Steak Taco Salad

This fast and fresh steak taco salad for two has tender pan-seared sirloin, creamy diced avocado, black beans, pepper jack cheese and a super simple 3-ingredient salsa verde dressing. 

For the past month or so I’ve been making taco salads on repeat although most of them are dialed-down versions of the one I’m sharing today. This scaled-up salad is what I consider a fancier version of the “everyday taco salad”. “Everyday” being a salad made with ground beef seasoned with taco spices from a packet, tossed with pre-shredded cheddar cheese and tossed with greens and bottled dressing. If the everyday taco salad is like a pair of sensible weekday shoes this steak version is like those kicky boots that might kill your feet, but are so worth it for a Saturday night out.

Although, unlike those spiky-heeled boots, this steak taco salad won’t cause you any pain and is easy to make – it just takes a bit longer than my old stand-by tossed-together weekday version with a few extra accouterments that make it feel a little more grown-up and flashy.

SOME INGREDIENTS YOU’LL NEED

• The biggest upgrade between the everyday taco salad and this fancier one is sirloin. Instead of crumbled ground beef, I marinate an 8-ounce sirloin steak in some olive oil, chili seasoning, and lime juice and pan sear it until it’s still a little pink inside. Let it rest and then cut it into bite-sized pieces.
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• The rest of the salad is an assemble and toss situation albeit with a little more care and thought then my weekday taco salad gets. I like a mix of crispy romaine with tender spinach as the base of the salad. From there add some diced avocado, shredded pepper jack cheese, and some black beans.
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• During the week, when I cobble together the more basic salad, I might just top it with some broken tortilla chips from the bottom of the chip bag. But for this upgraded version I like to sprinkle some little tri-colored tortilla strips and (not paid to say this, btw) I love the Fresh Gourmet brand, which I think is sold at most grocery stores. They just feel a little fancier and they add the perfect amount of crunch.
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• The dressing is only slightly more difficult than opening a bottle – just mix together some sour cream, store-bought salsa verde, and lime juice and, voila, the dressing is made.
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• This recipe makes two very generous servings. Drizzle the dressing over the top, serve it with some cold margaritas and a bowl of chips and guac on the side and dig in.
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