I don’t know about everyone else but, I love taco night at home. I try to do this every week or at least twice a month. So many taco variations to try but, so little time 🙂
Aren’t those tortilla bowls the cutest??! It only takes a few minutes to make them and I love that the bowls are baked instead of fried! I found my molds here if you are interested. Let’s talk about what is in those yummy bowls!
Taco Salad Layers:
- brown rice
- refried beans
- grilled chicken
- lime crema
- mexican cheese blend
- shredded lettuce
- red onions
- tomatoes, cubed
- guacamole – this is my favorite recipe
- chopped cilantro or parsley
That’s just a list of the layer components but feel free to add as many layers as possible 😜. No judgment here!
Ingredients
- 4 burrito size flour tortillas, baked and cooled a link to the molds I use is above in the text
- 4 boneless chicken breast, grilled and sliced thin
- 4 cups pinto beans, cooked and drained
- 3 scallions, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup vegetable broth or water
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 3 cups brown rice, cooked according to pkg directions
- 2 cups shaved lettuce, of your choice
- 2 med tomatoes, chopped
- 1 med red onion, diced
- 2 cups guacamole, store-bought or homemade I added a link to my recipe above
- 2 limes, zested and juiced
- 2 cups sour cream
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
Instructions
- Grill chicken breast, sliced thin and set aside. Or use rotisserie chicken, shred and toss with taco seasoning mix. Warm for a few minutes on the stovetop or oven.
- To make the refried beans cook the scallions and whole garlic cloves with the olive oil over medium heat for about 5-8 minutes or until garlic is browned on all sides.
- Add pinto beans to a blender along with the scallions, garlic, chili powder, and salt & pepper. Add vegetable broth or water and blend until smooth. Add broth or water as needed until desired consistency is reached. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
- Make homemade guacamole or use store-bought. If you have neither chop up your avocados and add them to the salad.
- To make the lime crema mix the sour cream with 2 tsp lime zest and the juice from both limes. Add in the garlic powder and salt & pepper and stir until thoroughly mixed.
- Line up your 4 tortilla bowls and layer in the rice and refried beans. I then add chicken and a couple dollops of the lime crema and repeat the layers. Top off with tomatoes, red onion, guacamole and more crema!
Notes
***This recipe seems to have a lot of ingredients but, making your refried beans and crema from scratch ups the flavor so much! You just can't beat homemade 🙂
Also, you will have leftover beans. I spread them out in a baking dish and top with cheese. Bake for about 15-20 until heated through and cheese is melted. This is great for another meal!
I love taco salad bowls, trying this recipe for sure. And I totally agree with you– nothing beats homemade! 🙂
Thank you so much – a favorite recipe for us! 🙂