Everyone likes taco night, but sometimes you want a change. Here are 16 recipes that take taco meat outside the shell.
Ground Beef Enchiladas with Homemade Taco Seasoning
An enchilada and a taco obviously share a lot of the same DNA, so this is a natural fit. There's no need to buy the premade taco seasoning packets, as this basic spice blend shows.
Ingredients
Method
- Mix ancho chile, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper in a small bowl to make about 3 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning. Reserve 1 tablespoon for sauce and the remaining 2 tablespoons for beef. Heat the oven to 375°F.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook half the onion for 5 minutes, then stir in minced garlic for 30 seconds. Add guajillo chiles, tomato sauce, 1 1/4 cups broth and the tablespoon reserved seasoning; cover partly and simmer for 15 minutes until chiles are very soft.
- Let sauce cool for 5 minutes, then blend in a vented countertop blender according to its warm-liquid instructions until smooth. Stir in vinegar and return to the saucepan over low heat.
- Meanwhile, brown beef and remaining onion in a skillet over medium-high heat for 8 minutes, breaking the meat into small crumbles, until it reaches 160°F. Drain excess fat and stir in the remaining seasoning and remaining 1/4 cup broth; simmer for 2 minutes until moist but not runny.
- Transfer beef to a bowl and fold in queso fresco. Wipe the skillet, brush tortillas with remaining 2 tablespoons oil and warm them one at a time over medium heat for about 15 seconds per side until flexible.
- Spread 1/2 cup sauce in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Divide beef filling evenly among tortillas, roll and arrange seam-side down, then spoon all remaining sauce over the rolls, covering their edges.
- Cover with foil and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the filling reaches 165°F. Rest for 5 minutes and serve 2 enchiladas with sauce per portion.
Walking Tacos
These were the staple lunches provided to us at high school debate meets, still served in the deli chip bag. I'd leave it outside the foil, to be honest, making this essentially a cousin of the nacho.
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Ingredients
Method
- Brown beef and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, breaking the meat into fine crumbles, until it reaches 160°F. Spoon off excess fat.
- Stir in ancho chile, cumin, garlic powder, salt and tomato paste for 1 minute. Add water and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes until the liquid lightly coats the beef, then stir in vinegar.
- Divide corn chips among 6 plain food cups or small bowls immediately before serving. Keep the chips dry until the beef and toppings are ready.
- Spoon one-sixth of the hot beef over each cup of chips and scatter with one-sixth of the cheddar. Add lettuce and drained tomato over the meat.
- Top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream and serve immediately with a spoon, leaving any unused toppings chilled and the chips separate.
Taco Stuffed Shells
A big pasta shell fulfills the same function as a normal taco shell does. Beef and beans go inside the shell, while a spiced tomato sauce goes on top.
Ingredients
Method
- Bring pasta water and its tablespoon salt to a boil in a large pot. Cook shells for the package time until tender, then drain gently and separate on a plate so they do not stick together.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a deep 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Cook half the red onion for 5 minutes, then stir in garlic for 30 seconds. Add tomato sauce, 1/2 cup broth, 1 teaspoon ancho chile and 1/4 teaspoon filling-and-sauce salt; simmer for 8 minutes.
- In a second skillet, brown beef and remaining onion for 8 minutes, breaking beef into small crumbles, until it reaches 160°F. Drain excess fat and stir in remaining ancho chile, cumin and remaining filling-and-sauce salt for 30 seconds.
- Add refried black beans and remaining 1/4 cup broth to the beef and stir over low heat for 2 minutes until combined. Remove from the heat and stir in lime juice.
- Divide filling evenly among the 18 shells. Arrange them open-side up in the tomato sauce in one snug layer, spooning a little sauce between them rather than filling their openings.
- Cover and simmer over low heat for 8 to 10 minutes until the filling reaches 165°F. Remove from the heat, scatter cotija over the shells and serve 3 per portion with sauce.
Taco Spaghetti
The difference between Bolognese sauce and taco meat isn't that big, so this makes sense. I would definitely use more chipotles, but I do like my spice, so up to you.
Ingredients
Method
- Heat the oven to 450°F. Place tomatoes cut-side up on a rimmed sheet, brush with 1 tablespoon oil and season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes until tender with browned edges.
