Taco salad
A taco salad is an American dish of seasoned ground beef, lettuce, cheese, tomato, sour cream and other taco toppings served in a fried tortilla bowl or over chips, descended from the Frito-based Ta-Cup sold at Disneyland's Casa de Fritos in the 1950s.
History
The taco salad's direct ancestor is the Ta-Cup (also written Tacup), a small bowl made entirely of Fritos corn chips and filled with ground beef, beans, sour cream and cheese. It was one of many recipes promoting Fritos created by the company's founder, Elmer Doolin, along with Frito pie and other novelties. Gustavo Arellano, writing in OC Weekly, cites the National Museum of American History in placing the first Ta-Cups in Dallas, where Fritos was based, and notes that by 1955 they were sold at Casa de Fritos, the brand's restaurant at Disneyland. The Daily Meal, drawing on Arellano's research for his book Taco USA, says Doolin put the Ta-Cup on the Casa de Fritos menu in 1955.
Casa de Fritos was run by the Morales family of Anaheim, makers of the XLNT tamale brand, whom Arellano credits with inventing Doritos there. Because the Ta-Cup proved popular with customers who were not Mexican, it grew larger over time, eventually becoming the taco salad. Arellano found the earliest records of dishes self-described as taco salads in the 1960s.
Characteristics
A typical taco salad layers shredded lettuce, seasoned ground beef, cheese, tomatoes, sour cream and often beans and olives inside a large tortilla shell that has been fried into a bowl, which diners break apart and eat with the salad. Lighter versions skip the shell and scatter crushed tortilla chips on top. The bowl-shaped presentation led to the alternative name taco bowl.
Cultural reception
The dish is firmly American rather than Mexican in origin, and it has drawn criticism as a symbol of Americanized Mexican food. In 2016 a widely shared photo of Donald Trump with a taco bowl prompted debate, and Janet Murguía of the National Council of La Raza criticized the dish in the New York Times. Arellano points out, however, that Mexican-American students in Southwestern high schools have been eating taco salads, doused in hot sauce, since at least the 1970s.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 large flour tortillas (25 cm) and oil for frying, or 4 cups tortilla chips
- 450 g ground beef
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 2 tsp chile powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- Salt
- 1 can (400 g) pinto or black beans, drained and warmed
- 1 head romaine or iceberg lettuce, shredded
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 1 cup shredded cheddar
- 1/2 cup sliced black olives
- Sour cream, salsa and guacamole to serve
Steps
- For shells, heat 5 cm of oil in a wide pot to 180 C. Lower a tortilla into the oil and press the center down with a ladle so the edges curl up into a bowl. Fry until golden, about 1 minute, then drain upside down.
- Brown the beef with the onion. Add chile powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt and a splash of water and simmer until thick.
- Fill each shell with lettuce, then beans, beef, tomato, cheese and olives.
- Top with sour cream, salsa and guacamole and serve at once.
For a Ta-Cup homage, serve the filling in a small bowl lined with corn chips.
Where to try it
- Casa de Fritos (historic), Anaheim, California (Disneyland): Sold the Fritos Ta-Cup from 1955.
Reviews
Reviews and tips open at launch. Readers will be able to share where they found the best version of this and how they make it at home.
See also
References
- "So Did Mexicans Invent the Taco Salad? And How Does It Tie Back to Disneyland?". OC Weekly. Retrieved 2026-10-10.
- "Where Was The Taco Salad Really Invented?". The Daily Meal. Retrieved 2026-10-10.