Summer Taco Salad

To us, taco salad epitomizes Fourth of July. We grew up eating our grandma's signature taco salad during our annual family gathering on the Mexican border. It was a quintessentially '90s experience: Fritos, iceberg lettuce, Catalina bottled dressing, shredded cheese, pinto beans, and chopped tomatoes. Delicious and hearty enough to fuel all of the tireless, pruney kids who'd just spent hours in the pool.

Fast forward 3 decades and we still crave that tortilla crunch combined with crisp lettuce, creamy beans, and cheesy goodness, but were looking for a dramatic departure from the overdressed, vegetable-sparse taco salad of that bygone era. Meet our new taco salad: This recipe is fresh, tangy, flavorful, and hearty enough to be a meal. The dressing gets its creamy consistency from Greek yogurt, jazzed up with lime juice and chipotles in adobo. It's grandma approved, and we'll be making it on repeat all summer long.

Happy Fourth of July, everyone. – Lesley & Renee

A Fresh Take on a Classic

What makes this taco salad so successful is how it honors the spirit of the original, crunchy tortillas, creamy beans, cheese, fresh vegetables, while updating everything for modern tastes. Instead of Fritos, you bake your own crispy tortilla strips. Instead of iceberg lettuce, you use Romaine and lacinato kale for more substance and nutrition. Instead of bottled Catalina dressing, you make a fresh chipotle-yogurt dressing that's tangy, creamy, and has just the right amount of heat.

The result is a salad that's fresh, flavorful, and substantial enough to be a complete meal. It's the kind of dish that works equally well for Fourth of July gatherings, summer potlucks, or weeknight dinners when you want something satisfying but not heavy.

The Star: Bayo Beans

Let's talk about Bayo beans, beautiful tan beans that are firm on the outside and creamy on the inside. These beans make the richest, most flavorful dishes, and the full-bodied, golden broth they produce is unlike anything else. What makes them perfect for taco salad is their texture, they're creamy enough to be satisfying but firm enough to hold their shape when tossed with the other ingredients.

When cooked properly, Bayo beans have a rich, slightly nutty flavor that complements the smoky chipotle dressing, sweet grilled corn, and tangy cotija cheese. They add protein and substance, making this salad hearty enough to be a main course.

Our Bayo beans come from Carlos and Ana María Albarrán's certified organic small family farm in the heart of Morelos, Mexico. Their farm has lovingly preserved these precious seeds for generations using time-honored traditional farming methods. These gems are grown using the ancient Milpas technique, where corn, squash, beans, and chiles flourish together in perfect harmony. This method mirrors the revered Three Sisters planting wisdom, creating beautiful natural balance where each plant nurtures the others. While incredibly healthy for the environment, this labor-intensive method requires careful hand harvesting, making these beans an authentic labor of love. Learn more about Carlos and Ana María.

The Chipotle-Yogurt Dressing

The dressing is what ties everything together. Instead of mayonnaise-based dressings or bottled options, this uses thick Greek yogurt as the base, creating something that's creamy but lighter and tangier.

The secret is letting minced garlic sit in lime juice for 5 minutes before adding it to the yogurt. This mellows the garlic's bite while infusing the lime juice with flavor. Then you stir in chopped chipotle in adobo sauce (adjust the amount based on your heat tolerance, you can use just the sauce without the chile for milder dressing), honey for a touch of sweetness, and salt.

The result is a dressing that's creamy, tangy, smoky, slightly spicy, and absolutely delicious. It coats the greens beautifully and brings all the salad components together.

The Homemade Tortilla Strips

Making your own tortilla strips is easier than you might think and so much better than store-bought. You cut corn tortillas into thirds, then into half-inch strips. Toss with a little olive oil and salt, spread on a baking sheet, and bake at 350°F for 8-10 minutes, stirring halfway through.

They come out golden, crispy, and perfect, much better than Fritos, with actual corn flavor and a satisfying crunch. Let them cool completely before adding to the salad so they stay crispy.

The Grilled Corn

Grilled corn adds sweetness and smoky flavor that makes this salad special. The corn gets brushed with olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and grilled over medium-high heat until the kernels are tender and charred in spots, about 10-12 minutes, turning occasionally.

If you don't have a grill, you can broil the corn, turning occasionally until charred. Either way, those charred bits add incredible flavor. Once cooled, you cut the kernels off the cobs and add them to the salad.

The Greens

Instead of just iceberg lettuce, this salad uses a combination of Romaine and lacinato kale. The Romaine provides that classic lettuce crunch and freshness. The lacinato kale (also called dinosaur kale or Tuscan kale) adds substance, nutrition, and a slightly earthy flavor that stands up to the bold dressing.