- Let tomatoes cool for 5 minutes, then blend them and their juices with chipotle, adobo sauce and broth in a vented countertop blender following its warm-liquid instructions.
- Meanwhile, bring pasta water and its tablespoon salt to a boil. Cook spaghetti for 1 minute less than the package time, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water before draining.
- Heat remaining oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown beef and onion for 8 minutes until beef reaches 160°F, then drain excess fat. Stir in garlic, cumin, oregano and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt for 30 seconds.
- Add blended tomato sauce and simmer for 5 minutes. Fold in spaghetti and toss over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, adding reserved pasta water 2 tablespoons at a time only if needed for a loose coating.
- Remove from the heat and wait 1 minute for bubbling to stop. Stir in sour cream and white cheddar until evenly coated, then divide among 4 bowls.
Taco Pizza
Mexican-themed pizzas are everywhere, so why not try the concept at home? This pizza uses cornmeal in the dough for a little touch of the original taco-shell flavor.
Ingredients
Method
- Heat the oven to 450°F. Brush a 14-inch round pizza pan with remaining oil, stretch the dough to fit and prick its center lightly with a fork. Bake the bare crust for 7 to 8 minutes until its surface is set but pale.
- Meanwhile, brown beef in a skillet for 7 to 8 minutes until it reaches 160°F. Drain excess fat, then stir in cumin, ancho chile, garlic powder, beef salt and beef water and simmer for 2 minutes until nearly dry.
- Spread refried black beans thinly over the partly baked crust, leaving a 1/2-inch rim. Add cooked beef and scatter mozzarella evenly over it.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes more until the rim is golden, the bottom is firm and the center topping reaches 165°F. Rest for 3 minutes.
- Scatter romaine, diced tomato and cotija over the hot pizza. Cut into 8 wedges and serve 2 wedges per person.
Sweet Potato Ground Beef Taco Bowls
Taco meat is so often associated with fast food, but it can even go in a healthy bowl. Roasted sweet potato provides the base, and cabbage provides the crunch on top.
Ingredients
Method
- Heat the oven to 425°F. Toss sweet potatoes with 1 tablespoon oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and paprika on a large rimmed sheet. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, turning once, until tender with browned edges.
- Meanwhile, heat remaining oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook beef and onion for 8 minutes, breaking beef into small crumbles, until it reaches 160°F. Drain excess fat.
- Stir in garlic, ancho chile, cumin and 1/4 teaspoon salt for 30 seconds. Add broth and simmer for 3 minutes until the meat stays moist without loose liquid.
- Toss cabbage with 1 tablespoon lime juice and remaining salt in a bowl. Stir remaining lime juice into yogurt in a separate small bowl.
- Divide roasted sweet potatoes and warm beef among 4 bowls. Add cabbage slaw and avocado slices beside them, then spoon the lime yogurt over each serving.
Creamy Ground Beef Taco Soup
Think of this as a chili relative. Rather than a thick, red soup, though, it's a beef stew thickened with cream cheese.
Ingredients
Method
- Heat the broiler. Place poblanos on a rimmed metal sheet 6 inches from heat. Broil 8 to 10 minutes, turning until blistered. Cover in a bowl for 10 minutes, then peel, seed and finely dice.
- Heat oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Brown beef and onion for 8 minutes until beef reaches 160°F, breaking it into small crumbles, then drain excess fat.
- Stir in garlic, cumin, ancho chile, oregano and salt for 30 seconds. Blend 1 1/2 cups frozen corn with 1 1/2 cups of the measured broth until mostly smooth, then pour the mixture into the pot.
- Add remaining broth, remaining whole corn and diced poblano. Bring to a simmer and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until corn is tender.
- Lower the heat and add cream cheese in small handfuls, stirring for 3 to 4 minutes until fully melted into the broth without boiling hard. Remove from the heat, stir in lime juice and pepper and divide among 6 bowls.
Doritos Taco Salad
Forget a basic green salad, my super easy Doritos taco salad makes a wonderful lunch or dinner and it is so full of flavor! Perfectly seasoned ground beef, veggies, and Catalina dressing are combined with Nacho Cheese Doritos for a salad like you've never had before!
Recipe and photo: Angela Latimer, Bake It With Love (bakeitwithlove.com)
Get the full recipe at Bake It With Love.
