Baked Ground Beef Tacos
There are a million recipes for homemade ground beef tacos. But, if you’re looking for an easy way to take your tacos to the next level, this recipe for ground beef tacos is it. The best part is that it only requires an extra 5 minutes of time, and the end product is the perfect soft AND crunchy taco. Plus, they’re just so dang good.
I have four boys, who seem to ALWAYS be hungry. So, dinnertime at my house is always a race to feed some hangry boys. These baked tacos are a twist on the traditional taco recipe but also don’t take a lot of time. They’re just slightly crunchy on the outside and soft in the middle with a delicious, flavorful blend of beef and cheese.
The Cowboys’ Rating: 9.5/10
Every time I make a new recipe, I have my family rate the recipe out of 10. By the time, these recipes make the blog, they’ve been tried and tested by some of my hardest tiny critics!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Ground Beef: I always use our homegrown ground beef. It’s lean (90/10) and I never have to drain it. Not to mention, it’s incredibly delicious!
- Taco Seasoning – any taco seasoning will do, but my favorite to use is my homemade taco seasoning blend.
- Flour Tortillas – For this recipe, I prefer flour tortillas because they are easy to work with. I also prefer the 12″ tortillas, but you can use what works best for your needs. If you have some extra time, try my homemade flour tortilla recipe. They’re rated a 10/10 from tiny critics!
- Mexican 4-Cheese Blend – This blend works great for this recipe to give it an enhanced flavor.
- Toppings – lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, ranch dressing. Let’s be honest here, you can’t have tacos without ALL the fixings. It just wouldn’t be the same.
Tools You’ll Need
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Quick and Simple: It only takes 15-20 minutes from start to finish for this recipe. It uses simple, basic ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry.
- Mix it Up! This brings a different variety to taco night!
- Crowd Pleaser: This really is the best ground beef taco recipe. I have made this recipe weekly for years and it’s always earned a 9/10 or higher with the family rating.
How to Make Ground Beef Tacos
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In a frying pan, cook the ground beef over medium-low until completely cooked through.
- Add the onion powder, minced garlic, salt, pepper and salsa to the ground beef and mix well.
- Next add in the taco seasoning and water. Turn to low heat and let simmer for a few minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
- When the ground beef mixture is done. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Take the desired number of tortillas and lay them on a flat surface.
- Assemble tacos. Place 2-3 tablespoons of the ground beef mixture in the middle of each tortilla. Spread evenly on half the tortilla making sure to leave a border so the meat doesn’t spill out when folding. Sprinkle the desired amount of cheese over top of ground beef mixture then fold in half.
- Place the tacos on a baking sheet and bake for 5-6 minutes at 375 degrees F until the tacos are slightly crispy.
- Remove from oven and top with your favorite toppings.
- Enjoy!
Tips and Substitutions
- Feel free to sub out the ground beef for ground turkey or even chicken!
- If you love vegetables, you can add sautéed onions and peppers to this to add another level of goodness.
How to Make Gluten Free Tacos
There are few easy ways to make these tacos gluten free. Here are a few different tortillas that I like to use for gluten free Tacos.
Storage and Freezing
Once the tacos have cooled, store in an airtight container in the fridge. When you want to reheat them, the easiest way to do this is by popping them in the air fryer for 3-5 minutes at 350 degrees F. They will taste just like they came out of the oven and won’t be soggy. If you don’t have an air fryer, just pop them back in the oven at 375 degrees F until warmed through.
You can in fact freeze these tacos! However, I would recommend not putting on any toppings before freezing whereas this will make the taco mushy. After the taco has cooled completely, wrap them in plastic wrap and then put them in a freezer Ziploc bag. Store up to 3 months in the freezer.
What to Serve with Ground Beef Tacos
Here are two of my favorite sides to serve with tacos! They’re both a delicious and super easy!
Ground Beef Baked Tacos
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp taco seasoning
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 package 12" flour tortillas
- 1 cup shredded cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a frying pan, cook the ground beef over medium-low until completely cooked through.
- Add the onion powder, minced garlic, salt, pepper and salsa to the ground beef and mix well.
- Next add in the taco seasoning and water. Turn to low heat and let simmer for a few minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
- When the ground beef mixture is done. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Take the desired number of tortillas and lay them on a flat surface.
- Assemble tacos. Place 2-3 tablespoons of the ground beef mixture in the middle of each tortilla. Spread evenly on half the tortilla making sure to leave a border so the meat doesn't spill out when folding.
- Sprinkle the desired amount of cheese over top of ground beef mixture.
- Bake for 5-6 minutes until tacos are slightly crispy.
- Remove from oven and top with your favorite toppings.
- Enjoy!
