Slow Cooker Forgot to Defrost Doritos Taco Salad–this fun spin on taco salad is made even with frozen meat straight from your freezer. Use your slow cooker to cook the seasoned meat while you’re at work. Layer everything on a sheet pan and dig in for a delicious, healthy, family-friendly dinner.
Get the INSTANT POT version of the recipe here
Slow Cooker Forgot to Defrost Doritos Taco Salad
When you’re about to make dinner do you ever think, “Shoot! All my meat is in the freezer and I forgot to defrost!” I do this all the time. Today’s recipe makes it easy to use a pound of ground beef or ground turkey without even thawing it first!
This recipe for Doritos taco salad is super yummy! I love regular taco salad but the Doritos took this recipe to the next level.
I decided that I don’t like a big salad in a bowl. It’s easy for all the chopped up vegetables to fall to the bottom of the bowl and things aren’t evenly distributed.
Enter into the picture…a sheet pan. When you layer all the ingredients thinly on a cookie sheet everybody can get a bite of everything in a perfect proportion. This is going to be the new thing…I can see it.
More recipes you’ll love…
What Slow Cooker Cooker Did You Use?
To make Slow Cooker Forgot to Defrost Doritos Taco Salad I used my 6 quart oval Kitchenaid slow cooker.* I love this slow cooker (you can see me talking about it in a video here). It cooks low and evenly. I love the medium heat choice because most slow cookers that I’ve seen only have the option of cooking on low or high. If you’re going to buy just one slow cooker, this is the one that I recommend.
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Slow Cooker Forgot to Defrost Doritos Taco Salad
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours on low
- Total Time: 32 minute
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
This fun spin on taco salad is made even with frozen meat straight from your freezer. Use your slow cooker to cook the seasoned meat while you’re at work. Layer everything on a sheet pan and dig in for a delicious, healthy, family-friendly dinner.
Ingredients
For the meat:
- 1 pound ground beef or turkey (frozen)
- 1 package taco seasoning OR the following spices
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 (10 oz) can Rotel (diced tomatoes with green chiles)
- 1 (14.5 oz) can black, pinto or kidney beans, rinsed and drained
For the salad:
- 1 large head of romaine lettuce, washed and dried and cut into small pieces
- 1 red bell pepper, cored and diced
- 1 (2.25 oz) can sliced olives
- 1 or 2 large roma tomatoes, diced
- 1 cup grated medium cheddar cheese
- 1/3 cup diced green onions
- 6 Tbsp sour cream
- 6 Tbsp salsa
- 1 (10 oz bag) nacho cheese Doritos
Instructions
- Add meat ingredients to the slow cooker: Add frozen meat to slow cooker. Sprinkle the meat with the taco seasoning/seasonings. Dump the Rotel and beans on top of the meat.
- Cook the meat: Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.
- Break up the meat: Use a wooden spoon to break up the meat. Make sure that it is cooked all the way through.
- Make your salad: On a sheet pan layer your salad ingredients. Start with the romaine lettuce and then sprinkle evenly with bell pepper, olives, tomatoes, cheese, green onions. Use a spoon to evenly dollop the sour cream and salsa on top of the salad. Sprinkle with the meat mixture and the doritos.
- Serve. Use tongs to serve your salad. If there are leftovers you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge, although the Doritos will be soggy.
Notes
I used my 6 quart oval Kitchenaid slow cooker.*
To make gluten free: Check taco seasoning to be sure it does not contain gluten. Nacho cheese doritos used to contain wheat but they no longer do. Be sure to check ingredients regularly in case they change. A good substitute would just be plain tortilla chips.
- Category: Salads
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: Mexican
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 of recipe (93% lean beef)
- Calories: 447
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 612 mg
- Fat: 19 g
- Carbohydrates: 35 g
- Protein: 25 g
Keywords: tacos
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*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Thank you!! Fantastic idea sheet pan salads! Your salad angels were on your shoulder.
Cindy LOL!!!