Beef Crunchwraps
The key to a crunchwrap at home is to use as big a tortilla as you can. Once you get the folding process down, it's a snap.
Ingredients
Method
- Heat the corn-tortilla frying oil in an 8-inch skillet over medium heat to 350°F. Fry corn tortillas one at a time for 30 to 60 seconds per side until crisp and golden, keeping them flat with tongs, then drain on a rack. Set the frying pan safely aside.
- Mix beef gently with cumin, ancho chile, 1/2 teaspoon salt and garlic powder. Shape into 4 round patties about 5 inches wide and 1/3 inch thick. Cook in a large skillet over medium-high heat in 2 batches for 3 to 4 minutes per side until each reaches 160°F, then transfer to a clean plate.
- Mash avocado with lime juice and remaining salt. Warm flour tortillas in the microwave under a barely damp paper towel for 20 to 30 seconds until flexible.
- Scatter one-quarter of the Pepper Jack in the center of each large flour tortilla and add one cooked beef patty. Place one crisp corn tortilla over the patty, spread with one-quarter of the avocado and add one-quarter of the cabbage.
- Cover each filling stack with a small flour tortilla. Fold the large tortilla border inward in overlapping pleats, covering the patch edges and holding the packet seam-side down.
- Wipe the large skillet and brush with 1 teaspoon wrap-toasting oil. Cook 2 packets seam-side down over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, then turn and cook for 2 minutes more until golden and sealed. Repeat with remaining oil and packets.
- Rest for 2 minutes, cut each packet in half and serve one crunchwrap per person.
Ground Beef and Poblano Quesadillas
The quesadilla is normally for when you're in a lazy mood, but the use of roasted poblanos and Oaxaca cheese really elevates this recipe. I'd honestly probably skip the mushrooms, but your call.
Ingredients
Method
- Heat the broiler. Place poblano on a rimmed metal sheet 6 inches from heat. Broil 8 to 10 minutes, turning until blistered. Cover in a bowl for 10 minutes, then peel, seed and finely chop.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook mushrooms and onion for 7 to 8 minutes until their moisture evaporates and they begin to brown.
- Add beef and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, breaking it into small crumbles, until it reaches 160°F. Drain excess fat and stir in cumin, ancho chile, salt and chopped poblano for 1 minute, then remove from the heat and stir in lime juice.
- Divide half the Oaxaca over 8 tortillas. Spread one-eighth of the beef filling over each, add the remaining cheese and close with the other 8 tortillas to make 8 round quesadillas.
- Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons of the remaining oil in a clean large skillet over medium heat. Cook 2 quesadillas for 2 to 3 minutes per side until golden, crisp and 165°F in the centers. Repeat in 3 more batches, using 1 1/2 teaspoons oil per batch.
- Rest each batch for 2 minutes before cutting each quesadilla into 4 wedges. Serve 2 whole quesadillas, or 8 wedges, per person.
Ground Beef Taco Lettuce Wraps
If you're eating keto or just light, the lettuce wrap is a way to enjoy taco meat guilt-free, but make sure you let the meat cool, or it'll lose its structure. The jicama-radish slaw provides crunch and freshness, and might make its way into your regular rotation too.
Ingredients
Method
- Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook beef and onion for 8 minutes, breaking beef into small crumbles, until it reaches 160°F. Drain excess fat.
- Stir in garlic, cumin, ancho chile, coriander and 1/2 teaspoon salt for 30 seconds. Add grated tomato and water and simmer for 5 to 6 minutes until the mixture is moist but no loose liquid remains.
- Meanwhile, toss jicama and radish with lime juice and remaining salt. Keep the slaw chilled while the beef finishes.
- Remove beef from the heat and let stand for 2 minutes until it stops steaming strongly. Divide among the 8 dry romaine leaves, keeping the filling along their centers.
- Add a small amount of drained jicama-radish slaw to each wrap and serve immediately, 2 wraps per person.
Taco-Stuffed Poblano Peppers
Poblanos are highly stuffable — lots of interior space- and mild enough to enjoy big bites of. Hominy works great here, although any corn product would work as well.
