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.
I have always made my taco salad with Catalina Dressing and, surprising as it sounds, it is fantastic! I wouldn’t make it any other way!!
Love this salad – we make it exactly as the recipe states but usually have small bowls of extra ingredients to add on or in – Extra diced tomato, more shredded cheese, sliced black olives, drained rinsed red kidney beans, sliced green olives, sour cream, salsa, chopped green onion (our family l-o-v-e-s onions and extra chips – more fun to eat it with chips than a fork
Thanks for the lovely story. So nice to know how many other folks enjoy the simple things in life that sometimes we take for granted. I enjoy this with a meal but many of my friends serve this as “movie watching food”
Looks like Aunt Agnes is feeding Uncle Charles a lemon type layer cake or a coconut cake – either way – lucky fellow!!!
Now that the weather here is so nice we can enjoy it for a iight lunch on the deck or patio.
Have a great day
We put taco seasoning in the beef also. My husband had this at a party at his work, but the lady who brought it didn’t use Catalina dressing like normal. She used a mixture of equal portions of taco sauce and thousand island dressing. It’s wonderful! You should try this option, too.
Lora,
Thank you for sharing this story and recipe. I think I may whip this up while at the beach! I always tell myself, something good comes out of something bad. Thank you for sharing!
I have never made this, but I have eaten it, and it is delicious!
That’s just such a lovely, touching story. I have always loved Mexican salads, but I don’t think I’ve ever tried them with Catalina dressing. That is something I will definitely try.
There’s a variation on this that I discovered when I moved to Iowa, and I see them everywhere: they’re called “Walking Tacos.” Basically it’s an individual-size package of nacho-flavored Doritos that gets lightly crushed in the bag, and then you can scoop the meat and cheese and other toppings over the top. It’s great because you can just carry the bag with you and eat out of it with a fork. Maybe they had them in Alabama when I was growing up and I just never noticed, but they’re really popular here. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe, Lora! 🙂
Another version of your Walking Tacos — from Texas — is a small bag of fritos, slit open and topped with chili and whatever else is available, usually cheese. Great for kids parties!
thank you for such a touching remembrance! omyGOSH !! regularly made this back in the 80’s — haven’t even thought of it for SO long…will be making it soon. thanks again for your loving story.