Make the best ground beef tacos from scratch that are even better than takeout. This taco dinner comes together in less than 30 minutes.
Ground beef tacos make for an easy weeknight meal. You can easily make the taco meat ahead of time. It’s easy to prep or purchase the premade toppings to make it even easier to put it all together at the dinner table. These are perfect for Taco Tuesday!
We truly love taco night because it’s easy to customize our own tacos. Some like cheese and some don’t. Tacos are always my go-to for those who have food allergies because they are that easy to customize.
Recipe ingredient notes
- Ground Beef – If you don’t eat red meat you can also use ground chicken, ground turkey or even vegan ground meat.
- Taco Seasoning – I highly recommend making your own taco seasoning mix. We have reduced the amount of our seasoning blend to fit this recipe, but it’s so much easier to just have it already premade and ready to season your ground beef.
- Flour – We use flour to thicken the meat and help it absorb the liquid and seasonings.
- Water – Once the meat is cooked we use water to help it create a sauce for the meat to keep it nice and juicy.
Step-by-step instructions
For the full ingredient amount and full instructions on how to make ground beef tacos see the recipe card below.
Cook the taco meat: Add the meat and then add in some flour and mash and brown the meat.
Season the taco meat: Once the meat is almost cooked we’ll add in the seasonings and water.
Let the taco meat simmer: After adding all the seasonings we let the meat simmer with the seasonings and continue to fully cook.
Taste and season if needed: When the meat is done I’ll taste test to see if it needs more salt or any other seasonings.
Warm the tortillas and then top as desired. Our preferred vessel is a hard taco shell, corn tortilla or flour tortillas
Recipe tips and variations
- These tacos use our homemade taco seasoning mix but you could easily use a taco seasoning packet if you prefer.
- Our favorite tool for mashing up taco meat is our potato masher, it really gets it nice and ground.
- Ground taco meat freezes well after cooking just allow it took cool enough to place into a freezer safe container.
Storage and reheating tips
- Refrigerate: Store any leftover taco meat in an air-tight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-4 days.
- Freeze: To freeze leftover taco meat place it in an airtight freezer safe container or ziploc bag and squeeze out all the air. Freeze for 3-4 months.
- Reheat: You can reheat taco meat on the stovetop with a little bit of water in a skillet and cook it on medium heat until warm. In a pinch you can also use the microwave as well.
Taco Toppings
- Pico de Gallo Recipe
- Guacamole
- Mexican black beans
- Taco sauce
- Avocado Corn Salad
- Corn Salsa
- Lettuce
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- Sour Cream
- Red Onions
- Jalapenos
Frequently asked questions
Yes, freeze any leftovers in a freezer-safe container, though we prefer silicone bags or even Ziploc to prevent air from getting in. Push out as much as you can and you can enjoy it for up to 4 months for the best quality.
To add heat to make it spicy tacos you can add either crushed red pepper flakes or cayenne powder. Careful when adding spices, you can always add more but you can’t take it out.
Absolutely! Some suggestions would be peppers, onions, corn, tomatoes, or chopped leafy greens. You can also add beans as well.
Yes, you can. We prefer to leave it for flavor but you can just add about 1/3-1/2 cup more water to keep it hydrated.
Ground Beef Tacos
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Print Pin RecipeIngredients
Ground Taco Meat
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon granulated onion
- 1/2-1 teaspoon paprika more if you want it red in color
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt more or less to taste
- 1/2-3/4 cup water use more 1/3 cup more water if you drain the meat.
Taco Toppings
- 4 soft tortillas
- 3 Roma tomatoes diced
- 1/2 cup taco sauce or salsa
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese we use dairy free
- 1/2 cup shredded lettuce
- cilantro
Instructions
- In a cast iron skillet cook the ground beef with the flour. Use a potato masher to mash the ground beef.
- Once the meat is no longer pink drain the fat if desired and then add in the seasonings and water. Use extra water if you removed the grease.
- Bring the taco meat to a boil and reduce the heat to medium-low heat. Allow it to cook for 10 minutes, occasionally stirring.
- While the meat is finishing heat up the tortillas in the oven or microwave for 30 seconds.
- Top with a drizzle of taco sauce, sprinkle of cheddar cheese, and shredded lettuce with cilantro.
- Enjoy.
Nutrition
The nutritional information is automatically calculated and can vary based ingredients and products used. If the nutrition numbers are important for you we recommend calculating them yourself.
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