Taquito Salads ~ Mini Taco Salad Appetizer Bites
These mini taco salads, or taquito salads are the cheekiest little appetizer bites. They are naturally gluten-free and vegetarian, and loaded with sharp cheddar cheese and fresh veggies. I’m sharing them today for Salad Month and the Recipe Redux.
Why We Love This Recipe for Taco Salad Appetizer
Earlier this month I went to Dallas for the weekend to see my cousin Taylor get married. My husband and I left the girls back in Vermont and flew down on a Thursday night. We met up with more family there and spent the weekend eating, relaxing, and enjoying the sites.
We had a great time, and we ate so much amazing Tex-Mex and Mexican food. We had breakfast tacos and Migas. And at dinner, there may or may not have been tequila with chapulines salt/gusano salt. Eww/Yum! It truly was a great trip, but now that we’re back in Vermont, I once again have Mexican food on my mind (even though we spent all weekend long eating).
So, with that said, I decided I would use the trip as inspiration to create an appetizer. I sat for a while and thought about what I’d make. And then I got it! Tex-Mex mini salad appetizers. They’re like little taquito salads if you will. They are super tasty and make such a fun appetizer for a summer party or football snack in the fall.
Ingredients for This Mini Taco Salad Recipe
Corn tortillas
I made the taco shells from scratch with Maria and Ricardo tortillas and oil by baking them in mini muffin tins. It took a while to figure out how to make them work. I ended up microwaving the tortilla rounds to soften them a bit. The tortillas needed to be quite warm in order to stay down in the muffin tins. Otherwise, they would pop out. In case you don’t have mini muffin tins, or you want to save time, Tostito scoops would work great too.
Other Taco Salad Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon avocado oil or organic canola oil
- 1 cup finely chopped romaine lettuce
- 4 ounces shredded extra-sharp cheddar
- ½ cup finely chopped tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- ¼ cup creamy dressing such as yogurt cumin seed dressing or light italian
- ½ avocado diced
- ¼ cup sliced black olives
- ¼ cup toasted pepitas (green pumpkin seeds)
Step by Step Instructions to Make This Healthy Mexican Appetizer
Step 1: Preheat oven & prep tin
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat 2 mini-muffin tins with cooking spray.
Step 2: Bake tortillas
Cut tortillas into 36 2-inch rounds with a sharp biscuit cutter or cookie cutter. Place them on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high for 15 to 25 seconds until warm and very pliable. Brush oil over the tortilla rounds. Press 24 tortilla rounds into the muffin tins, oiled side up. Bake until crispy, 9 to 11 minutes. Let them cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes. Carefully turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining 12 tortilla rounds. (Alternatively, substitute purchased tortilla scoops)
Step 3: Assemble salads appetizer
Combine the romaine, cheddar, tomatoes and cilantro in a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss to coat. Divide the salad among the taco cups. Garnish with avocado, olives and pepitas. Serve immediately.
FAQs and Expert Tips
Yes. You can make the mini tortilla shells a few hours before or the day before serving. Store them an airtight ziploc until the appetizers are ready to assemble.
Absolutely. If this recipe sounds delicious, but you have no reason to make appetizers anytime soon, combine all the taco salad ingredients in a bowl, serve in plates, and use the tortillas to scoop up the salad.
If you’re looking for more ingredients to add, or simply need to substitute something, add black beans, corn, or even a source of protein such as ground turkey or grilled chicken.
Additional Healthy Mexican Recipes to Try
- This Mexican Casserole is delicious and feeds a crowd.
- My Quick and Easy Chicken Enchiladas recipe speaks for itself. You’ll love it!
- I love this Easy Healthy Taco Salad as a mid-week lunch recipe.
- If you’re a fan of stuffed peppers, these Low Carb Mexican Stuffed Peppers are for you.
- If you love mini apps like this try our recipe for how to make wonton cups, and also grab this sesame chicken wonton bites.
- You may also enjoy these 15 Minute Chicken Cranberry Fillo Bites.
At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie
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Taquito Salads ~ Mini Taco Salad Appetizer Bites
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 36 1x
Description
These mini taco salads, or taquito salads are the cheekiest little appetizer bites. They are naturally gluten-free and vegetarian and loaded with sharp cheddar cheese and fresh veggies.
Ingredients
- 18 6-inch corn tortillas (see ingredient note)
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon avocado oil or organic canola oil
- 1 cup finely chopped romaine lettuce
- 4 ounces shredded extra-sharp cheddar
- 1/2 cup finely chopped tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1/4 cup creamy dressing such as yogurt cumin seed dressing or light italian
- 1/2 avocado diced
- 1/4 cup sliced black olives
- 1/4 cup toasted pepitas (green pumpkin seeds)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat 2 mini-muffin tins with cooking spray.
- Cut tortillas into 36 2-inch rounds with a sharp biscuit cutter or cookie cutter. Place on a microwave safe plate and microwave on high for 15 to 25 seconds until warm and very pliable. Brush oil over the tortilla rounds. Press 24 tortilla rounds into the muffin tins, oiled side up. Bake until crispy, 9 to 11 minutes. Let cool in pan 5 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Repeat with the remaining 12 tortilla rounds. (Alternatively, substitute purchased tortilla scoops)
- Combine romaine, cheddar, tomatoes and cilantro in a large bowl. Add dressing and toss to coat. Divide the salad among the taco cups. Garnish with avocado, olives and pepitas. Serve immediately.
Notes
Ingredient note: Save time and substitute purchased tortilla scoops instead.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 11 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 bites
- Calories: 144
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 329 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 16 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 4 g
I have made this recipe a couple of times now, and it is always a winner during potlucks!
This was delicious! We really enjoyed both making and eating it!
These are so delicious and crunchy! Perfect to add to platters when entertaining!
I always wondered how to make tortilla scoops worth buying, great idea. I can’t wait to try these. Thanks!
We love any Mexican-inspired recipe so couldn’t wait to make these little bites. They were delicious and I’m making another batch for our Cinco de Mayo get-together!
I can’t wait to try these! Glad y’all were able to go to Rusty Taco. We lived about 2 blocks from there and went to “the taco” about once a week.
Fun visit to Dallas — all the TexMex! These are so adorable and mouth watering at the same time! Love the pumpkin seeds for a bit of crunch – just love these!
Thank you so much Patricia.
Your tacitos look as much fun to make as they will be to eat. I’m so glad you told us how you made them from scratch.
I appreciate your saying so. I had a feeling that many of the readers here would want to know the from-scratch-version. Have a great day Kathryn.
Congrats to your cousin, Katie!
And gosh – these little “mini taco salads, or tacito salads” are the cutest little appetizers! Glad you and the hubster got to get away and enjoy all the texmex – now your girls can too with these little appetizers!
It was great to get away, and be inspired by all that we ate. Thanks for coming by today Shashi.
We sure did! Thanks so much Angie.
wow looks like that you had a great weekend in Dallas! Those mini taco bites look so inviting!