Ground Beef Tacos are the perfect dish for easy weeknight dinners. This quick taco recipe is not only tasty but it uses spices you likely have on hand!
Add your favorite toppings like guacamole and pico de gallo and serve in soft or crisp taco shells (or add the taco meat to lettuce for an easy taco salad)!
Quick Beef Tacos
Traditional Mexican tacos are one of my all time favorite foods and the thing I search out the minute I land in Mexico! I often fill them with either carnitas or salsa crockpot chicken but when I’m home we make ground beef tacos!
Tacos are a terrific way to stretch your meal budget. For a family of four or five, you can get by with just a pound of ground beef.
How Much Ground Beef Per Person for Tacos? Considering that it takes 2 ounces of filling max, per shell (about 4 tablespoons, or ¼ of a cup), a single pound can make up to eight tacos. If you add diced onion, cilantro tomato rice, beans or other fillings, you could make a pound of taco meat stretch even more.
Favorite Taco Seasoning
The great thing about tacos is that you can whip up a big batch of homemade taco seasoning to have on hand for a quick meal and it’s the perfect way to season homemade taco meat!
Taco seasoning is a mélange of classic Mexican herbs and spices (and you can add a little heat if you’d like). Ingredients include chili powder, garlic and onion powders, ground cumin, dried oregano, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. If you are short on time, use prepared taco seasoning.
Toppings for Tacos
Fill the warm shells with meat and serve with your choice of toppings. Wondering what to serve with tacos? An array of toppings including shredded cheese, diced tomatoes and shredded lettuce. Sour cream and guacamole, sliced jalapenos and salsa are also great on ground beef tacos. Cilantro, olives… the sky’s the limit!
Sides to serve with ground beef tacos with Cilantro Lime Rice and beans for complete and hearty meal.
How to Make Tacos
Ground beef tacos are super simple, especially if you make your taco seasoning in advance. Tacos are literally as easy as 1,2,3!!
- Brown Beef: Brown the ground beef over medium-high heat (I sometimes add diced onion and garlic too). I like to use lean (but not extra lean) beef (85/15) to get a bit of flavor from the fat. Drain any fat before adding seasonings.
- Add Seasoning: Add the tomato paste, water and taco seasonings, and simmer until thickened. The water rehydrates the spices and allows the sauce to coat every morsel of the meat.
- Heat Taco Shells: Hard shells should go in the oven (to make them crisp and warm) and soft shells can be cooked either in the oven or microwave.
You can also serve this over a bed of lettuce to make a great Taco Salad!
To Make Tacos Ahead of Time
You can definitely make taco filling ahead of time! It will keep in the freezer for up to four months, or in the refrigerator for up to four days!
Batch Cook: A good way to make use of those family packs of ground beef is to batch cook taco meat. You can prepare several pounds at once and freeze what you don’t use.
Freeze: Separate into freezer bags or containers, and you’ll have taco filling at your fingertips. I do some single portions for lunches and some family sized portions.
Reheat: Reheat the meat in a frying pan (add a splash of water so it doesn’t dry out) or in the microwave. Frozen taco meat makes a great (and super easy) Taco Soup as well!
More Awesome Tacos
- Easy Fish Tacos – Healthy and delish!
- Instant Pot Chicken Tacos (Pressure Cooker) – quick and easy
- Beef Taco Casserole – kid approved
- Crock Pot Chicken Tacos – super easy
- Shrimp Tacos – so fresh
Easy Ground Beef Tacos
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ⅔ cup water
- 8 hard taco shells or soft
- toppings as desired
Taco Seasoning
- 1 tablespoon Chili Powder
- ½ tablespoon Cumin
- ½ teaspoon Onion Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- ½ teaspoon Oregano
- ½ teaspoon Salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon Pepper
Instructions
- Brown ground beef over medium heat until no pink remains. Drain any fat.
- Add seasoning mixture, water and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer and let simmer 5 minutes or until thickened.
- Meanwhile preheat oven to 350°F. Place taco shells on a tray and bake 5 minutes or until heated.
- Fill taco shells with meat and desired toppings.
Video
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine American, Mexican, Tex Mex© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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We made these tacos for our culinary final. Turned our great! Thanks for helping us get an A in the class!
