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A Smash Burger Taco is the craziest food combo that was totally meant to be! Imagine a crispy, smashed and caramelized beef patty with melty cheese on a toasted tortilla topped with a killer burger sauce.
Ready in just 15 minutes, Smash Burger Tacos might be the easiest tacos you’ll ever make.
I’ve loved different Smashburgers for many years now and it all started with our curry Smashburger and now I don’t know which one I prefer! Try them both and let us know which one you prefer! They are so different but equally delicious!
Why You’ll Love These Smashburger Tacos
The best of burgers and tacos – You get everything you love about a smash burger…crispy, caramelized beef and melty cheese (we love our traditional smash burgers!) all wrapped up in a warm, toasty tortilla.
Crazy easy to make – No complicated steps here. Just smash, cook, flip, and top. Dinner is ready in about 15 minutes.
Crispy, cheesy, and full of flavor – The beef cooks right on the tortilla, creating those irresistible crispy edges while the cheese melts perfectly on top.
Minimal ingredients – Just a handful of simple ingredients come together to make something seriously crave-worthy.
Perfect for busy weeknights – Fast, filling, and family-approved—this is the kind of dinner everyone gets excited about.
Totally customizable – Add pickles, onions, tomatoes, or switch up the sauce to make them exactly how you like.
Ingredients You’ll Need…
These easy smash burger tacos use just a handful of simple ingredients, but the combination creates incredible flavor. Crispy smashed beef, melty cheese, fresh toppings and a creamy burger sauce all come together in one delicious taco.
- Ground Beef: Smashed directly onto the tortilla to create a thin, crispy burger patty with caramelized edges.
- Flour Tortillas: Act as the taco shell and toast up perfectly crisp when cooked with the burger.
- Burger Seasoning: Adds classic savory flavor to the smashed beef.
- Cheddar Cheese: Melts beautifully over the hot burger patty.
- Burger Sauce: Ties everything together and gives the tacos that classic burger flavor.
- Iceberg Lettuce: Adds cool crunch and freshness to balance the rich burger.
How to Make Smash Burger Tacos
These viral smash burger tacos cook quickly and are surprisingly easy to make. The ground beef is smashed directly onto the tortilla, cooked until crispy, topped with cheese, and finished with fresh toppings and burger sauce.
- Smash: Take 1/4 of the burger meat and smash it onto a tortilla. It will be quite thin. Sprinkle it with the seasoning. Repeat with the remaining ground beef and tortillas.
- Cook: Heat an electric griddle or cast iron to high heat and place the burger side down, immediately smashing with a heavy pan or burger press. Cook for about 3 minutes or until charred.
- Melt the Cheese: Flip so the meat side is up and immediately top with cheese. Place a lid over the tortilla to melt the cheese.
- Add Toppings: Remove from heat once melted and slather with sauce and lettuce and enjoy!
What Sauce Goes on Smash Burger Tacos
We absolutely drool over our killer burger sauce. It’s a creamy burger sauce that includes mayonnaise, bbq sauce, ketchups, mustard, sweet pickle relish, Worcestershire sauce, onion powder and garlic powder. It works perfectly on this recipe, but if you aren’t a fan, just a drizzle of ketchup and mustard will work fine.
Tips for the Best Smash Burger Tacos
In typical Carrian fashion, I wanted to try this viral smash burger trend, but I wanted to do it my way. I found a couple of tips I wanted to share…
- Use 85/15 ground beef. It has the perfect amount of fat which helps the burger not be too dry or too greasy.
- Seasoning the meat with either a burger seasoning or a good amount of salt and pepper is key since the meat is so flat the tortilla can take away from the flavor if it’s not seasoned well.
- A cast iron skillet was extremely helpful to get an even and quick cook on the meat. I found myself pressing outwards with my hand at times as it cooked.
- Most important is the lid over the top of everything once you’ve flipped the burger over and added the cheese. It’s the key to getting a perfect melted cheese.
Can Smash Burger Tacos Be Made on the Grill?
Technically, yes, but they really work better on a griddle or cast iron skillet. You can’t smash the burger on a grill as easily without losing some of the meat through the grill grates. If you want to grill the burger tacos without smashing them, then cooking them on a grill works fine.
How to Know When Smash Burger Tacos are Done
Because the ground beef is so thin, it won’t take long to cook through. If your skillet is heated to high heat before adding the smash tacos, it really will only take 3-4 minutes to cook through.
Variations and Topping Ideas
We kept these pretty simple when we made them, but you can totally add all your favorite burger toppings…tomatoes, onions (grilled onions would be so yummy!), pickles, avocado, a fried egg, sauteed mushrooms…the options are really endless!
Storing and Reheating
Smash burger tortillas are best eaten fresh and don’t store well once they have been assembled. You can store all the components separately before cooking them, but once cooked, they should be eaten asap. If you make the burger sauce, it will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Smash Burger Tacos are the perfect mix of crispy, cheesy, and totally irresistible. With just a few simple ingredients, you get all the flavor of a smash burger wrapped up in a toasty tortilla in just 15 minutes. Whether it’s a busy weeknight or a fun twist on taco Tuesday, this is one recipe your family is going to love.