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These Ground Beef Tacos are easy and delicious. Filled flavorful ground beef that’s been sautéed with a homemade taco seasoning and stuffed in homemade crunchy taco shells. Feel free to swap them in for store-bought for an easy weeknight meal! Serve them with a Queso Fundido, Watermelon Margaritas and Sopapillas.
I adore authentic Mexican food like a warm bowl of Beef Birra, a cold Chelada and Conchas. Admittedly, these ground beef tacos learn closer to Mexican-American food. These are inspired by my love of crunchy ground beef tacos.
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make These Ground Beef Tacos
- Ground beef. I like using 85%/15% ground beef so it has some flavor. Feel free to user a leaner variety if you like.
- Spices. We’re using a lot of them because we need flavor. Ground cumin, cayenne, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and some oregano.
- Tomato paste. This is going to add a nice thickness to our filling.
- Beef broth. I like using a good-quality beef broth. You could also use Homemade Chicken Stock or store-bought chicken stock in a pinch.
- Corn tortillas. Gotta make some homemade shells! Of course, you can use store-bought if you want to save some time.
For the rest of the ingredients, please refer to the recipe index card below!
How to Make Homemade Crunchy Taco Shells
These are puffy taco shells. And they are my absolute favorite. This is definitely optional. I like to use store-bought when I’m turning this into a weeknight meal.
- Place a skillet (with a wide rim) on the stove. Pour in the oil. We want about 1/2 inch of oil. Heat it over medium heat until it reaches 350F. I used a digital thermometer for this.
2. Using tongs, drop in the tortilla. Tap it a few times to encourage it to puff up. And hold it there for about 12-15 seconds. Flip the tortilla and then fold it in half. You want to hold it in this position so it holds its shape for about 12-15 seconds. The tortilla should be puffed, crispy, and golden all over and able to hold its shape.
3. Transfer it to a bed of paper towels to drain. Sprinkle them with a pinch of kosher salt. Sprinkle the shells with a pinch of kosher salt. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
How to Make Ground Beef Tacos
1. Place medium skillet over medium heat. Add a teaspoon or two of olive oil.
2. When the olive oil is warm, add in the ground beef, along with all of the spices and salt. Break up the ground beef into crumbles and until the spices are mixed evenly throughout.
3. When the meat begins to brown, add in the tomato paste and broth. And cook for an additional five minutes. It should be thick and juicy!
4. Fill the shells (whether using homemade or store-bought) with the ground beef mixture.
5. Add in shredded cheese, lettuce, pico de gallo, sour cream, and guacamole. Serve lime wedges.
Tips and Tricks
To Reheat the Shells: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place the shells on a baking sheet and bake for 3 minutes then flip the shells and bake for another 3 minutes. They will continue to crisp up as they cool.
To Warm Store-bought Shells: Follow the directions per the package. I usually do this when the meat is already done so they stay warm.
Re-Heat the Meat. You can make the ground beef mixture up to three days ahead. Store in the fridge in an airtight container. Reheat in a pan or microwave and add a few tablespoons of broth to ensure it’s still saucy.
Recipe FAQs
If you’re using ground beef that’s 85%/15%, it will have some residual fat in the pan. Feel free to drain this or sop it up using a paper towel. I like to keep it because it’s pretty flavorful but this is entirely personal.
I like using Siete Foods Cassava Crunchy Taco Shells or La Tiara.
Yep, if you want soft tacos, simply warm up the tortillas (corn or flour tortillas) in a pan and proceed with using this filling.
Yes! You can stuff them with the meat from my Birria Tacos. Or if you want strips or chunks, feel free to use the meat from my Carne Asada Tacos.
More Delicious Taco Recipes
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Ground Beef Tacos
Equipment
- 1 medium skillet
- 1 pair of tongs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef, (I used 85%/15%)
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Pinch dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 cup beef broth, (or store-bought or homemade chicken stock)
Puffy Taco Shells
- 12 corn tortillas
- Neutral, high-heat oil (for frying)
For Serving:
- 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese or Colby Jack or Pepper Jack
- 3 leaves lettuce of choice thinly sliced, (we want the shaved effect so we went with iceberg)
- 1 cup pico de gallo
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup guacamole
- Lime wedges
Instructions
To Make the Filling:
- In a medium saucepan or skillet, set over medium heat, and add a teaspoon of olive oil. When warm, add the meat, along with all of the spices: cumin, cayenne pepper, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, dried oregano, and salt.
- Break the meat up with a spatula and mix until the spices are evenly distributed throughout; cook for 5 minutes or so. When the meat begins to brown, add the tomato paste and beef broth, mix, and cook for about 5 additional minutes or until the broth has cooked off. Turn off the heat and set aside. Set aside.
To Make the Crunchy Taco Shells:
- To a skillet with a wide rim, add oil until it’s about ½-inch up the sides. Heat the pan over medium-high heat for 4 minutes or until it’s 350 degrees F. If you don’t have a thermometer, you can test to see if the oil is ready by dropping a piece of a tortilla into the oil. If it doesn’t sizzle immediately, heat for another minute or two before trying again. If your oil is smoking, that means it’s too hot–turn down the temperature and wait a few minutes before testing again.
- Line a plate or tray with paper towels and set next to your skillet. Using tongs, gently drop a tortilla into the oil, tap it a few times with the tongs to encourage the tortilla to puff, and fry for 12-15 seconds. Turn the tortilla over using the tongs and immediately fold the tortilla in half, holding it with the tongs, to shape it into a shell. Fry for about 12-15 seconds before flipping to the other side and frying for another 12-15 seconds.
- The tortilla should be puffed, crispy, and golden all over and able to hold its shape. Transfer to your paper towel-lined plate or pan and immediately sprinkle the outside and inside of the shell with a pinch of kosher salt. Repeat the process with the remaining tortillas. See below to reheat if you’d like to fry your shells beforehand.
To Assemble the Tacos:
- Fill your shells with a few tablespoons of meat, shredded cheese, lettuce, pico de gallo, sour cream, and guacamole. Serve lime wedges.
Notes
- To Reheat the Shells: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Place the shells on a baking sheet and bake for 3 minutes then flip the shells and bake for another 3 minutes. They will continue to crisp up as they cool.
- To Warm Store-bought Shells: Follow the directions per the package. I usually do this when the meat is already done so they stay warm.
- Re-Heat the Meat. You can make the ground beef mixture up to three days ahead. Store in the fridge in an airtight container. Reheat in a pan or microwave and add a few tablespoons of broth to ensure it’s still saucy.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I tried these tacos and they are SO good. The seasoning for the beef is perfection. And the crispy taco shells are next level!