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Mini Fritos Taco Salads

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These individual Mini Fritos Taco Salad in Jars are the perfect dish to whip up for potlucks or picnics. They are incredibly easy to make and you can customize them to your own taste.

Mini Fritos Taco Salads layered in mason jars sitting on a wood platter on a tabletop

This post has been sponsored by Frito-Lay. All opinions are my own, as always. Thanks to all the companies, and readers, who help support Cravings of a Lunatic.

This recipe goes back to my teenage years. It’s been around that long. I actually learned how to make a different version of this in home economics while I was in high school. Let’s not even talk about how long ago that was.

When Frito-Lay asked me to participate in their campaign for summer recipes I knew this Mini FRITOS Taco Salad was a perfect fit. Then I jumped up and down a little. I’m a huge fan of Frito-Lay products.

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Of course I acted professionally and did not say things like “I’ve been training for this my whole life” or “It’s like my home planet is calling me home”. That would be a dorky thing to do. We all know I’m above making a fool of myself. Always.

The goal here was to make something perfect for summer entertaining. Something that would be easy for others to whip up at home, or while out whooping it up during holiday weekends. This fits the bill, and then some.

This recipe is super easy to make and very customizable. You can add things that speak to you. Not literally, because that would be weird. You can also subtract things you don’t like.

Although I’m not sure how you could not find this to be anything but perfection. You know, in my humble opinion, and all that jazz.

overhead image of individual Mini Fritos Taco Salads layered in mason jars

If you like olives toss those bad boys in there. If you like beans, those can get thrown in there too.

If you like chicken better than ground beef, well, knock yourself out. Add chicken. No biggie. It’s all good in the hood. Or jar. Whatever.

One thing I will highly recommend is if you are making these ahead of time do NOT add the FRITOS until you are ready to serve these cutie-patootie little jars of happiness. If you add the FRITOS too soon they will be soggy.

So wait. Seriously. Trust me on this one thing. You want your FRITOS crisp and perfect. As they should be. Always.

I serve mine hot so this is something I try to make right before we have company. Having said that you can also serve this cold. Many people do.

There’s a slight alteration if you serve this cold. Add a little Italian dressing to it. Shake it all up and it becomes magical.

Mini Fritos Taco Salads poured into a blue bowl for serving

Many people use Catalina dressing in their versions of FRITOS Salads. I just happen to be more of an Italian dressing kind of gal. No harm, no foul if you’re a Catalina type of person. You do you.

Use whatever works for your own taste buds. You’re the one eating it, so feel free to adjust to your own taste. That’s the beauty of cooking.

This recipe is the perfect way to kick off summer. Frito-Lay products are served at every single summer function we throw at our house. Since as far back as I can remember. They are a staple in our house for entertaining.

If you’re looking for more awesome summer hacks for Memorial Day, or summer entertaining in general, be sure to check out the Frito-Lay Summer Hacks Pinterest Board. You’ll find oodles of inspiration for your next soiree.

In the meantime whip up some Mini FRITOS Taco Salads. I assemble mine in tiny mason jars so everyone gets their own individual jar.

Then you just flip that bad boy upside-down into a bowl, and blammo, you have a delicious meal to dig into. Perfection in tiny little mason jars. Enjoy!

Mini Fritos Taco Salads poured into a blue bowl

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Mini Fritos Taco Salads layered in mason jars sitting on a wood platter on a tabletop
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Mini Fritos Taco Salads
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
25 mins
 

These individual Mini Fritos Taco Salad in Jars are the perfect dish to whip up for potlucks or picnics. They are incredibly easy to make and you can customize them to your own taste.

