF. Cook beef in a large skillet. Add water and taco seasoning to the skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- SERVE. Assemble bowls by dividing the rice mixture evenly along with the meat, lettuce, corn, black beans, tomatoes, avocado, and cilantro.
homemade taco bowl shell
- 6 large flour tortillas
- 6 oven-safe bowls. (The diameter of the bowls should be a couple of inches smaller than the tortillas)
- olive oil
- PREP. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Arrange the oven-safe bowls on a baking sheet.
- FRY. Heat a large skillet to medium-high heat and add a bit of olive oil. Fry each side of the tortilla for 30-40 seconds. Transfer the fried tortilla to one of the oven-safe bowls. Repeat for each tortilla.
- BAKE. Place the baking sheet containing the bowls into the oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes until crisp.
Recipe Tips
- Rice. Use plain white, brown rice, Cauliflower Rice, or quinoa.
- Tortillas. Line the bowl with a soft Flour Tortilla or serve the tortilla on the side. A side of Tortilla Chips also pairs well with this taco bowl recipe.
- Topping choices include green onions, shredded cheddar cheese, salsa, Pico de Gallo, or cilantro. Serve with a lime wedge that can be used to spritz lime juice on top.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Add heat by sprinkling chili powder or paprika red chili flakes into the ground beef.
meal prepping and storing
- Make ahead of time. Except for the avocados, the different elements can be prepped ahead of time.
- The meat and rice can both be made a few days ahead of time and stored in separate containers in the fridge, or you can make them several weeks ahead and store them in the freezer. Thaw and warm them up before using.
- The lettuce, beans, corn, and tomatoes can be prepared 1-2 days before. Store them in separate containers in the fridge until ready to assemble the taco bowls.
- STORE leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days. The avocados will brown, but they will still be ok to eat.
- Reheating gets a bit trickier. Remove as much of the lettuce and avocados as you can; reheat in the microwave or the oven. Once hot, add the lettuce and avocados back into the salad.
For More Mexican Recipes:
Taco Bowl Recipe
This quick & simple taco bowl is filled with fresh ingredients and topped with a creamy cilantro dressing. It's a perfect taco twist.
Ingredients
Creamy Cilantro Dressing
- 1 packet Ranch dip mix, about 3 tablespoons
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1-3 teaspoon diced jalapenos
- ½-⅔ cup milk
Taco Meat
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 (1-ounce) envelope taco seasoning
- ¾ cup water
Toppings
- 3 cup chopped Romaine lettuce
- 1 (15.25 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
- 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 Roma tomatoes, diced
- 1 avocado, halved, pitted, peeded, diced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish
Instructions
- Make dressing by blending all ingredients in the blender. Add milk until it's the consistency you want. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Pour all rice ingredients into a large pan and bring to a boil. Add lid and simmer for 20 minutes (stirring occasionally), until rice is cooked.
- Cook beef in a large skillet over medium heat until no longer pink making sure to break up the meat. Add water and taco seasoning to the skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Assemble bowls by dividing the rice mixture evenly along with the meat, lettuce, corn, black beans, tomatoes, avocado, and cilantro.
- Drizzle with creamy cilantro dressing.
Video
Notes
Try this Homemade Taco Seasoning mix.
Nutrition
Calories: 767kcal, Carbohydrates: 40g, Protein: 24g, Fat: 58g, Saturated Fat: 15g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 19g, Monounsaturated Fat: 18g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 94mg, Sodium: 1254mg, Potassium: 906mg, Fiber: 10g, Sugar: 5g, Vitamin A: 3223IU, Vitamin C: 13mg, Calcium: 118mg, Iron: 4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My Favorite part of the post is how to make homemade taco shell bowls! They’re perfect to hold all the yummy taco salad ingredients.
I love these recipes that are all salad with healthy ingredients. The dressing is so yummy! Cant beat this salad.
One of our favorite easy dinners! W love making taco bowls and this was perfect!!
I made this over the weekend and I am making it again when my family eats regular tacos! Delicious!
The cilantro dressing is my favorite!! This meal is packed with delicious flavors & so hearty!
So good! I love making bowl type of meals for my family because it gives my young kids some freedom in picking what they’ll put into it. Definitely an easy weeknight dinner!