Easy Ground Beef Tacos

These Ground Beef Tacos are filled with juicy flavorful taco meat made with my homemade taco seasoning – it’s an easy weeknight recipe for the whole family!

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Ground Beef Tacos are one of my our favorite weeknight family meals, especially on Taco Tuesdays! I have a quick homemade taco seasoning that I love to use for this recipe so I can cook the taco meat in 10 minutes. Give it a try and it’ll be your new go-to for taco night too!

Homemade taco seasoning

Making taco seasoning from scratch is super easy and can be cheaper than buying the prepared taco seasoning. Here are the spices I include in my recipe. Feel free to also add paprika, coriander, onion powder and crushed red pepper to give it some heat.

• Chili powder
• Cumin
• Garlic powder
• Mexican oregano
• Salt and pepper

I provide suggested amounts in the recipe card below because usually there’s more of the chili powder and cumin compared to the other spices. However, feel free to adjust the quantities, or use your favorite prepared taco seasoning.

How do you make ground beef taco meat

1. Place the ground beef in a skillet with olive oil.
2. Brown the beef with olive oil and then drain any fat.
3. Add the spices along with the tomato paste and water (or tomato sauce)
4. Bring the mixture to a simmer and then cook for a few more minutes until the sauce thickens.

And the end result is flavorful juicy homemade tacos that’s ready to be served in less than 15 minutes.

Toppings for Tacos

I like to keep it simple with usually a few different toppings when I’m making these just for the family on weeknights. However, I love having DIY taco bars with friends and family and I usually include the following toppings for tacos:

• Shredded lettuce or cabbage
• Tomatoes
• Shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican blend
• Red onions
• Guacamole (store bought or homemade) or avocado
• Olives
• Jalapeños
• Sour Cream
• Salsa or my Bean Tomato Salsa

Tips for making ground beef tacos

1. Be careful not to dry out the taco meat when you add the sauce. Once the beef is cooked, you want to cook it with the seasoning and liquid on medium low and just until the sauce starts to thicken. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t dry out.
2. Heat up the tortillas before adding the ground beef on top. You can heat them up in the microwave, oven or on a skillet for 1-2 minutes per side. This makes the tortillas soft, pliable and much less likely to break.
3. Add onions to the mixture to make it more savory. You’ll want to cook the onions until they soften before adding the ground beef. It gives the taco meat a deeper flavor, but it’s totally optional. Adding onion powder is a quick easy update as well.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best ground beef for tacos?

I prefer to use 90% lean ground beef for tacos for the best flavor and consistency. If it’s any more lean, it may be too dry. If you use a less lean kind, make sure to drain off the fat after cooking the ground beef, before adding the seasoning.

How can make the tacos low carb?

The actual ground beef taco meat is low carb, so you can use low-carb tortillas or skip the tortillas all together as serve it as a taco salad or in a taco bowl.

How much taco meat do you need per person?

Using a traditional 6-inch tortilla or traditional size hard taco shell, you can use about 2-3 tablespoons of taco meat per taco. That means that depending on how much you load up the ground beef tacos with other ingredients, one pound of beef could serve between 8 and 12 people.

For more Tex Mex recipes:

This is one of those family friendly recipes that is always in our rotation. They kids love, and I love how easy it is to prepare. I’ll often double or triple the recipe when I’m having people over, or to have leftovers for adding to a taco salad lunch bowl.

If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feel good Ground Beef Tacos recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!

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Review

Ground Beef Tacos

These Ground Beef Tacos are filled with juicy flavorful taco meat made with my homemade taco seasoning – it’s an easy weeknight recipe for the whole family!

5

from

781

votes

Author

Yumna Jawad

Servings

8

servings

Course

Main Course

Calories

142

Prep Time

15

mins

Cook Time

10

mins

Total Time

25

mins

Equipment

Anodized Nonstick Cookware

Ingredients

  

• ▢

  1

  tablespoon

  olive oil

• ▢

  1

  pound

  lean ground beef

• ▢

  2

  teaspoons

  chili powder

• ▢

  2

  teaspoons

  cumin

• ▢

  ½

  teaspoon

  oregano

• ▢

  ½

  teaspoon

  garlic powder

• ▢

  ½

  teaspoon

  salt

• ▢

  ½

  teaspoon

  black pepper

• ▢

  2

  tablespoons

  tomato paste

• ▢

  ½

  cup

  water

For serving the tacos

• ▢

  8

  Corn or flour tortillas

• ▢

  Lettuce

  finely chopped

• ▢

  Shredded Mexican cheese blend or cheddar cheese

• ▢

  Tomatoes

  chopped

• ▢

  Chopped red onions

Instructions

• Heat the olive oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add the ground beef and cook until browned, about 5-7 minutes. Drain any fat.

• Add the chili powder, cumin, dried oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper, tomato paste and water. Stir to combine and continue cooking over medium-low heat until the sauce has thickened, about 3-5 minutes

• Serve warm over tortillas with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and red onions, or your other desired toppings.

Video

Notes

Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container. They will last up to 4 days and can be reheated on the stovetop. To reheat, add a splash of water so the taco meat doesn’t dry out.

Freezing Instructions: Allow the taco meat to cool down completely, then place in freezer-safe storage containers or ziplock bags for up to 3 months.

Substitutes: For best results, follow the recipe as is. However here are some common substitutes that would work well in this recipe.

• Instead of tomato paste and water, you can simply use tomato sauce.
• Instead of chili powder, you can use paprika.

Nutrition

Calories:

142

kcal

,

Carbohydrates:

13

g

,

Protein:

14

g

,

Fat:

4

g

,

Saturated Fat:

1

g

,

Cholesterol:

35

mg

,

Sodium:

236

mg

,

Potassium:

304

mg

,

Fiber:

2

g

,

Sugar:

1

g

,

Vitamin A:

216

IU

,

Vitamin C:

1

mg

,

Calcium:

36

mg

,

Iron:

2

mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.

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