Carnitas Taco Salad is a Monday-friendly solution to a Saturday-worthy taco craving. Pack the salads with any vegetables you like and finish them with crispy slow cooker carnitas pork and crumbled tortilla chips.
Greetings from serious-case-of-the-Mondays land.
Except it’s Tuesday.
Boo.
That’s what I get for having such a fun long weekend with Frank’s sister in town (hi Ellen!!). My brain isn’t ready to jump into the week. Rather than diving into my to-do list, I’d prefer to be sitting outside in the sun or digging through the pantry for some sort of chocolate. Preferably both.
Fortunately, we’ve got dinner to look forward to. And it’s the best way I can think of to ease into the week – a tried-and-true variation on one of our favorite dinners. And it features our very favorite key ingredient of the moment – Slow Cooker Crispy Pork.
I wanted to share a few of the many ways we use this easy, flavorful pork, and these salads are just about the simplest. They’re packed with colors and flavors. A few vegetables get thrown in for color and crumbled tortilla chips add great crunch.
I’d also be on board with the addition of black beans or red peppers or even a bit of shredded Mexican blend cheese.
The dressing here is one of those simple, back pocket dressings that we keep around for taco salads just like this one. It has a pinch of smoked paprika and cumin for a little Southwestern pizzaz, but the rest is just a classic, irresistible honey-mustard dressing.
Carnitas Taco Salad
Ingredients
- 8 oz Romaine Lettuce, chopped
- ~4 cups Slow Cooker Crispy Pork (recipe here)
- 1 Avocado, sliced
- 1 cup Cherry Tomatoes, chopped
- 1/4 Red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 cup Corn, frozen or fresh
- 4 oz Tortilla Chips
Southwestern Honey Mustard Vinaigrette
- 2 tsp Dijon Mustard
- 2 tsp Honey
- 1/2 tsp Hot sauce (opt)
- 1/4 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1/4 tsp Cumin
- 2 Tbsp Vinegar, red wine
- 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
Instructions
- Make vinaigrette. Whisk together mustard, honey, hot sauce (if you want a little spice), paprika, cumin and vinegar. Add olive oil, while whisking.
- Assemble salads by forming a bed of lettuce. Top with avocado, cherry tomatoes, onions and corn (defrost if using frozen). Crumble tortilla chips over top and add dressing. Toss lightly just before serving.
Included in our fun-packed weekend was a Sunday afternoon discovery of a classic Chutes and Ladders game board at Boulevard Beer Hall.
Beers for the grown-ups / strawberry soda for the kids/ chutes and ladders for all!
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The dressing looks so silky!
This looks wonderful! My hubby would love the crispy pork on it, and I would love the black beans/Mesixan cheese/red bell pepper. That dressing especially sounds great.
Dressing looks divine!