Both get roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces, easy to eat but still with good texture. They're tossed with half the dressing first, which helps the kale soften slightly and ensures every piece is coated.

The Fresh Additions

Cubed avocado adds creaminess and richness. Thinly sliced radishes provide crunch and peppery bite. Grated cotija cheese, a salty, crumbly Mexican cheese, adds savory depth and authentic flavor. And toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) scattered on top add nutty crunch.

Fresh lime wedges served on the side let everyone add extra brightness to their portion if desired.

Assembly

The assembly is straightforward but creates a salad that's beautiful and well-balanced. Toss the greens with half the dressing first, then add the grilled corn, beans, avocado, radishes, and cotija. Toss gently to combine, then add more dressing to taste.

The key is not overdressing, you want everything coated but not swimming in dressing. Season with salt to taste. Then garnish with those crispy tortilla strips, toasted pepitas, lime wedges, and more cotija cheese.

Serving

This salad is best served immediately after assembly, when the tortilla strips are still crispy and the greens are still fresh. It's substantial enough to be a complete meal, no need for anything else, though some cold beer or margaritas wouldn't hurt.

It's perfect for outdoor gatherings because it's fresh and light but still satisfying. And it's easy to scale up for a crowd, just multiply the ingredients accordingly.

A New Tradition

What makes this recipe special is how it updates a nostalgic favorite for modern tastes while keeping the spirit of the original. It's still a taco salad, crunchy, fresh, hearty, satisfying. But it's fresher, lighter, more flavorful, and more nutritious than the '90s version.

It's grandma approved but updated for a new generation. And it just might become your new Fourth of July tradition, too.

*A Note On Our Recipes:

Every recipe here was developed and tested using farm-fresh beans from Foodocracy and Primary Beans. Older beans, anything past a year in your pantry or beans from other sources may need more coaxing. Give them a soak and add extra cooking time, and they'll get there eventually.

Summer Taco Salad

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Category

Salad

Cuisine

Mexican-American

To us, taco salad epitomizes Fourth of July. This recipe is fresh, tangy, flavorful, and hearty enough to be a meal. The dressing gets its creamy consistency from Greek yogurt, jazzed up with lime juice and chipotles in adobo. It's grandma approved, and we'll be making it on repeat all summer long. – Lesley & Renee

Featured bean: Bayo

Other beans to try: Ojo de Cabra

Ingredients

Chipotle-yogurt dressing

• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced

• Juice of 1 large lime

• ¾ cup Greek yogurt

• ½ to 1 chipotle with a little adobo sauce, finely chopped (if you don't want that much heat, skip the chipotle and use 1-2 tsp sauce)

• ¾ tsp honey

• ½ tsp coarse salt, plus more to taste

The rest

• 8 corn tortillas, cut into thirds and then ½ inch strips

• Olive oil

• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

• 3 ears of corn, shucked and silk removed

• 1 head Romaine lettuce, roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces

• 1 bunch lacinato kale, stems removed and roughly chopped in 1-inch pieces

• 1½ cups cooked and strained Bayo beans

• 1 avocado, cubed

• 6 radishes, thinly sliced

• ⅓ cup grated cotija cheese, plus more for serving

• Toasted pepitas, for serving

• Lime wedges, for serving

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Directions

1. Prepare the dressing: In a small bowl, combine garlic and lime juice; set aside for 5 minutes to let the garlic flavor mellow. Stir in remaining ingredients and season with salt to taste.

2. Make the tortilla strips: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place tortilla strips on a rimmed baking sheet; toss with a little olive oil and season with salt. Spread in a single layer and bake until golden and crisp, stirring halfway through, 8-10 minutes. Let cool.

3. Grill the corn: Heat the grill over medium-high. Brush ears of corn with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill, turning occasionally, until kernels are tender and charred in spots, 10-12 minutes. (Alternatively, you can broil the ears of corn, turning occasionally until tender and charred.) Once cooled enough to handle, cut the kernels from the cobs.

4. Assemble the salad: In a large bowl, toss lettuce and kale with half the dressing. Add corn kernels, beans, avocado, radishes, and cotija cheese. Toss gently to combine. Add more dressing to taste and season with salt. To serve, garnish with tortilla strips, roasted pepitas, and lime wedges, and top with more cotija cheese.

Recipe Note

Serves: 6-8

Time: 40 minutes (plus bean cooking)

Cookware: rimmed baking sheet, grill, small bowl, large bowl

Every recipe here was developed and tested using farm-fresh beans from Foodocracy and Primary Beans. Older beans, anything past a year in your pantry, or beans from other sources may need more coaxing. Give them a soak and add extra cooking time, and they'll get there eventually.