Ingredients
Method
- Heat the broiler. Place poblanos on a rimmed metal sheet 6 inches from the heat and broil for 8 to 10 minutes, turning until blistered. Cover in a bowl for 10 minutes, then peel and cut one lengthwise slit in each; gently remove seeds while keeping the peppers whole.
- Lower the oven to 400°F. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and cook beef and onion for 8 minutes until beef reaches 160°F, breaking it into small crumbles. Drain excess fat.
- Stir in garlic, cumin, ancho chile, salt and tomato paste for 1 minute. Add broth and hominy and simmer for 3 minutes until moist but not runny.
- Remove from the heat and fold in half the Jack and lime juice. Divide filling evenly among the 6 poblanos and arrange slit-side up in a baking dish greased with the remaining teaspoon oil.
- Scatter remaining Jack over the openings and bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the filling reaches 165°F and cheese melts. Rest for 5 minutes, then serve one filled pepper with 1 tablespoon crema per portion.
Wonton Taco Cups
As fusion chefs across Asia know well, you can put anything in a wonton. Here, two overlapping wonton wrappers make a little cup to put fillings in, although a taco meat-stuffed wonton sounds pretty awesome too.
Ingredients
Method
- Heat the oven to 375°F. Brush all 12 wells of a standard muffin pan with the measured oil. Press one wonton wrapper into each well, then add a second rotated 45 degrees so the corners alternate.
- Bake empty cups for 5 to 6 minutes until the bottoms begin to set and the corners are still pale. Leave them in the pan while preparing the filling.
- Meanwhile, brown beef and onion in a skillet for 8 minutes until beef reaches 160°F, breaking it into fine crumbles. Drain excess fat and stir in cumin, ancho chile, garlic powder and salt for 30 seconds.
- Fold in black beans and salsa and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture holds together without loose liquid. Divide filling evenly among the 12 partly baked cups and scatter cheddar over each.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until wrappers are golden and centers reach 165°F. Rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then loosen carefully with a small spatula and serve 3 cups per person.
Sopes de Picadillo
I'm a big fan of anything cornmeal-based, and sopes are easy to roll out at home if you want something thicker than a tortilla. Even though these guys are small, a mix of veggies and the thick cornmeal base make two or three of them a full meal.
Ingredients
Method
- Mix masa harina, 1 1/2 cups warm water and masa salt into a soft dough. Knead 2 minutes, adding reserved water a teaspoon at a time only if dough cracks when pressed. Cover and rest 15 minutes.
- Heat picadillo oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Brown beef and onion for 8 minutes until beef reaches 160°F. Drain excess fat, then stir in potato, carrot and garlic for 1 minute.
- Add tomato sauce, broth, cumin, oregano and picadillo salt. Cover partly and simmer for 15 to 18 minutes until potato and carrot are tender, then uncover for 2 minutes if needed so the topping is thick enough to spoon.
- Meanwhile, divide masa dough into 12 balls. Flatten each between sheets of plastic into a round about 3 inches wide and 1/3 inch thick, keeping unshaped dough covered.
- Heat a dry griddle over medium heat and cook rounds in 3 batches for about 2 minutes per side until their surfaces set with light brown spots. While each is still warm, use a clean towel to protect your fingers and pinch a raised rim around its top edge.
- Heat shallow-frying oil in a large skillet to 350°F. Fry shaped bases in 3 batches for 1 to 2 minutes per side until lightly golden and cooked through, then drain on a rack.
- Divide warm picadillo among the 12 sopes, add a little shredded lettuce and divide crema evenly over them. Serve 3 sopes per person immediately.
Ground Beef Tostadas
A tostada really is a hard taco shell with a different shape. However, while hard taco shells from scratch are tough, making a tostada with a tortilla is as easy as can be.
Ingredients
Method
- Heat frying oil in a 10-inch skillet to 350°F. Fry tortillas one at a time for 30 to 60 seconds per side until crisp and golden, holding them flat with tongs, then drain on a rack. Set the frying pan safely aside.
- Brown beef, onion and jalapeno in a separate skillet over medium-high heat for 8 minutes until beef reaches 160°F, breaking it into small crumbles. Drain excess fat.
- Stir in garlic, tomatoes, cumin, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt and water. Simmer for 6 to 8 minutes until tomatoes soften and the liquid becomes a moist coating around the beef.
