These ground beef tacos are packed with flavor. This taco recipe is easy and makes about 40 quick ground beef tacos. Beefy flavor, crispy tortilla shells, topped with lettuce, cheese, tomato, and taco sauce. Fresh and full flavor.
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Easy and Quick Weeknight Meal for the Whole Family
Tacos are a great go-to weeknight meal for the entire family. They are also very easy to make. You can have dinner on the table in about a half hour. There will be plenty for everyone, good thing too, because it will be tough to have just one taco. I generally plan on everyone having at least 3 tacos.
Fresh Taste and Easy Meal for a Crowd
This recipe can be reduced or doubled and tripled. It just depends on how big of a crowd you must feed. These make great left overs too.
Taco Taste
These beef tacos are packed with flavor. They have a beefy taste, and the toppings give it a fresh taste. Additionally, frying the flour or corn tortillas just a little bit brings out a slight sweetness in them and makes them a bit crunchy as well. I love the taste and texture of this taco.
The flour tortillas can be heated in the microwave just 20-30 seconds rather than fried. Further, if you enjoy the hard-shell corn taco shells. Get those and pop them into the oven for 5-10 minutes to heat through. They are just as scrumptious.
Ground Beef for Taco
If you watch the video, you will notice that I did not season my ground beef with anything beyond salt and pepper. That is how our family likes our tacos. Our family has discussed this at length. We feel that it takes away from the beefy flavor of the tacos and it over powers the fresh vegetable toppings. However, we do love to add the bottled hot sauce.
Add Taco Seasoning to Ground Beef
However, if you would rather season your ground beef with the taco seasoning, I will add 1 packet of premade taco seasoning mix or about 2 tablespoons of homemade taco seasoning. Additionally, add 1/2 cup of water at the same time, as this will help the seasoning get well incorporated with the beef.
Unique Family Recipe
My daughter asked me why I thought that I should post about how to make tacos. She said, “Mom, everyone knows how to make tacos. They are so easy to make.” My response – have you ever had the kind of tacos we make anywhere else? She said – you’re right, I have never had them this way anywhere else and these are by far my favorite. Clever idea to post about this recipe.
Taco Topping Ideas
I typically like to add just lettuce, tomato, shredded cheese and a good amount of taco sauce. However, if I am cooking these for a crowd, I will put out a toppings bar and let everyone create their own unique taco. Here are a few taco topping ideas to get you started:
- Shredded cheese
- Diced tomatoes
- Minced red onion
- Jalapenos
- Sour cream
- Guacamole
- Olives
- Shredded lettuce
- Cilantro
- Diced avocado
Assemble the Tacos
In a taco shell of your choice, start with the cooked ground beef, add your favorite toppings. That’s it! Enjoy.
Serving Hint
I generally get everything out on the table and put spoons and tongs in the containers and let everyone assembly their taco the way they like it.
Use Leftovers the Next Day
By keeping all the ingredients separate, I can put each item away in the refrigerator for leftovers later.
The taco shells we microwave about 30 seconds.
The hamburger we heat up about one minute.
The rest does not require heating. Once those the shells and hamburger are heated up, we assemble our tacos again.
So, here is our family favorite taco recipe.
Ground Beef Tacos Packed with Flavor
Kitchen Essentials
Ingredients
Beef
- 2.5 Lbs. Ground Beef
- 1 Small onion Diced
- 1/2 Tsp. salt
- 1/2 Tsp. pepper
Tortillas
- 2 Cups Vegetable Oil
- 40 6″ Flour Tortillas the smaller ones that are about 6 inches in diameter
Toppings
- 3 Cups Lettuce shredded
- 3 Cups Cheddar Cheese shredded
- 2 Cups tomatoes diced, I prefer cutting cherry tomatoes in half and using that
- 1 Small onion diced
- 1 container Sour Cream
- 1 Bottle Ortega Taco Sauce Mild (I am specific on this taco sauce as it is the family favorite)
- 1 Bottle Hot Sauce
Instructions
Beef
- Cook ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking up beef until it is relatively small crumbles of cooked hamburger.
- About ½ way through cooking the ground beef, add the diced onion, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking and breaking up the beef until it is cooked through (no pink showing).
Tortillas
- In a 10” skillet, I use a cast iron skillet, add the oil and cook on medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, put in a flour tortilla and cook about 30 seconds on one side.
- Using two forks, I fold it in half and flip from side to side making sure that both sides are starting to turn a light gold color. That is normally another 30 seconds total.
- Remove from the oil and place on a plate lined with three squares of paper toweling. Cook the tortillas individually like this until all 40 flour shells are cooked. (Hint. Sometimes the flour shells like to get air bubbles. I lightly place the forks over them to make sure that they stay folded while cooking in the oil).
Toppings
- Dice the onions and tomatoes and put them in separate bowls. Shred chop the lettuce in thin strips. Shred the cheese. (Time saving tip. I do this as I am cooking the hamburger.)
Assembly
- Once the tortillas are cooked. Start putting the tacos together.
- 1 – 1 ½ tablespoon of hamburger in each shell.
- Then top off your crunchy tacos with one or all of the delicious toppings: try shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, onion, taco sauce, hot sauce, or sour cream.
Your Own Private Notes
Video
Notes
Serving Hint
I generally get everything out on the table and put spoons and tongs in the containers and let everyone assembly their taco the way they like it. Tip By keeping all the ingredients separate, I can put each item away in the refrigerator for leftovers later. The taco shells we microwave about 30 seconds. The hamburger we heat up about one minute. The rest does not require heating. Once those the shells and hamburger are heated up, we assemble our tacos again.Nutrition
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I hope that you liked this recipe. If you are looking for more ideas on what to make, here are a few other recipes that you may enjoy.
You can find Victoria crocheting, quilting, and creating recipes. She has worked in restaurants for many years. Her many crochet patterns and quilt patterns are enjoyed by many. In her professional career, she has worked in management in a wide variety of businesses including higher education as a dean of a division. All the while attending college part-time to achieve her doctorate in higher education with an emphasis in e-learning.
Michelle
Wednesday 4th of October 2017
These look delicious! We usually use corn tortillas, but fried flour tortillas look so much better.
patternprincess1
Thursday 5th of October 2017
Our family has had the corn tortillas too, but we have all decided that this does the trick for our taste buds. Enjoy!