Sunday dinner: Lightened-up taco salad with pomegranate dressing

Take a break from standard taco salads that can get loaded down with the mix-ins. This lightened-up version includes healthy ingredients and a flavorful pomegranate dressing.

Sunday dinner recipes don’t have to bog you down. Toss together this recipe for lightened-up taco salad with pomegranate dressing. For starters, we use romaine lettuce (instead of Iceberg) for added nutrients, ground turkey instead of ground beef to limit the fat content and top everything with a flavorful, homemade pomegranate dressing. You’ll never miss the mounds of sour cream and cheese that can otherwise weigh down a taco salad.

Lightened-up taco salad with pomegranate dressing

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the pomegranate dressing

• 3/4  cup pomegranate juice
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon cilantro
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

For the salad

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1-1/2 pounds ground turkey
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 large head romaine lettuce, washed and torn into bite-size pieces (large pieces of stem removed)
• 2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 8 ounces baked tortilla chips, divided
• 1 avocado, cubed (as garnish)

Directions:

For the pomegranate dressing

1. Add pomegranate juice and honey to a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until incorporated. Bring to a boil, and remove from the heat. Allow to cool to room temperature.
2. Add the lime juice and cilantro. Whisk together, and slowly whisk in the olive oil. Season with the salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper, and stir. Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the salad

1. Add the olive oil to a skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the ground turkey. Use the back of a spoon to break up the turkey and cook for 5 minutes or until it’s no longer pink.
2. Season with the ground cumin, salt, pepper and onion powder, and cook for another 2 minutes or until done. The recommends a safe internal temperature for ground turkey is 165 degrees F, as measured by a meat thermometer.
3. Add the romaine lettuce, ground turkey, tomatoes and black beans in a large bowl and toss to mix.
4. Add a handful of the tortilla chips to individual serving plates. Top with a serving of the salad mixture.
5. Garnish with the avocado and serve with the pomegranate dressing drizzled over the top.

Toss together this taco salad!

More Sunday dinner recipes

Sweet-n-spicy, pan-glazed chicken
Turkey sliders with peanut sauce
Skillet chili pie