- Mash avocado with lime juice and remaining salt. Spread one-eighth of the avocado thinly over each crisp tortilla immediately before serving.
- Divide warm beef among the 8 tostadas and add radish half-moons and queso fresco. Serve 2 per person while the shells remain crisp.
Beef and Cheese Chimichangas
The chimichanga was supposedly invented by a Tucson cook who dropped a burrito by accident into the fryer. She was about to yell out a certain Spanish profanity (not too hard to figure out which one) and blurted "chimichanga" because she was in front of customers. And a good, hot fried chimichanga makes us glad her hands were a bit slippery that day.
Ingredients
Method
- Brown beef and onion in a skillet over medium-high heat for 8 minutes until beef reaches 160°F. Drain excess fat and stir in garlic, cumin, ancho chile, salt and tomato paste for 1 minute.
- Add water and simmer 2 minutes until no loose liquid remains. Remove from heat; stir in refried pintos and cheddar. Cool 10 minutes until warm but no longer steaming.
- Warm tortillas in the microwave under a barely damp paper towel for 20 to 30 seconds until flexible. Divide filling below the center of each tortilla, fold both sides inward and roll tightly into closed packets, securing each seam with one wooden toothpick.
- Heat frying oil in a deep heavy saucepan to 350°F, using a vessel large enough that the oil fills it no more than halfway. Lower 2 packets seam-side down into the oil and fry for about 3 minutes per side until golden and 165°F in the centers.
- Drain on a rack and let the oil return to 350°F before frying the remaining 2 packets. Rest all chimichangas for 5 minutes, remove all 4 toothpicks and serve one per person with 1 tablespoon sour cream.
Homemade taco seasoning ratio and why store packets taste flat
The first recipe uses a small three-tablespoon blend built around one tablespoon ground ancho chile, two teaspoons cumin, one teaspoon each garlic and onion powder, half a teaspoon each oregano and paprika, three-quarters teaspoon salt and a quarter teaspoon pepper. Two tablespoons season the beef and one goes into the enchilada sauce. That division matters: pouring the whole amount into one pound of meat and then heavily seasoning the sauce again would change the balance. Mix the dry ingredients before measuring portions so the salt and smaller spices don’t settle into one spoonful.
A packet doesn’t automatically taste flat, but it may lean harder on salt, starch or one mild chile flavor than you want. Older spices can also smell muted, whether they came from a packet or your cupboard. Smell the cumin and chile before using them. If they barely smell like anything, increasing the salt won’t bring back their aroma. Choose a labeled single ground chile when the recipe specifies ancho; an American chili-powder blend can already contain cumin, garlic and salt.
Cook the spices briefly with the browned meat before adding the measured liquid. Thirty seconds to a minute is enough to spread their flavor through the fat without scorching the chile. The liquid then carries that seasoning around the crumbles as it reduces. Taste the fully cooked filling before adding cheese, salsa or other salty toppings, and remember that each recipe gives its own complete seasoning amounts. Don’t add the first recipe’s blend to every later dish on top of the spices already listed.
Taco meat that stays juicy on the warming tray
Start with moist meat rather than trying to rescue a dry pan after it has sat for an hour. Brown the beef fully, drain excess fat and then simmer it with the recipe’s measured liquid until the seasoning clings to the crumbles. Stop before the skillet looks completely dry. A little moisture around the meat helps it hold more evenly, but a pool of broth will soak chips, rolls and tortillas as soon as you assemble them. Keep those two problems separate when judging the filling.
Use a covered food warmer that can keep the meat at 140°F or above, and check the center with a thermometer instead of relying on steam around the edges. Stir periodically so hotter outer portions and cooler centers mix together. If the filling begins to dry, stir in hot water or unsalted broth one tablespoon at a time until it loosens. Keep the lid on between servings and put out smaller batches when practical, replenishing from meat that has remained safely hot.
Hold cold toppings at 40°F or below and keep chips, crisp shells and lettuce separate from the beef until people build their portions. A warming tray won’t preserve a fully assembled walking taco or lettuce wrap. If cooked filling has cooled, reheat it to 165°F before transferring it to the warmer; the warmer is for holding, not slowly reheating a cold batch. Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers within two hours of leaving safe hot holding, or within one hour when the surroundings are above 90°F.
