If I’m ever stumped about what to make for dinner and ask my husband if he has any ideas, 100% of the time he answers with “what about tacos or fajitas?” It’s the perfect answer because everyone is happy when tacos or fajitas are on the menu! I like to take some inspiration from #DomestikateGrazingBoards series and turn taco night into a big, serve-yourself, DIY fajita salad board so that everyone can pick their favorite ingredients and assemble their own fajita salad bowl, served on top of my favorite Little Leaf Farms lettuce!
While a board like this may appear to be a lot of work and full of a ton of ingredients, my secret that I’ll share with you is this: it’s one of my go-to “clean out the fridge” meals! There are times when I have a few leftover pieces of grilled chicken in the fridge, or half a leftover onion and some peppers from a previous dinner. Most often I have an avocado that’s just on the edge of its ripeness window before it goes brown. You can scoop up all of the leftover veggies and proteins in the fridge and give them new life when thrown into a big robust salad!
The lettuce is the base of a fajita or taco salad board like this, and Little Leaf Farms is my favorite greens brand! One reason I chose Little Leaf Farms lettuce for this dish is that the fresh leaves stay so crunchy and crisp, and can stand up to the hearty ingredients in the salad. (I also love Little Leaf Farms greens because of their sustainable growing practices, see my recent blog post where I visited their greenhouses and learned all about their eco-friendly efforts!). I really like their baby green leaf lettuce for a dish like this for the crispy crunch-factor, and the baby spring mix is almost always in our fridge, so I’ll add a bit of that in too!
Mix up your proteins with what you have on hand: a bowl of seasoned black beans, a can of refried beans, slices of grilled chicken, or some browned ground turkey or beef with taco seasoning are a few of my favorite options! I love classic peppers and onions for the fajita veggies, sautéed with some simple taco seasonings. Grilling the peppers and onions is another fun way to mix up the flavors (and means one less pan to clean if you’re grilling chicken at the same time!).
For toppings I like to put out cheese (cotija is a tasty option to crumble into the salad), sliced avocados or guacamole, pico de gallo or salsa, and crunchy tortilla strips. You could also add in fire roasted corn, fresh cilantro, scallions, or jalapenos, and slices of limes. I like to mix up a quick lime-ranch dressing to drizzle on top. Squeeze half a lime into about ¼ cup of ranch, and sprinkle with a bit of chili powder to give the ranch dressing a fajita-inspired twist. Everyone can pick and choose their favorite ingredients to mix up their own fajita salad for a tasty and colorful dinner!
Please note: This post was created in partnership with Little Leaf Farms. All opinions, images and content are my own. Thank you for supporting brands that support this site.
