American Flag Taco Layer Salad

Bon Appetit

American Flag Taco Layer Salad

I’m a big foodie and nothing makes me happier than themed party food— and there are so many fun, tasty ways to celebrate independence day— with red, white, and blue fruit salads, desserts, and star-shaped anything! But for a spicy, star-spangled spin on a favorite holiday, try this festive option.

recipe + photo by Christy Smith, MNT, nutrition counselor christy@wholetohealthy.com, accepting clients

This recipe is a great one for parties because you can make it ahead of time, and it can be customized to accommodate different diets. Add ground beef (or vegan ‘meat’ crumbles), guacamole, different cheeses and salsas, corn, jalapeño slices, or beans to really make it a filling meal.

To create the flag look, just layer ingredients into a rectangular casserole dish or pan. I used a 7 x 11 size but you could easily increase ingredients and do a 9x13. I created the stars by using a cake decorating piping bag with a small star tip, but you could also use a small Ziplock® baggie and cut off a corner.

Serve with your favorite tortilla chips, fresh veggies, or scoop out the dip and put into taco shells for a quick and easy dish. Just add sparklers!

Ingredients:

1 can refried beans, divided 1 jar salsa 1 cup sour cream (more for decoration) 1 package of taco seasoning 1-2 cups chopped iceberg or romaine lettuce 2 cups of shredded cheddar (or blend of Mexican cheeses) 1 can fire-roasted tomatoes (any tomatoes will work) 1-2 cups white cheese (I used cotija, but shredded cheddar/ jack/ American/ queso would work great, too)

Directions:

1. Spread refried beans on bottom of pan, saving about a 1/4 cup for the ‘blue’ in the flag. 2. Spoon salsa evenly over the refried beans. 3. Mix the sour cream (saving about 2 Tablespoons for decoration) with the taco seasoning and spread on top of the salsa. 4. Next, place the chopped lettuce evenly over the sour cream layer and sprinkle shredded cheese all over evenly. 5. Now you can create the flag look by starting with a row of fire roasted tomatoes at the top, alternating with your white cheese until you have filled the pan with stripes. 6. Create a square on the top left with the reserved refried beans, then add your white sour cream stars to finish! Store in refrigerator until ready to eat, or up to 2 days.