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Ground Beef Tacos are fried to golden perfection and filled with lettuce and tomatoes. They are a family favorite!!
Tacos are a staple at our Mexican meals, and sometimes we fill them with chicken, or pork, or roll them as Flautas. No matter which kind you make, ground beef tacos are sure to be a crowd favorite!!
Tacos with Ground Beef – Easy and Delicious!
Tacos have always been a family favorite – we’ve been making them for as long as we can remember!!
Street Tacos are designed to be made quickly and eaten easily. A street taco is often made using two small tortillas with simple meat filling like Carne Asada (grilled steak), Barbacoa (pork), or Pollo (chicken).
Regular tacos come in varying-sized tortillas. They can be served soft or fried and are often topped with yummy fillings.
Our go-to may be chicken, but we’ve had ground beef tacos for as long as I can remember. In fact, my mom grew up with these kinds of tacos and my Great Grandma would even add diced potatoes to the mix!
Potatoes in Tacos
My Great Grandma, who we called Grandma Bean Burro, would add diced cooked potatoes to their beef tacos to help stretch them and feed more mouths.
My mom became accustomed to the taste and would often include diced potatoes in the tacos I ate growing up. Now my sisters and I often add them as well.
- Be sure to use cooked finely-diced potatoes.
- Add ½ -1 cup of potatoes to the meat/cheese mixture.
- Spoon the mixture onto the tortilla to be fried.
How to Make Beef TACOS
Serve our favorite beef tacos up on Taco Tuesday or any night!
BEEF. Cook the ground beef until browned. Season with salt and pepper. Drain, if needed.
PREP. Add meat and shredded cheese to a bowl and mix. (add the optional potatoes)
In a large frying pan heat up 1-1½ inches of vegetable oil.
FRY. Add about ⅓ cup of the meat mixture to the center of one tortilla. Fold the tortilla and clasp the top edges with tongs to keep it closed.
While holding the top of the tortilla, place the bottom in the oil. Rock the tortilla from side to side a few times and then lie the tortilla on its side to fry.
Fry each side until golden brown and place on a plate lined with a paper towel to drain excess oil.
SERVE. Fill each taco with lettuce and tomatoes before serving.
Toppings. We stick to simple shredded lettuce and diced tomato topping. Use any of your favorite taco toppings:
- diced avocados or Guacamole, green onions, sliced black olives, jalapenos, lime juice, or cilantro
- Salsa, Pico de Gallo, sour cream, or cheddar cheese
- black beans
Alternative cooking methods
For a healthier cooking method, bake ground beef tacos in the oven or air fry them. The tortilla will cook up a little differently with each method:
Bake in the Oven: Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Spray a baking sheet with oil.
- Add the beef mixture to each tortilla, fold, and place the tacos onto the baking sheet.
- Spray the exposed tortilla with cooking spray.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes.
Bake in the Air fryer: Set the air fryer to 380°F.
- Lightly spray one side of the tortilla with cooking spray.
- On the opposite side add the meat mixture.
- Fold and place the beef tacos in a single layer in the air fryer basket.
- Fry for 4-6 minutes or until the edges are crispy.
- Repeat until all the tacos have been fried.
Recipe Tips
Flavor. Add flavor when browning the ground beef. I like to simply use salt and pepper.
Add more spice with chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, onion powder, oregano, paprika, red pepper flakes, or Homemade Taco Seasoning Blend.
Rolled. When Tacos are rolled they are referred to as Flautas or more commonly Taquitos.
Corn tortillas. Corn tortillas are fragile and can easily break. To prevent this, warm them up before filling and folding them:
- Microwave. Wrap a stack of tortillas in a damp paper towel and place them in a Ziploc bag. Do not close the bag. Leave it open and place it in the microwave. Heat for 30-60 seconds, or until warm and flexible.
- Oven. Wrap a stack of tortillas in foil and place in a 325°F oven until warm and flexible.
- Skillet. Throw tortillas in a cast iron skillet, and warm over medium-high heat, for about 15 to 20 seconds on each side.
Serve with: Spanish Rice, Esquites, Easy Refried Beans, Corn Dip or Bean Dip
Tacos for a crowd. When we make this Beef Taco Recipe for a large family gathering, we plan for two tacos per child and 3-4 tacos per adult. Leave about ⅓ of the tacos without lettuce, as most kids don’t like the lettuce and tomato topping.
Storing Info
STORE. Remove any of the lettuce/tomato fillings and place them in an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Reheat the beef tacos in the oven to help get them crisp again. If you’re in a hurry, reheat them in the microwave.
Make ahead of time. I have never tried to freeze a fried taco, but I have prepared the taco meat in advance to store in the freezer.
- Simply brown the taco meat and let it cool.
- Mix it with the cheese and cooked potatoes, if desired, and store it in a freezer-safe container. It will keep for up to 4 months.
- Thaw the meat mixture overnight in the fridge and fry the tacos up according to the recipe directions.
Recipe FAQ
Ground beef is what we always use and the fat content is totally a preference! We use a leaner option, but my Great Grandma always used 80/20 since it was more cost effective and had a little more flavor. Just make sure to drain the oil after browning the meat.
Always add the seasonings before you cook the beef so the flavors really meld into the meat!
More delicious Mexican Food:
Ground Beef Tacos Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 cup shredded mexican cheese
- 1-2 cups vegetable oil
- 12 yellow corn tortillas
- lettuce and tomato
- cooked cubed potatoes optional
Instructions
- Cook the ground beef until browned. Season with salt and pepper. Drain, if needed.
- Add meat and shredded cheese to a bowl and mix. (add the optional potatoes)
- In a large frying pan heat up 1-1½ inches of vegetable oil.
- Add about ⅓ cup of the meat mixture to the center of one tortilla. Fold the tortilla and clasp the top edges with tongs to keep it closed.
- While holding the top of the tortilla place the bottom in the oil. Rock the tortilla from side to side a few times and then lie the tortilla on its side to fry.
- Fry each side until golden brown and place on a plate lined with a paper towel to drain excess oil.
- Fill each taco with lettuce and tomatoes before serving.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
this is such a classic and it brings me back to my childhood when I asked my mom for these tacos on my birthday! thank you so much for sharing
These tacos were great and frying the tortillas in oil was a great idea that really made these the best tacos.
These were a huge hit! I have always bought hard shells before but decided to give this version a try and my family wouldn’t stop raving over them. Thanks for the potato tip too. I have 4 hungry boys in my house so I need to stretch everything as far as I can.