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These simple ground beef tacos are our go-to on busy weeknights! Perfectly seasoned, juicy, and ready in minutes. Add your favorite toppings, pile them high, and dinner’s done before you know it!
There’s just something about taco night, isn’t there? It’s fun, easy, and everyone gets to make their tacos just how they like them.
There’s a lot going on in life lately. I don’t know how I missed the adulting adult children memo, but it’s actually harder (imho) to parent adults vs small children. It’s a different hard as there’s a lot of moving parts with college, life, etc. and with a high schooler and elementary school child as well I’ve been digging in deep for quick and easy dinner ideas that can reheat well for leftovers too. So I’m back to the basics, ground beef tacos!
What Makes These Tacos So Good
Quick and Easy: The taco filling comes together in about 20 minutes with simple pantry ingredients, making this an easy dinner you can pull off even on busy nights.
Restaurant Flavors at Home: A boost of tomato paste and water gives the seasoned beef that saucy, rich texture you get from your favorite taco spot…no dry beef crumbles here!
Family Friendly: Mild enough for picky eaters but flavorful enough to impress grown-ups.
Budget Friendly: A pound of ground beef stretches to feed a family of 5. Thanks to the seasoning and sauce, and hearty toppings (like lettuce and cheese) make every taco satisfying.
Meal Prep: The seasoned beef reheats beautifully, making leftovers perfect for nachos, taco bowls, burritos, or taco salads the next day or throughout the week.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Taco Beef
- Ground Beef: The hearty base of the taco filling. Browns and develops flavor while absorbing the seasoning for juicy, flavorful meat.
- Taco Seasoning: Adds the bold, classic taco flavor with a balanced mix of spices like chili powder, cumin, and paprika. It seasons the beef and builds depth. You can make our homemade recipe or use a store-bought blend.
- Water: Simmered with the seasoning to help it evenly coat the meat and create a saucy mixture that keeps the beef from drying out.
- Tomato Paste: Intensifies savory, tomato-rich flavor while thickening the sauce so it clings to the beef and doesn’t drip out of the tacos.
Tacos
- Lettuce (Romaine): Adds freshness, crisp texture, and cool contrast to the warm meat keeping each bite feeling balanced instead of heavy.
- Tomatoes: Juicy and slightly acidic, they brighten up the tacos and add moisture and color.
- Red Onion: Brings sharpness and crunch that cuts through rich flavors and wakes up the whole taco.
- Cheese (Colby Jack, Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack): Melts nicely over warm beef for creamy richness.
- Tortillas: The “shell” or base that holds everything together. You can use corn or flour…corn gives authentic flavor and chew, while flour is soft and kid-friendly.
How to Make Ground Beef Tacos
- Brown the Meat: Add the ground beef to a cast iron skillet over medium heat cook until almost completely done. Drain the grease.
- Add Seasoning: Add the taco seasoning, water and tomato paste and stir to combine. Let it cook until thickened slightly.
- Cook the Tortillas: For crispy shells, heat a little oil over medium-high heat in a skillet. Add one tortilla at a time flipping once and then folding the tortilla in half after the flip. Remove from the oil and let it drain on a paper towel while you cook the rest.
- Assemble the Tacos: Add a spoonful of ground beef to each taco shell and top with desired toppings.
Tips for the Best Taco Night
We love to set this dinner up like a taco bar. I put meat in all the shells and put all the different toppings in separate bowls. Then everyone can walk down the line and add the toppings they want as they go.
To go along with these tasty tacos, I always have a couple extra side dishes to complete the meal. We love to serve tacos with elote corn salad, the best black beans, and our cilantro lime rice.
If I’m really going all out for taco night, or we are having a Cinco de Mayo celebration, I love to make our tres leches cake for dessert. It is seriously heaven!
Flour vs. Corn Tortillas — Which is Best?
I prefer the flavor of corn tortillas with these easy beef tacos, but flour tortillas are more kid friendly. Homemade flour tortillas are even better! You can also just warm the tortillas up for soft tacos, or crispy them in a little oil on the stovetop.
Favorite Toppings
We like to keep it pretty simple with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and onions, but you can add more toppings if you want! If you are doing a taco bar, it is fun to have lots of toppings for people to choose from! Here are some more ideas:
Variations
If you want tacos that are more lean, you can use either ground turkey or ground chicken with the same amount of taco seasoning, water and tomato paste.
Spice things up with a little dash of cayenne powder in the meat or with a spicy taco sauce.
I mentioned this earlier but use soft or crunchy taco shells depending on what your family loves.
For pure nostalgia, because it’s how my grandma made classic ground beef tacos, mix a little refried beans into the meat to stretch the meat a little further and to create a delicious meaty flavor.
Make Ahead, Store and Reheat
Ground beef taco meat is great for making ahead. Cook the beef, cool, and refrigerate for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Tacos should be stored with all the components stored separately. Leftover taco meat should be stored in an airtight container and will keep for up to 4-5 days.
Ground beef taco meat also freezes extremely well. Sometimes I’ll make a double batch and then freeze half of it to make a future dinner even quicker. Let the meat cool completely and then place in a freezer safe bag or container.
I’ve found that reheating taco meat in the microwave really dries it out so if I have the time, I prefer to warm it up on the stove top with a little water or beef broth added to keep it juicy.
Taco night doesn’t need to be fancy to be delicious. These simple ground beef tacos bring everyone to the table with smiles — and full bellies. Whether you’re serving them on a busy weeknight or for a fun Friday dinner, they’re always a hit.