Ground Beef Tacos Recipe

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These Ground Beef Tacos, in soft corn tortillas, are so flavorful, delicious, and easy to make, you and your family will want every night to be Taco night!

Wow! These tacos are so mouthwatering and delicious that they will soon become a family favorite. Tacos are my favorite type of Mexican Food! If you love our Mexican Goulash, Tex-Mex Enchiladas, then you’ll love these tacos! These Ground Beef Tacos are not only delicious, they are fun to eat! No knives and forks are required. They are hand-held, messy and just down right fun. It is no wonder kids love to eat tacos. In my opinion, everything tastes better in a taco! Be sure to add this Ground Beef Taco Recipe to your Taco Tuesday rotation.

What Makes This Ground Beef Tacos Recipe Work?

These Ground Beef Tacos have an extra flavor oomph from a little salsa added right into the ground beef taco meat.  Most recipes call for tomato sauce but I cut the tomato sauce in half and added my favorite Salsa Roja (or red salsa) to the meat. Worried about it being too spicy? No worries, just use your favorite salsa. If you like mild, use mild, if you like it super spicy, use the extra hot salsa. Or if you don’t want any salsa, just double the tomato sauce and leave out the salsa.  The choice is yours. You are the commander of your Taco Tuesday (or Wednesday, or Thursday), you get the choose the level of heat.

Another reason that these Ground Beef Tacos are different than your run of the mill tacos is that we don’t use the store-bought hard taco shells that, in my experience, always seem to break. Instead we used soft homemade corn tortillas that we bought at a local store. If you want to fry up the tortillas, you certainly can, but we prefer the soft corn tortillas. Save yourself the frying time.

Taco Seasoning For Ground Beef Tacos

A third reason these Ground Beef Tacos are so tasty is that this recipe calls for a homemade Taco Seasoning. It is delicious, easy to make and has no added preservatives, that it is a no brainer. It is also nice because you can customize the taco seasoning to your taste. If you want to add a little more garlic, go ahead. If you like it a little spicier, add more cayenne. It is up to you. 

How To Make Ground Beef Tacos

To Make these tacos, you are going to need some ground beef, Homemade Taco Seasoning (can use store-bought if you prefer), chopped onions, chopped bell peppers or jalapeños, tomato sauce, red salsa, corn tortillas, and vegetable oil.

Instructions

Make the Taco Seasoning. To make it, see my recipe for Homemade Taco Seasoning. It only takes 5 minutes, at the most, to make. I highly recommend making the taco seasoning ahead of time and making a large batch to keep on hand because it is delicious not only for these Ground Beef Tacos but many other Mexican recipes, such as for Picadillo Con Papas and Mexican Beef and Rice Casserole.

Brown The Ground Beef. In a large skillet over medium heat, add oil. Then when the oil is hot, add the onions and bell peppers and cook for 5 minutes. When softened, add the ground beef and cook for 5 minutes or until the ground beef is brown and no longer pink.

Season The Ground Beef. After the ground beef is browned, sprinkle the taco seasoning over the ground beef and stir. Pour the tomato sauce and salsa over the ground beef and cook for 3 minutes.

Gather The Taco Toppings. Place the taco toppings in separate bowls, if making a taco bar, to let guests add their own toppings, or just to make it easier for you to speed up the taco assembly.

Assemble The Tacos. Hold the tortilla in one hand and with the other hand spoon taco meat into the tortilla.

Add Taco Toppings. Add your favorite taco toppings, such as shredded lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. See the full list of suggested taco toppings below.

Soft Tortillas or Crispy Taco Shells?

The good news is that you can have these Ground Beef Tacos your way. If you like soft flour or corn tortillas, you can use those. If you like crispy taco shells, then you can use those. Either one works. It is a matter of preference. You can load up the toppings on either one.

I used soft tortillas because I can buy fresh tortillas in many stores where I live. However, I realize that is not the case everywhere. In many places the crispy taco shells are more prevalent.

The bottom line is that you choose! So, which one will you choose? Soft tortillas or crispy taco shells?

Can Ground Beef Tacos Be Made Low Carb?

