Aunt Agnes’ Mexican Salad – Guest Kitchens
This delicious, 30-minute Mexican Salad recipe comes from Lora Roberts, a dear Southern Plate Family member I met on my book tour. It uses simple ingredients like savory ground beef, crisp lettuce, crunchy Doritos, and sweet Catalina dressing to create pure comfort in a bowl. Enjoy this taste of an East Tennessee family tradition!
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Aunt Agnes’ Mexican Salad
- Ready In: 30 minutes
- Serves: 4
- Calories: 141 cal
- Main Ingredients: 1 lb ground beef, 1 c. shredded cheese, 1 can pinto beans, 1 large onion, 1 bottle Catalina dressing, 1 or 2 tomatoes, 1 head of lettuce, 1 bag Doritos
- Why You'll Love It: Aunt Agnes has always brought this recipe to the family reunion and it is always one of the first things gone.
The Salad That Brings People Together
For years, Lora’s Aunt Agnes brought this Mexican salad to every family reunion, and it was always the first dish to disappear.
The recipe has a very touching story behind it. When Aunt Agnes’ daughter Linda was in the hospital with cancer, a kind nurse brought this salad to the family. It was such a comfort during a difficult time that Aunt Agnes asked for the recipe. Lora continues to make the salad to honor both Linda and Aunt Agnes, carrying on a tradition born from loss and love.
The salad itself is a wonderful mix of textures and flavors: savory, sweet, and crunchy all in one bite. It’s also incredibly easy to customize. If you’ve tried my Mexican taco pasta skillet, you’ll know how much I love versatile, Mexican-inspired dishes!
Thank you for your hospitality, Lora, and thank you for sharing this recipe and heartwarming story with us today!
Ingredients
- Gound beef
- Shredded cheese
- Pinto beans
- Onion
- Catalina dressing
- Tomatoes
- Head of lettuce (or 1 bag salad mix)
- Doritos (nacho cheese flavor)
Variations on this Mexican Salad
Feel free to swap the ground beef for shredded chicken, ground turkey, or even black beans for a vegetarian twist. You could also add a can of corn, some sliced bell peppers, or sprinkle in some jalapeños for a spicy kick. No matter how you make it, it’s a dish that brings people together!
1. Cook the Beef
First things first, brown your ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat, making sure to stir it constantly so it cooks evenly.
Once it’s all browned, drain off the grease and set the beef aside to cool down a bit.
2. Mix the Good Stuff
In a large bowl, combine your cooled ground beef with the shredded cheese, pinto beans, onion, and Catalina dressing. Give it a good stir until everything is nicely mixed together.
Once it’s all combined, pop it in the refrigerator to chill.
Make it ahead: You can prepare the beef mixture (Step 2) a day in advance. Just keep it covered in the refrigerator and add the fresh ingredients right before serving to keep everything crisp.
3. Add the Fresh Ingredients
Just before you’re ready to serve, it’s time to add the fresh components.
Gently fold in the chopped tomatoes, lettuce, and the crushed Doritos. You want to do this right at the end, so everything stays crisp and fresh.
Serve and enjoy!
What to Serve with Mexican Salad
This salad is hearty enough to be a meal by itself, but a slice of warm Mexican cornbread on the side never hurt nobody! You can also serve it alongside my grilled chicken (no grill needed!) or cilantro lime chicken tacos for an ultra-satisfying meal.
How to Store Mexican Salad
To store leftover Mexican salad, keep the beef mixture and the fresh ingredients in separate airtight containers in the fridge. This will stop the lettuce and chips from getting soggy. When you’re ready for seconds, just mix everything together again!
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 c. shredded cheese
- 1 can pinto beans
- 1 large onion chopped
- 1 bottle Catalina dressing
- 1 or 2 tomatoes chopped
- 1 head of lettuce chopped (or 1 bag salad mix)
- 1 bag Doritos Nacho cheese flavor, crumbled
Instructions
- Brown ground beef, stirring constantly. Drain and cool. Mix ground beef with cheese, pintos, onion and dressing. Refrigerate. Before serving, add tomatoes, lettuce and Doritos.
Our version is simply chilled, dressed lettuce, tomato and onion topped with hot meat and beans and cheese melting on the top. Tortilla chips are on the side. Mixiing it all, however, makes the salad more portable to party destinations.
Can’t beat these flavors!
Yes- we also called it taco salad, with the addition of taco seasoning for the ground beef, and we used Thousand Island dressing instead of Catalina
Enjoyed reading the story. My Mom made this recipe many years ago and I had forgot about it completely until I read this today. I know it was a hit back then and the only think I know that Mom did different was use Frito corn chips instead of Doritos. I thank you for sharing and for bringing back a tasty memory I had forgotten. I plan to make it again very soon! God bless you and your Aunt Agnes!
My family makes this salad with kidney beans, plain corn Doritos, taco seasoning in the meat and Italian salad dressing. I’ve had it with Catalina and it is good that way also. You just can’t go wrong with this salad. It’s always a hit!
I actually made this last night for a dinner with friends. I don’t think they had eaten it before, but it was very well-received. I have always used Fritos instead of Doritos. I seasoned the beef with some taco seasoning, too (not as much as I would for tacos but a little to give it a little extra flavor. It is a great summer salad! Just an added note: I made 2 versions last night – one with chipotle ranch dressing and one with catalina, and I liked the catalina better.
I love this taco salad recipe. A church friend always made her taco salad this way. I had never used catalina dressing before. My husband prefers my traditional style recipe, but this one is the one for me!
My sister gave me this recipe years ago. It’s always been a favorite at my house! Even the kids love it! We also add sliced black olives to ours.