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These homemade Ground Beef Tacos are made with spiced taco meat loaded into fried taco shells. Top with your favorite toppings for an easy 30-minute meal!
When I married my husband over 26 years ago, I figured out real fast that his favorite meal of all time was tacos.
Now we aren’t talking about street tacos but he was obsessed with classic ground beef tacos with crispy shells. We literally ate them at least once a week!
To this day, this is one of the go-to meals that he wants me to make so it is shocking that these homemade tacos haven’t made their debut on Modern Honey yet.
These Ground Beef Tacos are so easy, super delicious, and can be made in less than 30 minutes. Plus these tacos are customizable so you can top them with all of your favorite toppings.
What do I love about these Homemade Tacos?
- The spiced ground beef has the perfect blend of taco seasoning plus tomato sauce to keep it from getting too dry and crumbly.
- The freshly fried taco shells are a huge difference-maker! They take no time at all and make a big difference in flavor.
- My family loves them! My kids and husband are always happy when tacos are served so that makes my job easier.
Ground Beef Taco Ingredients:
- Ground Beef — I suggest using 80-85% lean ground beef in this recipe. If you use 80/20 ground beef, you will have some extra grease. You can drain it or blot the grease with a paper towel.
- Onion — use diced red, white, or yellow onions in these homemade tacos.
- Taco Seasoning — is made up of spices like chili powder, cumin, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder. If you want extra flavor, add more taco seasoning.
- Tomato Sauce — this helps to keep the ground beef extra moist, tender, and flavorful. Buy the tomato sauce without any add-ins (such as oregano, basil, etc).
- Corn Tortillas — I suggest using white corn tortillas in this recipe.
- Oil — use basic cooking oils like canola or vegetable to fry the corn tortilla shells.
- Pepper
Ground Beef Taco Toppings:
- Cheese
- Guacamole
- Salsa
- Sour Cream
- Diced Fresh Tomatoes
- Lettuce
The sky is the limit with the toppings on tacos. You can also drizzle on some queso, sprinkle on some green onions, pour on the hot sauce, or sprinkle with cilantro.
Q & A:
What should I serve with tacos?
You can serve a homemade queso dip, make your own homemade salsa, make homemade guacamole, or serve cowboy caviar with chips.
You can also serve the tacos with Mexican rice or beans.
Do you have other taco recipes?
- Chipotle Chicken Tacos
- Beef Barbacoa Tacos with Green Salsa
- Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos
- Grilled Steak Tacos
How much ground beef per person?
I would suggest about 1 lb of ground beef for 3-4 people, depending on how many tacos they will eat.
How to make Beef Tacos:
Step 1: Start off by sauteeing the onion in oil until it is tender. Once it is tender, add the ground beef and break it up with a wooden spoon. Cook until the ground beef is browned and no longer pink. Blot any extra grease from the pan using a paper towel.
Step 2: Add the taco seasoning, pepper, and tomato sauce. Stir to coat the ground beef.
Step 3: Heat oil in a skillet. Once it is heated, fry the corn tortillas on both sides, remove the tortillas, and fold them in half to form their taco shape. I like to use tongs for this action.
Step 4: Place the fried taco shells on paper towels to drain.
Step 5: Fill the tortillas with the ground beef mixture. Top with cheese, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, or any other toppings you would like!
Step 6: Serve warm.
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Ground Beef Tacos
- 1 Tablespoon Oil
- 1/2 Onion (diced)
- 1 lb. Ground Beef
- 3 Tablespoons Taco Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Pepper
- 1/2 cup Canned Tomato Sauce (no spices added)
- 8 White Corn Tortillas
- Oil
Taco Toppings:
- Grated Cheese
- Salsa
- Guacamole
- Sour Cream
- Diced Fresh Tomatoes
- Lettuce
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add oil. Add onions and cook until tender, about 6-7 minutes.
- Add ground beef and increase heat to medium-high. Break up with a wooden spoon. Cook until the ground beef is browned and no longer pink, about 8-10 minutes.
- While beef is cooking, heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add enough oil to completely coat the pan. Heat the oil. Once it is heated, carefully add each tortilla, one at a time. Turn to cook both sides. Once it is golden and crisp, remove it from the skillet with tongs, and immediately fold it in half to make a taco shell. Set aside on a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Repeat.
- Once the ground beef is cooked, sprinkle the ground beef with taco seasoning, pepper, and add tomato sauce (make sure there are no spices added to canned tomato sauce). Stir to coat and heat for several minutes.
- Fill each taco shell with the ground beef mixture. Fill with your taco toppings of choice. Serve warm.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The best easy dinner recipe!
I also love these tacos! I have a twist that makes them even more yummy! After frying the taco shells, have a plate of Kraft Powdered Parmesan cheese and cover both sides of tacos shells with the Parmesan cheese before folding. The hot oil helps the cheese stick. (I have only tried this with yellow corn tortillas before, but I’m sure it would be just as good with white corn tortillas.0
I fry my tacos very briefly on both sides in a little oil, then put them in between paper towels to get rid of the extra oil, but I’ve never fried them to get browned and crispy and then fold them in half. That sure would eliminate the tortillas from falling apart as we’re trying to eat them. I’ll have to try your method.
These Taco’s look good for any time. I love Taco’s…. Thank you for the quick and easy recipe, looks like the more toppings the better they are and I agree with that 100%..
Hi
I wanted to tell you how much I love your recipes. I am 88 years old , live alone and have to half most . My daughter is The St Pete Taco Lady food truck. She was voted best food truck in the bay 2 years in a row. I will share this with her. She is on Instagram and FB.