Yes! Absolutely. The first option is to use fresh, crisp Bibb lettuce cups instead of taco shells, like I did in my Greek Turkey Taco Lettuce Wraps recipe. This still provides that hand held taco with fresh, crisp Bibb lettuce. The key is to make sure the lettuce is very fresh. 

The second option is one often used in Keto diets, and that is to make low carb cheese taco shells, like Kim of KimInspiredDIY did in her Keto Chicken Tacos recipe. This gives you that cheesy flavor and still some crunch.

Can I Make Ground Beef Tacos Ahead Of Time?

You can certainly make the taco seasoning and the ground beef taco meat ahead of time and refrigerate for 3 to 4 days or freeze until you are ready to make the tacos. I recommend using fresh tortillas and preparing fresh toppings just before ready to serve.

Popular Toppings For Ground Beef Tacos

You can top Ground Beef Tacos with anything you like. However, I have listed out below some of the common or typical toppings that you see in taco recipes and in many Mexican restaurants. Pico De Gallo and Guacamole are my favorites! What are your favorite toppings?

• Shredded Lettuce
• Chopped tomatoes
• Shredded Cheese (Cheddar, Mexican Blend Cheese, or Queso Fresco)
• Chopped Cilantro
• Pico De Gallo (Tomatoes, Onions, Jalapenos, etc.)
• Guacamole
• Sour Cream
• Salsa

How To Make A Taco Bar

1. Be sure to have a large table or counter or island that is large enough for a buffet.
2. Place each of the above taco toppings into a separate bowl. Provide a spoon for each bowl.
3. Place the tortillas on a plate. You could have one plate for flour tortillas and one for corn tortillas.
4. Place the taco meat in a separate bowl with a spoon.
5. To add variety, add a bowl of shredded chicken from my Crockpot Chicken Tacos recipe. You can even serve this right out of the crockpot.
6. Place the plates and tortillas at the beginning of the line, followed by the taco meat and shredded chicken and then the toppings.

What To Serve With Ground Beef Tacos

• Mexican Rice – is fluffy, flavorful and delicious and easy to make.
• Refried Beans – mashed beans with Mexican spices make a delicious side dish.
• Mexican Street Corn Salad – Corn salad with a fantastic chili lime cream sauce and cotija cheese.
• Mexican Cabbage Slaw – also called Fish Taco Slaw, is a tangy slaw, with red cabbage and a Mexican-spiced apple cider vinaigrette.
• Chicken Bacon Ranch Quesadillas – take chicken quesadillas to the next level by adding onions, bell peppers, bacon and ranch dressing for an incredible flavor combo inside that cheesy crispy tortilla!

What To Do With Leftover Taco Meat?

Freeze the Ground Beef Taco Meat. Yes. You can freeze the cooked ground beef taco meat. Let the meat cool and then place the taco meat into zip top plastic bags. Remove as much air as possible. Label them and place in the freezer. When you are ready to use, take them out of the freezer, and place them in the refrigerator to thaw.

What Other Recipes Use Ground Beef Taco Meat?

The options are endless. Some of my favorite ways to use Ground Beef Taco Meat are in my Mexican Beef and Rice Casserole, or in Life Tastes Good’s Easy Taco Pie Recipe, or her Taco Rice Bowl recipe, or in Food Network’s Taco Salad.

More Taco Recipes

Looking for more taco recipe ideas? Here are some other delicious taco recipes from my friends and me.

• Crockpot Chicken Tacos – Chicken taco meat with Mexican spices that is shredded and ready for tacos.
• Smash Burger Tacos – Is it a burger or a taco? You decide!
• Blackened Fish Tacos – Tacos made with Tilapia or other white fish seasoned with a Cajun seasoning.
• Chili Lime Fish Stick Tacos – From Cupcakes and Kale Chips – an easy to make, kid-friendly version of fish tacos.
• Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos – Tacos made with chicken marinated in a lime marinade.
• Blackened Chicken Tacos – spicy  chicken tacos spiced with Cajun seasoning.
• BLT Grilled Chicken Nachos – from The Two Bite Club – made with classic BLT ingredients, dry-rubbed grilled chicken, and a cool avocado ranch drizzle.
• Expresso Black Bean Tacos – from Jagruti’s Cooking Odyssey – Try these black bean tacos for a vegetarian option for tacos.

Recipe