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These easy ground beef tacos are made with juicy beef, flavorful homemade taco seasoning, and your favorite toppings. A quick crowd-pleasing meal for lazy weeknights.
Getting dinner made from scratch and on the table in under half an hour is always a win, especially when it’s loaded with flavor. These 20-minute ground beef tacos are low-effort, quick and easy to make, and also easy to customize. The whole family will love them!
The tacos combine seasoned ground beef with toppings like shredded lettuce, cheese, and sour cream in a crunchy taco shell. Even better, I use homemade taco seasoning—it tastes fantastic, takes just a minute to make, and allows you to tweak the spice, sodium level, and flavors to your family’s taste buds.
Get ready to impress everyone at your next Taco Tuesday night with this delicious ground beef taco recipe. Or try one of my other favorites, like this easy taco casserole (it’s just like these tacos but in a layered baked form) or this nachos recipe (which uses the same seasoned meat and toppings).
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Watch how to make it
Ingredients
- Ground beef: I prefer lean ground beef between 80-85% lean. You could also use up to 90-95% lean, but I find that the extra fat results in more flavorful and crispy meat.
- Oil: Use a neutral cooking oil, like vegetable oil, etc.
- Crushed tomatoes: Use canned crushed tomatoes or tomato passata.
- Taco seasoning: You can use store-bought or homemade taco seasoning (you’ll need chili powder, red pepper flakes, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, salt, and black pepper.
- Taco shells: I used hard taco shells, but you could also use soft corn tortillas (or even flour tortillas, if preferred).
- Toppings: You can use any of your favorite taco toppings like shredded cheese, lime, sour cream, cilantro, shredded lettuce, salsa, etc. Check the FAQs below for more suggestions.
See the printable recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make ground beef tacos
Prepare the Ingredients: First, mix the taco seasoning spices. Then, measure the rest of the ingredients. You can also prepare your toppings at this point (or later while the beef cooks)—shred some cheese and lettuce, make your guacamole or salsa, etc.
Cook the Ground Beef: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Then, add the beef and cook it for 4-5 minutes, or until it’s completely browned, using a wooden or silicone spatula to break it down into crumbles.
After 4-5 minutes, drain or spoon out the excess grease. Then, reduce the heat to low, add the taco seasoning, and cook for a couple of minutes until the spices become fragrant.
Finally, stir in the crushed tomatoes and simmer for a few more minutes until all the excess water is evaporated. Taste and adjust any of the seasonings to your taste.
Assemble the Tacos: First, if wanted, gently heat the tortillas. You can do this for 20-30 seconds per side in a dry skillet or a few seconds per side over an open flame (for a charred and smoky flavor). Or stack and wrap them in foil and then heat them in the oven at 350ºF/175ºC for 10-15 minutes.
Then, divide the ground beef mixture between the tortillas and add your favorite toppings. Serve with lime slices, and enjoy!
Heat the tacos (optional): Optionally, you can fill the tacos with the meat and cheese and then heat them to melt the cheese (and crisp the taco shells). You can do so in the oven at 350ºF/175ºC for about 5 minutes. I also love using my Air Fryer—just a few minutes at 350ºF/175ºC.
Once the cheese is melted, you can then fill the tacos with your favorite toppings.
FAQs
Per taco, you need about 2-3 tablespoons of ground beef filling. So, to make dinner for four people (8-12 tacos), I recommend using about 1 lb of meat.
You can make some of the elements in advance. Cook the ground beef and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Prepare fresh toppings, like lettuce, a day in advance. Heat the beef and assemble the tacos when you want to serve them.
Here are some of the best toppings for ground beef tacos: shredded cheese (Monterey jack, Tex-Mex blend, cheddar cheese, or crumbly cotija), shredded lettuce, salsa, guacamole, jalapeños, tomatoes, red onions, sour cream, lime wedges, and fresh cilantro. Pick and choose your favorites.
For the salsa, you can use homemade tomato salsa, Pico de Gallo, roasted red salsa, or your favorite jarred salsa.
More Tex-Mex recipes
If you try this ground beef tacos recipe, let me know how it goes in the comments below. I’d appreciate a recipe card rating and would love to see your recipe recreations – tag me on Instagram @Alphafoodie!
Easy Ground Beef Tacos
Ingredients
Ground Beef Mixture
- 1 lb ground beef best is between 80-95% lean;
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes or tomato passata
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil or another neutral oil
- 1/2 Tbsp chili powder or adjust to taste
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Taco shells + Toppings
- 12 taco shells use hard taco shells, or soft corn tortillas or even flour tortillas
- lettuce shredded, Iceberg or Romaine lettuce
- lime wedges
- homemade salsa thick and chunky or Pico de Gallo or a Jarred salsa
- sour cream or Greek yogurt
- cheese Monterey jack, Tex-Mex blend, Cheddar, or cotija
Instructions
- Make the taco seasoning by mixing chili powder, cumin, dried oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper in a small bowl.Now (or while the beef cooks), prepare your toppings.
- In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook for 4-5 minutes or until it's completely browned. Use a spatula to break it down into crumbs.
- Drain or spoon out the excess grease.
- Reduce the heat to low. Add the taco seasoning and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in the crushed tomatoes and simmer for 3-4 minutes until all the excess water is evaporated. Then, taste and adjust any of the seasonings if needed.
- Optional step: Heat the tortillas for 20-30 seconds per side in a dry skillet or a few seconds per side over an open flame. Alternatively, stack and wrap them in foil and then heat them in the oven at 350ºF/175ºC for 10-15 minutes.
- Divide the ground beef mixture between the tortillas.Optionally, add the cheese and heat the tacos to melt the cheese and crisp the shells. You can do this in the oven or Air Fryer at 350ºF/175ºC for up to 5 minutes.
- Add your favorite toppings. Serve the ground beef tacos and enjoy them immediately!
Video
Notes
Any leftovers (including the taco meat and the toppings) can be used for other meals, like burrito bowls, leafy green taco salads, nachos, taco pasta salad, etc. To Freeze: You can freeze the cooked ground beef in a freezer-safe Ziplock bag or container for up to 3 months.
Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before reheating it in a skillet or the microwave. If it’s a bit dry, add a little beef broth or tomato sauce. Check the blog post for FAQs!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
