Mini Taco Salad Cups

Mini Taco Salad Cups are easy appetizers made with baked wonton wrappers filled with lettuce, leftover taco meat and your favorite toppings. These individual taco cups are perfect for parties, game day or as a quick dinner for the family. Prep them ahead of time, and they come together fast!

I love taco salads, but I haven’t had one in ages. For one thing, this salad is huge, and I can never finish the entire thing on my own. And, as much as I enjoy eating greens, my favorite part of this particular salad is the deep fried crunchy tortilla shell. Yep — I’m bad. I admit it.

So, that’s why I avoid eating them. But, I still like them! I thought it would be fun to try making mini taco salads, using wonton wrappers as the shell. It’s practically time for Cinco de Mayo, and I feel like I’m seeing Mexican food everywhere I look. Plus, I love to use wonton wrappers any way that I can.

I use them to make mini pepperoni pizza dip wonton cups, avocado dip wonton cups, jalapeño popper cups and pollo fundido cups. My family and I enjoy having these finger foods for dinner every now and then. And all of these wonton cup appetizers are perfect mini foods for parties and game day!

How to Make Mini Taco Salad Cups

Usually, I place the wrappers in a muffin tin and add the filling before baking them. But for the mini taco salads, I baked the wrappers first. Lightly grease a muffin tin before adding the wrappers.

I use 2 wonton wrappers in each muffin cup. This makes them a little thicker and prevents the bottoms from getting soggy.

Next, bake the wonton wrappers for about 10 minutes or until they’re golden brown. They come out crispy and slightly crunchy — just like the real deal. Well, maybe not just like a fried tortilla, but they are definitely close.

Let the cups cool down a little bit before filling them. This part is easy to do ahead of time. You can fill them right before you need them so that the salad will be fresh!

And making the mini salads is a breeze. I make taco meat in the Instant Pot, and we always have leftover taco meat, so that’s what I use. Be sure to warm it up before using, though.

If you’re making these taco cups for a party or starting from scratch, you need to cook the beef first. Season it with homemade taco seasoning or your favorite brand of taco seasoning.

To assemble the taco cups, just add some chopped iceberg lettuce or green lettuce to each wonton cup. Then, add a spoonful or 2 of seasoned ground beef.

Next, add your favorite taco salad toppings. On a regular taco salad, you can pile on as many toppings as you want. But since these mini salads are smaller, I kept it pretty simple. I used Mexican blend cheese, sour cream, guacamole and diced tomatoes.

You can add salsa, pico de gallo, or diced avocado. Sliced or diced jalapeño peppers would be perfect if you like added heat. If you don’t want to use ground beef, you can use ground turkey, shredded salsa chicken or skip the meat and use black beans.

These mini taco salad cups were a big hit with the family. They were slightly messy, but they were a lot of fun to eat. And, the kids said that they enjoyed them more than tacos. Score another win for mom!

If you’re hosting a party, these mini taco salad cups would make tasty appetizers. Or, you can just enjoy them for a quick and easy dinner like we did.

Recipe originally published in 2016 and updated in 2021