Ground Beef Tacos are made with deliciously seasoned ground beef, wrapped in golden corn tortillas and topped with melty cheese. It’s all baked to perfection for the easiest, crunchiest tacos. Serve with all your favorite toppings. Pure. Simple. Perfection.
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Make Taco Tuesdays that bit easier with these Ground Beef Tacos. Crunchy tacos with crispy tinged ground beef, all slathered in melted cheese. These are great for a go-to weeknight treat, game day, movie night or party time!
If you’re looking for more Mexican inspired recipes, why not also try my Cheesy Creamy Chicken Enchiladas or my Easy Chicken Fajitas Recipe!
Why you’ll love these Ground Beef Tacos
- An easy taco recipe. You can whip up a big batch of these beef tacos in 30 mins.
- Versatile. Keep the tacos simple or go load ’em up with all your fave toppings.
- A succulent filling. The ground beef is mixed with a delicious tomato sauce, so it stays moist and doesn’t dry out.
- Perfect for parties. Easily double up the recipe for a bigger batch, this beef taco recipe is a real crowd pleaser.
How to make these Ground Beef Tacos
Be sure to scroll down to the bottom for the full recipe
- Cook your ground beef – In a pan on medium heat, cook your beef until it’s not pink, then stir in the seasoning. Finally mix in your tomato paste and sauce.
- Assemble your tacos – In a casserole dish place in the taco shells, fill with the ground beef mix and top with cheese.
- Bake – Bake for around 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese is melted.
- Serve with your favorite toppings – enjoy!
Toppings
We all have our favorites! Here’s some of the most popular toppings:
- Shredded Lettuce
- Grape Tomatoes
- Diced Avocados
- Caramelized Onions
- Cheese: Cheddar, gouda, monterey jack, cotija or queso blanco
- Taco Sauce
- Salsa
- Sour Cream
- Guacamole
- Pico de Gallo
- Hot Sauce
- Refried Beans
Do I have to use ground beef?
This is one of my favorite ground beef recipes! But if you want a slightly leaner option, you could also go for ground turkey or ground chicken. Just make sure you don’t use really lean turkey, as it’s likely to come out grainy. Ground turkey won’t sear as brown as beef.
We have also made Baked Chicken Tacos! Our most popular recipe of all time. So delicious!
What sides are good for a Beef Taco recipe?
Beef tacos are great with a whole host of sides, you can go light or a bit heavier, depending on your appetite! Here’s some ideas:
- Confetti Corn Salad
- 3 Bean Salad Recipe
- Olive Garden Salad with Copycat Dressing
- Easy Mexican Rice Recipe
- Mind Blowing Grilled Corn Salad Recipe
And don’t forget the dip! I love this spicy poblano queso, or this classic white queso dip.
Recipe notes and tips
- With this amount of tomato puree the sauce is a tad more (not much) on the juicy side, so don´t let the filled up tacos sit too long before eating, otherwise the tacos might break. If you want it less juicy just cut the amount of tomato puree in half.
- 90% lean ground beef is great for tacos. The meat is packed with flavor and still tender, but not overly greasy. You could us 80% lean ground beef, but you’ll have much more fat to drain off at the end of the cooking process.
- Use whatever cheese you like best and melts well. You can also mix different cheeses. Use more if you like – cheese is an individual choice.
- Add some diced jalapenos to the sauce, for a spicy kick.
- Have fun with your toppings!
- Top with some fresh cilantro
Other Taco Recipes we Love
- Chicken Tacos
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
- Crispy Turkey Tacos
- Steak Tacos
- Slow Cooker Beef Tacos
- Margarita Fish Tacos
- Buffalo Shrimp Tacos
Baked Ground Beef Tacos Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 cup tomato puree note 1
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika powder
- 1.5 cups grated cheese cheddar, gouda or similar (note 2)
- 12 taco shells
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400F.
- Heat a pan over medium to high heat add the ground beef and cook until the beef is not pink anymore, keep on breaking it up while cooking.
- Once the ground beef is cooked add all the spices and stir.
- Add the tomato paste, mix it in and keep cooking for 1 to 2 minutes (this will remove bitterness from the tomato paste)
- Pour the tomato sauce into the pan, stir again and cook for 1 – 2 minutes.
- Put all the taco shells in your casserole from and fill them with the ground beef mixture – 1 to 2 tablespoons each.
- Top with the grated cheese and bake for around 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese is melted.
- Serve immediately with toppings of your choice (sour cream, salsa, avocados, cilantro, tomatoes, lettuce, beans, corn…)
Video
Becky’s Tips
- With this amount of tomato puree the sauce is a tad more (not much) on the juicy side, so don´t let the filled up tacos sit too long before eating, otherwise the tacos might break. If you want it less juicy just cut the amount of tomato puree in half.
- 90% lean ground beef is great for tacos. The meat is packed with flavor and still tender, but not overly greasy. You could us 80% lean ground beef, but you’ll have much more fat to drain off at the end of the cooking process.
- Use whatever cheese you like best and melts well. You can also mix different cheeses. Use more if you like – cheese is an individual choice.
- Add some diced jalapenos to the sauce, for a spicy kick.
- Have fun with your toppings!
- Top with some fresh cilantro
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I am going to try these soon. Do you think that using taco seasoning on the ground beef would work instead of the tomato sauce puree?
You could swap out the spices for taco seasoning, but you’d miss out on a lot of moisture and flavor by leaving out the tomato puree.
This recipe is just what I was looking for. Definitely going to make this soon. Thanks for sharing
I hope you enjoy it, Maryann!
One of our favorites!
I agree!