Taco Meat Recipe

Save time and money by making your own flavorful ground beef Taco Meat at home! Pile it on tortilla chips for nachos, make quesadillas or stuff it into flour tortillas or crispy taco shells and top it off with your favorite fixings. Turn any night into a delicious homestyle fiesta right in your own kitchen.

Ingredients to Make Taco Meat Recipe

There’s just something comforting about making your own taco meat at home—it’s quick, easy, and way more flavorful than anything store-bought. With just a few basic ingredients like ground beef, spices, and maybe some onions or garlic, you can whip up a savory, seasoned filling that’s perfect for tacos, burritos, or even taco salads. The best part? You get to control the heat, the texture, and the flavor, so it’s exactly how you like it. Plus, it’s budget-friendly and great for meal prep. Once you try homemade taco meat, you’ll never go back to the pre-packaged stuff!

Checkout this quick list of ingredients you’ll need to make Easy Taco Beef: (Scroll down for the full printable recipe card.)

• Beef – Two pounds of ground beef (85/15) or ground sirloin forms the base of the taco meat.
• Onion – Vidalia or yellow onion, finely diced for an earthy flavor.
• Oil – Olive oil or vegetable oil to sauté the beef.
• Tomato Sauce – Tomato sauce adds moisture.
• Seasonings – Dark chili powder, salt, lemon pepper or black pepper, paprika, ground cumin, onion powder and granulated garlic.
• Serve – Warm flour tortillas or hard taco shells plus toppings for serving.

How to Make the BEST Taco Meat Recipe

• Saute Beef and Onion – Cook ground beef and onion in a large skillet until no pink remains. Drain excess fat from pan.
• Make the Sauce – Add tomato sauce, chili powder, salt, lemon pepper, paprika, cumin, onion powder and granulated garlic. Mix well.
• Simmer – Lower heat to medium-low and simmer per the recipe.
• Serve ground beef tacos immediately on warm flour tortillas or crispy corn tortillas with your favorite taco fixings.

Kitchen Equipment to Make Homemade Taco Meat

• Large 10-inch or 12-inch skillet.
• Measuring spoons plus a large spoon for stirring.
• Sharp knife and chopping board to prep the onion
• Cheese grater and any bowls you’ll need to prepare the toppings for your tacos.

Recipe Variations, Tips and Substitutions

• Protein – You can make this same recipe using ground turkey, ground chicken or ground pork. Should you choose to use a seasoned sausage like ground chorizo, you may need to adjust the seasonings.
• Spices – You can add ancho chili powder, ground chipotle chili powder or chipotles in adobo for extra spice.
• Fresh Herbs – You could add chopped cilantro at the end of cooking or add Mexican oregano to expand the flavor profile.
• Peppers – You could sauté a chopped jalapeno pepper or poblano pepper with the onion.
• Set Up a Create Your Own Taco Bar – It’s super fun to set up a toppings bar and let the family build their own tacos. Some things you may want to include would be shredded cheese or crumbled cotija cheese, sour cream, lettuce, black beans, diced tomatoes, jalapenos, onion, sliced olives, pico de gallo and guacamole. The sky’s the limit, these are just to inspire you to build and make these tacos your own!
• Make Nachos or Taco Bowls – Use this taco meat to top tortilla chips, drizzle with warm queso, refried beans, jalapenos, cheese and shredded lettuce, topped with salsa and sour cream or any of your favorite toppings.
• Utilize a Crockpot to Keep it Warm – On busy days, you can make this taco meat on the stovetop, then place it into a crockpot on the warm setting. This is especially helpful when you have everyone going in many directions for after school and college activities and differing work schedules. This is also handy for tailgating!
• Store-Bought Taco Seasoning – If you choose to use a packet of taco seasoning, replace the water called for on the package with chicken broth or beef stock for a pop of flavor.

Storage and Leftovers

• Make-Ahead Tip – You can make this taco meat one day in advance and store it chilled in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a busy day meal.
• Leftovers – Store leftover Taco Meat chilled in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
• Reheating – Reheat in single servings gently in the microwave or in a skillet over medium heat. You can add a little water, or taco sauce to thin and add moisture, if needed.
• Freezer – Make a double batch and you can freeze it! Store Taco Meat in a freezer bag frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge and reheat just before serving.

More Taco Recipes to Make

• Top this Easy Corn Bread Crusted Taco Pie with your favorite fixings.
• Pick up one of those fluffy inexpensive loaves of bread from the grocery store bakery and make this open faced  Taco Stuffed Bread for the family.
• Make your own Taco Seasoning and you’ll never be without!
• Easy Fish Tacos come together in minutes.
• These little Beef Taco Cups are a fun appetizer for game day or snacking.
• The family will flip for this kicked-up Taco Mac and Cheese.
• Stuffed Chicken Taco Green Chile Cornbread.
• Slow Cooker Taco Dip from Magical Slow Cooker.

Thanks for visiting come back soon!

Disclosure ~ If a purchase is made using one of the affiliate links on this website we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you!

Helpful Kitchen Items:

• Skillet
• Chopping Boards
• Taco Holders
• Tortilla Warmer

Print

Taco Meat Recipe

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Mexican, Southern

Keyword taco-meat-recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Servings 8 servings

Calories 256kcal

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground beef (85/15)
• 1 medium onion diced
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 Tbsp dark chili powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp lemon pepper or black pepper
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp ground cimin
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp granulated garlic or garlic powder

Instructions

• Heat a large skillet to medium high. Drizzle with 2 Tbsp olive oil, then add ground beef and diced onion.
• Cook over medium-high for 8-10 minutes or until no pink remains. Drain excess grease from the pan.
• To the skillet add tomato sauce, chili powder, salt, lemon pepper, paprika, cumin, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine.
• Lower heat to medium-low and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
• Serve immediately on warm flour tortillas or crispy corn tortillas with your favorite taco fixings.

Notes

• Protein – You can make this same recipe using ground turkey, ground chicken or ground pork. Should you choose to use a seasoned sausage like ground chorizo you may need to adjust the seasonings.
• Spices – You can add ancho chili powder, ground chipotle chili powder or chipotles in adobo for extra spice.
• Fresh Herbs – You could add chopped cilantro at the end of cooking or add Mexican oregano to expand the flavor profile.
• Peppers – You could sauté a chopped jalapeno pepper or poblano pepper with the onion.
• Set Up a Create Your Own Taco Bar – It’s super fun to set up a toppings bar and let the family build their own tacos. Some things you may want to include would be shredded cheese or crumbled cotija cheese, sour cream, lettuce, black beans, diced tomatoes, jalapenos, onion, sliced olives, pico de gallo and guacamole. The sky’s the limit, these are just to inspire you to build and make these tacos your own!
• Make Nachos or Taco Bowls – Use this taco meat to top tortilla chips, drizzle with warm queso, refried beans, jalapenos, cheese and shredded lettuce, topped with salsa and sour cream or any of your favorite toppings.
• Utilize a Crockpot to Keep it Warm – On busy days, you can make this taco meat on the stovetop, then place it into a crockpot on the warm setting. This is especially helpful when you have everyone going in many directions for after school and college activities and differing work schedules. This is also handy for tailgating!
• Store-Bought Taco Seasoning – If you choose to use a packet of taco seasoning, replace the water called for on the package with chicken broth or beef stock for a pop of flavor.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 77mg | Sodium: 384mg | Potassium: 390mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 422IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 3mg

The post Taco Meat Recipe appeared first on melissassouthernstylekitchen.com.

https://ift.tt/ZbIlk7m