It’s easy to pretend you’re being healthy when you order a taco salad, but those crispy edible bowls — the best part! — can make the meal a serious calorie bomb. At the popular chain Moe’s, the taco bowl alone has 390 calories and 26 grams of fat. But if you’re addicted to Moe’s Close Talker salad, don’t despair: Chefs in Food Network Kitchens created this copycat with a slimmed-down shell that’s baked instead of fried.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 20 min |
| Active: | 40 min |
| Yield: | 4 taco salads |
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 10-to-12-inch flour tortillas
- Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon dried minced garlic or garlic flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried minced onion or onion flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons chipotle chile powder
- 3 scallions, finely chopped
- 4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 3/4 pound sirloin steak (about 1-inch thick)
- 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2/3 cup buttermilk
- 1 English cucumber, quartered lengthwise and sliced
- 2 romaine lettuce hearts, roughly chopped
- 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 2.25-ounce cans sliced black olives, drained
- 4 ounces cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (or a combination), shredded
- Fresh salsa, for topping
Instructions
- Make the tortilla bowls: Position a rack in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 450 degrees F. Put 4 empty cans (labels removed) or small ovenproof bowls upside down on a baking sheet. Drape a square of foil over each can and coat with cooking spray.
- Fill a shallow bowl with 1/2 inch warm water; whisk in the olive oil. Soak each tortilla in the water until soft, about 5 seconds, then drape over the prepared cans, pleating as needed. Bake until golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and invert the tortilla bowls onto the baking sheet; remove the cans and foil. Spray the inside of the tortilla bowls with cooking spray, season with salt and continue baking until crisp, 4 to 5 more minutes; let cool.
- Meanwhile, make the steak: Whisk the dried garlic, onion and oregano, the cumin, chile powder, scallions, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper in a bowl. Put the steak in a shallow dish and rub with 2 tablespoons of the spice mixture (reserve the rest for the dressing). Add the bell pepper and sliced onion and toss. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.
- Heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add the steak and scatter the bell pepper and onion around it. Sear the steak about 5 minutes per side, then transfer to a cutting board. Continue cooking the pepper and onion until just tender, about 3 more minutes. Thinly slice the steak against the grain, then cut into 1-inch pieces.
- Assemble the salad: Whisk the mayonnaise, buttermilk and the reserved spice mixture in a large bowl until smooth. Add the cucumber, lettuce, beans and olives and toss. Divide the salad among the tortilla bowls. Top with the steak, bell pepper, onion, cheese and salsa.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 919 |
| Total Fat | 58 g |
| Saturated Fat | 16 g |
| Carbohydrates | 64 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 15 g |
| Sugar | 10 g |
| Protein | 39 g |
| Cholesterol | 99 mg |
| Sodium | 1544 mg |
Reviews
This was super yummy, my entire family loved it. It was a little spicy but manageable. Will make again.
It is a combination of steak salad and a taco!
This is pretty good! Next time we may use BBQ seasoning instead of the marinating process.
I finally got the chance to make this recipe and I’m thrilled that I now know how to make a tortilla
bowl. I thought everything about this salad was wonderful. My own personal preference…chipotle chile powder can be really spicy and not everyone can tolerate spicy. I cut
mine down to 1/4 teaspoon and it was just right. I also added avocados, cilantro and a slice of lime for serving. No leftovers…wow…so many variations can be made from this recipe…small appetizer size, chicken instead of steak…what a fantastic recipe…loved the dressing…thank you…will definitely use recipe again.
Loved the flavors, a little too spicy for my wife, but that’s an easy fix. It definitely needs lime juice in the marinade to bring out the flavors, and we used sour cream instead of mayo to help cool the heat.
This is so Delicious!!!!! Flavors are unbelievably good in the steak. Just make sure you saute your steak down so that the liquid is quite reduced and almost gone. Also, make sure you marinade your steak for full flavors. I also added 1/2 of a lime juiced for the marinade as I felt it needed a little acidity and even made the flavors more tasty.
Seasoning was well balanced for the steak. It had a fajita flavor to it that was bold enough, but did not overpower the salad. I don’t eat cucumbers, but the rest of the salad was good. Will use this recipe again.
I tried this after I saw it in the Food Network magazine. It was very good and had a lot of flavor. I love trying different cuts of meat and this worked really well on a flank steak. The dressing was really good too! I’m making it again this week!