I have 2 pounds of ground beef, would I double the ingredients or what could I do instead?
You can double this recipe or you can find our favorite ground beef recipes here.
AMAZING! I followed the taco seasoning to a T and it came out fantastic. Never buying store bought seasoning powder again.
It’s so much better than store-bought, isn’t it? Thanks for the positive review, Shaina!
I tried to order tacos yesterday from my favorite taco place with no luck (I couldn’t even get through on the phone!). So we took matters into our own hands and made these ground beef tacos. They turned out even better than the taco place, especially drizzled with aioli!
So very bland – even using true New Mexico ground red Chile, not generic “chili powder” from the grocery store. Next (?) time, I’ll try using just 1/3 c water to stew the mix.
Sorry to hear that, you can definitely increase the spices to your preference when cooking!
I’ve always made tacos but decided to get another recipe for a change. I tried yours and my family got hooked. This all we make on a taco night. Outstanding. Thank you!
That’s awesome Salli! So glad you all enjoyed it.
IF I want to add diced onion and garlic, how much of each would you suggest?
Thanks!
I’d suggest about ¼ cup finely diced onion and 1-2 cloves garlic.
How much of the season mixer do I do the whole thing it says to make or how much of the seasoning mixture. Didn’t know if this was made to to make for this recipe. I don’t know how to explain. Hope to hear soon trying to make this in a half hour
Hi Jennifer, you will need all of the seasoning called for in the recipe.
Thanks. I saw everyone recipes they use 2 tablespoons of there seasoning mixture so I thought I ask I didn’t want to ruin it. This sounds so amazing. Is this healthier than the store bought packages. My boyfriend is only allowed so much salt a day how much do you think I should use without ruining is salt intake or is this amount ok
Hi Jennifer, when making your homemade taco seasoning you reduce the salt in it to taste, so you could add less if desired.
Thank you, the article is very good and easy to follow, hopefully the recipe will be expanded, I am waiting for the next article
Thanks Morgue. I hope you love the tacos.
We love taco recipes, so easy to whip up together and yes you are right, they can be made with minimal spices. Such a delicious recipe and it’ s keeper.
Tacos are always a favorite here on busy nights! Thanks for stopping by!
Man incredibly tempting these tacos look! I can’t believe they are making me hungry now when it’s almost midnight. Totally trying them out tomorrow!
I hope you love them Neha!
I am always up for tacos. Also, I always gravitate towards the recipes with “easy” in the title as well, so this is right up my alley.
I hope you love this recipe if you get a chance to try it!
This right here is my 4 year old’s all time favorite dinner, haha. I always try to mix things up with different kinds of tacos, but he always says “No Mommy, the ones with the brown meat and the lettuce and crunchy shells!” I guess you just can’t beat a true classic!
I love it Julie!
This is comfort dinner. So many amazing tips here, I can’t wait to try this version of tacos soon. BTW I never heated taco shells (the hard ones), this is interesting tip!
I hope you love them Jo! I think heating the shells makes a big difference!
I have not had beef tacos in a while, and we love tacos, these just might be on our dinner table week. Thanks for sharing!
I hope your family loves the recipe Anne!
I seriously love a great beef taco! Your photos are gorgeous and are definitely making me crave a few tacos now! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much Lori!
When you say easy you mean easy! These ground beef tacos will come together wonderfully on busy nights.
I hope you love them Sharon!
This is the ultimate weeknight dinner! The hardest part is deciding between soft tortillas or hard taco shells! Thanks for the recipe :)
You’re so welcome Kelly. Glad to hear you love the tacos!
I took out ground beef for dinner tonight with no idea what to do. Oh yes. I think I found what I’m doing now. Never thought to heat the taco shells as well. So smart!! Plus the idea of batch cooking – would be a great last minute dinner this way! Thanks!!
Thanks Heather! I hope you love the tacos!
Did you know that in Scandinavia tacos are a Friday tradition? Ever since I studied in Norway I tried to incorporate this tradition into my life at times, but it became more regular since I moved to Sweden. We just love to eat tacos, not only on Fridays!
That is fascinating Eva! And I agree, it is always a good time for tacos!