Valentina's Corner
Nothing beats homemade tacos, and you will LOVE this beef taco recipe! It works great for a quick dinner that you can enjoy with your family. This delicious meal comes together in just 30 minutes and will quickly become a staple in your home.
If you like recipes with ground beef, be sure to try our classic chili recipe.
Ground Beef Taco Recipe
Beef tacos are a classic Mexican-American dish. Deliciously seasoned ground beef served in a warmed tortilla and garnished with your favorite toppings. These tacos are full of flavor and you will want to add them to your weekly dinner rotation, especially Taco Tuesday!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy to make. This is a quick 30-minute meal, perfect for weeknights, that is also very beginner-friendly. It would be a great opportunity to involve your children in the process.
- Customizable. These beef tacos are a blank canvas and you can easily personalize them to your personal preference.
- Affordable. Ground beef is one of the most affordable protein options, so it’s very easy to make this dinner on a budget. Chances are, you may already have many of these ingredients in your home!
- Make ahead. This beef taco recipe makes for the perfect meal plan. Just don’t assemble the tacos, pack the meat and toppings in some Tupperware, and store them in the fridge for an easy lunch the next day!
Ingredients for Beef Tacos
- Ground beef- We find that 85/15 is best for this recipe. It has enough fat to make the meat delicious. You can also use lean ground beef if you’d like, just don’t drain excess grease. Make sure to use our homemade taco beef recipe!
- Seasoning- The meat is seasoned with our homemade taco seasoning. The chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, and oregano are some of the spices that give the taco meat that authentic Mexican flavor. Along with ketchup, and made moist with added chicken broth.
- Taco shells- Tortillas that can be either soft or hard. Toast the flour tortillas for crunchiness by cooking in a lightly greased skillet over medium-high heat until crispy.
For a full list of ingredients and quantities, see the recipe card below.
Taco Toppings
You can personalize the toppings to your liking, here are some ideas:
- Shredded lettuce- for a satisfying crunch.
- Sour cream- to add a refreshing creamy add-on.
- Salsa- use a salsa verde, for a spicy tomatillo-based salsa. Or use a classic tomato salsa.
- Shredded cheddar cheese- melted into the meat for a gooey, delicious twist.
- Diced tomatoes- to add a slightly acidic flavor to make the tacos super refreshing.
- Chopped red onion- gives the tacos an extra crunch with a slightly bitter flavor.
- Sliced jalapeno rings- add extra fire, for those brave enough! Use fresh, or pickled jalapenos.
- Cilantro- adds a unique taste, that’s refreshing and incredibly tasty.
- Lime juice- squeezed into the tacos makes them super balanced.
- Guacamole- with just a few extra steps you can make the ultimate avocado topping using our homemade guac recipe that pairs great with chips as a dip as well!
How to Make Ground Beef Tacos
- Cook the beef: In a large skillet, saute ground beef, breaking it up as it browns. Drain excess fat, and add chicken broth, ketchup, and homemade taco seasoning. Continue mixing until the meat is fully cooked.
- Prepare toppings: Dice / shred your toppings and set them aside into separate bowls.
- Tortillas: If using soft tortillas, briefly warm them up. Either in the oven for five minutes, or in a skillet just until cooked.
- Assemble: Add the meat to the warm tortillas, and garnish with your favorite toppings.
- Serve and enjoy, friends!
Substitutions and Variations
Tacos are the BEST dinner for picky eaters. You can easily customize them to fit your palette, so everyone at the table is happy.
- Swap out the protein: Don’t like ground beef? Easily sub in chicken, shrimp, steak, ground turkey, and fish. Simply season the meat and cook to the desired finish.
- Tortillas: Choose between soft or hard shell tacos or a mix of both! If you decide to go with soft tortillas, flour or corn tortillas may be used.
- Toppings: All the toppings are completely interchangeable, and you can add or take out whatever you’d like.
- Seasoning: You can use a store-bought taco seasoning blend, or you can make your blend using this recipe.
- Healthier option: You can even skip the tortillas and use large leaves of lettuce for a low-carb option!
Serving Suggestions
Although these tacos are great on their own as the main course, they are greatly complimented by many classic appetizers.
- Make some pico de gallo! A wonderfully refreshing appetizer to serve as a dip with some tortilla chips, and even use as another topping.
- A strawberry lemonade makes for the perfect drink to pair with tacos. Not only is it restaurant-style, it’s incredibly refreshing!
- Serve with a side of Mexican cilantro rice to make this an authentic Mexican dinner.
REcipe FAQs
We recommend 85/15 as it’s lean enough to where you still have some fat to work with. You can use 80/20, you might just want to drain some of the fat/ excess juice. If you decide to use leaner meat like 90/10, just don’t drain any juices.
Taco seasoning is simply a blend of different seasonings that you may already have in your pantry! You can opt-out, but the seasoning is key for giving the meat that authentic taco flavor.
Store & Reheat
If you would like to store it for later use, you want to leave the tacos disassembled.
- Fridge: Store leftovers in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freeze: Allow the ground beef to cool completely, and pack it in a freezer container or bag to put into the freezer.
- To thaw, place it into the fridge overnight and reheat right before serving.
- When reheating the meat, cook on low heat to prevent burning.
More Mexican-Inspired Recipes
If you enjoyed this ground beef taco, be sure to try our other authentic Mexican dishes:
Classic Ground Beef Taco Recipe
Ingredients
-taco meat
- 1 recipe of taco meat
- 8 taco shells hard shells (or 6-inch soft flour tortillas)
toppings-
- shredded lettuce
- diced tomatoes
- chopped onion
- shredded cheese
- sour cream
- guacamole
Instructions
- Prepare the ground beef using the homemade taco meat recipe.
- Meanwhile, cut up and shred the desired toppings for the tacos and place them into bowls.
- In a skillet, heat the soft tortillas. Add the taco meat to the soft tortillas or hard shells. Top with desired topping.
- Serve and enjoy, friends!