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8
Author: Kim Beaulieu
Ingredients
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 package taco seasoning
  • 1/2 cup water
  • Toppings:
  • Tomatoes diced
  • Lettuce shredded
  • Salsa store bought or homemade
  • Mexican Cheese or Cheddar Cheese shredded
  • Sour Cream if desired
  • FRITOS whole or crushed
  • Cilantro if desired
  • Optional if serving cold:
  • 1 cup Italian dressing
Instructions
  1. Cook the ground beef over medium heat until the juices run clear, making sure to break up the meat as you cook it. Brown slightly.
  2. Add taco seasoning and 1/2 cup water. Cook over medium-low heat until the water dissolves. You don't want too much juice or your taco salad will be a soggy mess.
  3. Chop up all your other additions and set them aside.
  4. Start stacking your jars, remembering to put the wet ingredients at the bottom and the dryer ingredients at the top.
  5. Garnish with cilantro if desired. Don't garnish until serving or it will overwhelm your salad.
  6. Optional if serving cold:
  7. If you plan to make these ahead of time and serve them cold you need to make one small adjustment. Add Italian dressing to each jar (do NOT add Fritos until just before serving so they stay fresh and crisp!), place the top on, and shake it like crazy. Pop in the fridge and allow it to work it's magic.
  8. Add FRITOS and cilantro just before serving.
  9. Serve with a big old Frito-Lay loving smile!

three mason jars filled with fritos taco salad on a wood board and grey napkin

Thanks for joining me today. Be sure to check out my FRITOS Pie recipe while you’re here. It’s delightful!

While you’re here make sure you follow me on Pinterest and Instagram. Both are excellent ways to keep up with all the latest and greatest recipes. All my new recipes post to both so you’ll never miss a thing if you follow me.

Hope you enjoy this recipe and poke about my recipe index a bit while you’re here. Happy Cooking.

Toodles! xx

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Comments

    • Awe, thanks so much Sue. I love popping salads in mason jars. I pretty much loving popping everything in mason jars. There’s something about them that makes me happy. Plus I love that they are portable.

      Thanks so much for sharing.

      Reply

    • Thanks so much Stephanie. We love this recipe. It’s been around since high school. Funny to think back that far.

      Reply

    • Thanks so much Renee. We love bringing them on trips. Been doing it since I was a teenybopper. Never get tired of this recipe.

      Reply

    • Thanks Lauren. Nah, these were born out of laziness and leftovers. That’s where all the good ideas come from. Ha.

      Reply

    • They are so easy and portable. I love mason jars. Been collecting them forever, I think I have well over 300 now. I use them for everything from salad, to spices, to sauce. I have no idea what the obsession is but I love them. ha

      Reply

  14. Fritos are one of those things that I can never buy because I will sit down and eat literally the entire bag by myself. 🙁 But having an actual recipe that I have to make with them sounds like a good enough reason not to eat them all. These look so delicious! And fun.

    Reply

  22. Do you know that you are LITERALLY one of my favorite people in the world? You make me laugh and you make delicious food. So grateful for you. <3

    Reply

  25. I am not sure I could have remained as professional. I LOVE Frito-Lay and could eat Fritos every single day and not get tired of them. This salad is perfect, and I love the jars! I actually have a little bag of fritos and leftover taco meat set aside for my lunch tomorrow.

    Reply

  26. Holy adorable! It’s a perfect way to spice up the usual BBQ sides AND waaaay cuter than doing it taco-in-a-bag style. Totally loving this!

    Reply

  33. I love this idea and will definitely make it for my friends and family one day soon. However, I’m having a blond moment though. How do you eat this? Do you dump the salad into another bowl/plate or dig right in? Are we scooping with the Fritos or using a fork? Thanks!

    Reply

    • Ha, it’s a good question Renee. And don’t worry, I’m blond too.

      You can leave a gap at the top and crush the fritos over top of the jars, that is what we do when travelling. You can use a bigger jar and fill halfway as well. Or you can dump it into a bowl or plate. When I do big batches I’ll fill a monster size 1L jar halfway, then shake it and pour it out, or let people spoon it out. But if you’re using them in the jar don’t fill all the way to the top. Leave some room for the fritos to go in. You can also layer them in small layers so you can eat them right out of the jar. I know it’s sort of misleading with the photos where they’re filled. I’ll make them again soon and add a how to in the post so it helps people out.

      Thanks for taking the time to comment. It’s much appreciated. They say for every person who takes the time to email or comment it represents 1000 other people. So if you feel this way it means others do as well. So it’s definitely something I should make clearer. Hoping to make a video to go along with this soon. Just polishing off my new camera and learning to use it first. Ha.

      Reply

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