Easy Taco Salad with Buffalo Ranch | Keto and Low Carb Recipe (2024)

Taco salads are a great option for Taco Tuesday, or any night you want a quick meal that easily fits into your keto macros. Spice up your keto meal plan with this buffalo ranch taco salad recipe.

The best part about keto taco salad recipes is you can skip the taco shell and add all of your favorite toppings to a keto taco salad bowl instead. Eating tacos in bowl form makes it easy to fall in love with a low carb weight loss plan.

Before we chat about how to make this easy keto taco salad recipe, I wanted to let you know this blog contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission if you click through. I also link to the same info that helped me lose 100 pounds with an easy low carb lifestyle. Click through so this info can help you too!

Ditch Excess Carbs in Keto Taco Salad Recipes

You may be thinking taco Tuesday isn’t complete without low carb tortillas, low carb tortilla chips, or adding a little extra crunch to a healthy taco salad with tortilla strips, am-I-right?

The truth is, your waistline isn’t benefiting from the extra carbs. Keep this low-carb taco salad simple by layering all of your favorite taco toppings onto a bed of lettuce. Then drizzle the delicious homemade buffalo ranch dressing on top to spice up your keto taco salad.

Buffalo Ranch Taco Salad Ingredients

Choose High Quality, High Fat Beef:

When it comes to taco meat, steer clear of ground turkey and lean ground beef options. The best part of a healthy keto taco salad is you need that flavorful fat for better weight loss results on a ketogenic diet!

If you’re giving me the side eye because you prefer leaner meats to higher fat versions, Lucy, you’ve got some ‘splaining to do. On second thought, sit tight while I do a little explaining.

Choosing lean meats on a keto diet is a problem since your body needs extra fat to help you get into ketosis. More high quality fats also help you feel satiated after dropping carbs to a ketogenic level.

If the thought of higher fat meats make your stomach turn, this typically isn’t due to preference. This is more of a digestion problem. After years of following mainstream low calorie diets, you may lose the ability to process foods higher in healthy fats. When your body isn’t able to digest a food, your natural instinct is to avoid it.

If you can’t digest high quality fats on keto, where 75% – 85% of calories come from healthy fats – well, hopefully you can see the problem in this scenario.

Avoiding high fat meats long term won’t work either since this will make the problem worse. If you cringe at the thought of eating higher fat meats, take the free keto digestion course. While it does cost a little bit of your time, that’s not too shabby for a course that can completely change your life!

Speaking from experience here – taking time to improve digestion is the thing that helped me stick with a low carb lifestyle. The 100 pounds I lost in the process – I’d say that’s pretty life changing.

Grass-Fed Beef Is Important:

Grass-fed beef is always my #1 choice if finances permit. Even if it’s a stretch, a pound of ground beef that’s higher in quality will do so much more for your health. Conventional meat that’s really only a step above the sketchy Mexican food from the Taco Bell drive thru, not so much.

Sorry drive thru friends … while you can lose weight with lazy keto, it just doesn’t have quite the same health gains as focussing on high quality foods that are also low in carbs. Net carbs can only do so much when it comes to weight loss on keto, mmm-kay?

My favorite grass-fed beef shows right up to our door each month since we order from Butcher Box. The quality of the meat is amazing, and obviously the convenience of home delivery is key for this busy blogging mom of two.

Toppings:

This easy taco salad recipe includes wholesome ingredients like chopped spinach, cherry tomatoes, and other favorite taco toppings like yellow onions and cheddar cheese. You can add even more taco favorites to your salad. Maybe toss on a few black olives, chopped bell peppers, or a couple of fresh cilantro leaves to mix things up a little.

Even though the recipe card only lists my favorite taco toppings, don’t feel limited. Add any taco toppings you love to make this low carb taco salad your own.

How to Make A Low Carb Taco Salad

Brown Ground Beef:

Once you’re ready to brown the ground beef, cook it over medium high heat in a frying pan. While it’s browning, sprinkle it with garlic powder. You can even sprinkle on some chili powder to add more of a kick. This makes for a more zesty keto taco salad if you happen to like zesty.

After the beef is browned, add homemade taco seasoning and water into the skillet. Bring the cooked ground beef mixture to a boil and then reduce to medium heat. Allow the flavors to blend for around 5-10 minutes.

Meal Prep the Taco Salad Toppings:

While the taco meat simmers, it’s time to prepare the fresh toppings.

You can either add this to your easy recipes list by using pre-shredded lettuce from the grocery store, which is helpful on a busy day … or, if you want to add more nutrients, make a healthy salad. Take a little extra time to chop up a nice spring mix lettuce or spinach for the taco salad base.

It’s up to you to choose to make a simple salad with simple ingredients, or to take your nutrition to the next level with a little extra elbow grease. You have complete control on how simple or complicated to make keto recipes. Stick with whatever routine helps you stick to keto long term!

Chop up any other veggies you want to add to your low carb taco salad. Some of my favorites include onions, tomatoes, and green onions.

Bring the Whole Thing Together:

After the meat simmers with the seasoning mixture, allow it to cool for a few minutes. Once cooled, add the ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and cheese into a large mixing bowl.

Top with the buffalo sauce and ranch dressing. Use a large wooden spoon to mix the salad together. Toss with the spoon until the salad is evenly coated in taco salad dressing.

Either serve immediately family style in a large bowl, or store in an airtight container in the fridge. One of my favorite things about this recipe is it tastes great served fresh, or makes an easy keto lunch when served cold. While there are different ways to serve this keto meal, both options taste great.

Easy Keto Taco Salad Recipe Wrap Up:

This simple low-carb taco salad is one of my favorite keto recipes. The whole meal is easy to make and tastes so fresh. The fact that you can also lose weight while eating delicious recipes like this – how can you not love low carb salad recipes?

If you’re looking for a keto-friendly side dish to serve with this recipe, low carb cheese chips are a great option. They’re easy to make from shredded cheese and spices, and they can add a little crunch to this keto taco salad.

Don’t forget to pin this delicious keto taco salad to your easy keto ground beef recipes Pinterest board. It’s definitely a recipe your whole family will ask for again and again! Plus, your taste buds will thank you for keeping this delicious low-carb option handy.

Keep scrolling for the recipe card and nutritional information.

Lose More Weight with Keto

If you’re new to keto, or even if you’ve followed keto for a while but you want to take your results to the next level, register for the Keto Quick Start Course!

In less than 60 minutes, you’ll learn everything you need to know to jumpstart your keto plan. This is the same course Keto Challengers use to lose between 10 – 25 lbs in only 3 weeks! Get into a fat burning state fast with this simple plan.

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Keto Taco Salad Recipe

More Low Carb Mexican Inspired Recipes from Eating Fat is the New Skinny:

Layered Taco Salad

Garlic Butter Chicken Fajitas

Cheesy Buffalo Ranch Chicken and Cauliflower Rice

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