This camping taco salad is an easy meal that can be prepped ahead of time. It features basic ingredients and lots of topping options!

When we go car camping, we like to take advantage of the chance to make meals just as good as what we'd have at home. It's fairly easy to cook some things ahead of time, cutting down on the amount of time required to make a meal at camp.

And with a good cooler, you can bring lots of "accessory" ingredients that turn a camping meal from just-the-basics to something that feels a bit more like glamping.

This camping taco salad offers exactly that scenario.

What Gear Will I Need?

Keep the meat and any cheese, sour cream, or produce chilled in a cooler. We like our Igloo BMX cooler for camping.

For cooking the meat at camp, use a cast-iron skillet. I usually like to cook the meat at home first so that it's quicker to just re-heat. For re-heating, I recommend the Stanley camping saucepan.

What Else Can I Make With the Taco Meat?

If you prep a larger amount of meat, you can use it in more than one meal.

Of course, if you bring tortillas or shells along, you could make camping tacos.

This mix of ground turkey, beans, tomatoes, and seasoning also comprises the majority of the ingredients you need for a campfire taco soup.

Want to make tacos with a different set of ingredients? Try these campfire fish tacos or breakfast tacos.

How to Make Camping Taco Salad

As mentioned above, I find it easiest to prepare the meat at home. Once that's done, putting the salad together at camp takes a matter of minutes.

Cook the ground turkey and seasoning in oil over medium-low heat until the meat browns, breaking it into small pieces as it cooks.

Next, add tomatoes and continue cooking until the meat is done and the liquid from the tomatoes has mostly cooked off.

Taco meat with tomatoes in skillet. — Cook Meat, Tomatoes + Seasoning

Add drained pinto or black beans to the mix, and cook for a few more minutes until they are warmed.

At this point, you can remove the meat mixture from the heat, let it cool, and store it in the refrigerator until you're ready to take it camping. (It also freezes well if you're prepping way ahead of time.)

If, however, you decide to cook the meat at camp, follow the same steps with a camp stove or over the fire (aim for low flames and indirect heat). Since it's easy to over-do the heat of a campfire, you may need extra liquid to compensate.

If you've cooked the meat at home, just re-heat it, and you're ready to assemble the salads.

Meat, beans and tomatoes in saucepan. — Heating Taco Meat on Camp Stove

Gather your toppings, which may include lettuce, sliced tomatoes, taco sauce, cheese, sour cream, onions, and so much more.

Knife and sliced tomatoes on cutting board. — Slice Tomatoes

In a bowl, add a layer of lettuce, a helping of the taco meat, and all the toppings and dressings that your heart desires.

It's easy to turn this into a buffet-type lineup, where once the meat is ready everyone can build their own salad.

Bottles of chipotle and cilantro lime sauce.

Pair this taco salad with a tasty summer sangria, and enjoy!

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Camping Taco Salad

This camping taco salad is an easy meal that can be prepped ahead of time. It features basic ingredients and lots of topping options!

Author: Sarah Trenalone

Prep Time5

Cook Time15

Total Time20

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Servings: 8 people

Calories: 129kcal

Ingredients

Taco Meat:

1 tablespoon oil (if your meat is very lean you may need extra oil)
1 pound ground turkey (or use beef, chicken or meatless ground beef)
2 tablespoons taco seasoning
1 teaspoon sea salt (omit or reduce if your taco seasoning has salt)
14 ounce can diced tomatoes
14 ounce can pinto or black beans

Taco Salad (amount variable):

chopped romaine lettuce
Cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
Shredded cheese (Mexican blend, pepper jack or whatever you have on hand)
Diced avocado or guacamole
Sour cream
Sliced red onion
Hot sauce
Salsa
Taco sauce I like to use Cholula Cremosa Sauce
Salad dressing Such as Ranch or Southwest Ranch

Instructions

Prepare the meat (at home or at camp):

Add oil to pan and warm over medium-low heat (or slightly indirect campfire flames).
Add the turkey, taco seasoning and salt.
Cook until meat begins to brown, breaking into smaller pieces with a metal spatula as the meat cooks.
Note: If substituting ground beef for ground turkey, brown the meat and drain off excess fat before adding the taco seasoning.
Add tomatoes, and continue simmering until the meat is cooked through and the tomato liquid mostly cooks off.
Drain beans and add to meat. Cook until beans are warm.
Alternatively, if your fire was a little hotter than intended and your meat seems a little dry, add the beans along with all (or most) of the liquid from the can.
If preparing at home ahead of time, allow taco meat to cool for a few minutes, then move to the fridge. Optionally, place in a freezer storage bag and freeze for up to 4 months until packing camping cooler.
After moving to the cooler, keep the cooler as cold as possible (packed with ice or other frozen goods) and use meat within 1-2 days.
Reheat on a camp stove or campfire before serving.
Note: If reheating from a mostly frozen state, it may be helpful to add a little extra liquid to the meat, such as salsa, to help ensure that it doesn't stick to the pot or pan.