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Yumna Jawad
Updated
5 from 2162 votes
These Ground Beef Tacos are filled with juicy flavorful taco meat made with my homemade taco seasoning - it's an easy weeknight recipe for the whole family!
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Ground Beef Tacos is one of our favorite weeknight family meals, especially on Taco Tuesdays! I have a quick homemade taco seasoning that I love to use for this recipe so I can cook the taco meat in 10 minutes. Give it a try and it’ll be your new go-to for taco night too!
Homemade taco seasoning
Making taco seasoning from scratch is super easy and can be cheaper than buying the prepared taco seasoning. Here are the spices I include in my recipe. Feel free to also add paprika, coriander, onion powder and crushed red pepper to give it some heat.
- Chili powder
- Cumin
- Garlic powder
- Mexican oregano
- Salt and pepper
I provide suggested amounts in the recipe card below because usually there’s more of the chili powder and cumin compared to the other spices. However, feel free to adjust the quantities, or use your favorite prepared taco seasoning.
How do you make ground beef taco meat
- Place the ground beef in a skillet with olive oil.
- Brown the beef with olive oiland then drain any fat.
- Add the spices along with the tomato paste and water (or tomato sauce)
- Bring the mixture to a simmer and then cook for a few more minutes until the sauce thickens.
And the end result is flavorful juicy homemade tacos that’s ready to be served in less than 15 minutes.
Toppings for Tacos
I like to keep it simple with usually a few different toppings when I’m making these just for the family on weeknights. However, I love having DIY taco bars with friends and family and I usually include the following toppings for tacos:
- Shredded lettuce or cabbage
- Tomatoes
- Shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican blend
- Red onions
- Guacamole (store bought or homemade) or avocado
- Olives
- Jalapeños
- Sour Cream
- Salsa or my Bean Tomato Salsa
Tips for making ground beef tacos
- Be careful not to dry out the taco meat when you add the sauce. Once the beef is cooked, you want to cook it with the seasoning and liquid on medium low and just until the sauce starts to thicken. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t dry out.
- Heat up the tortillas before adding the ground beef on top. You can heat them up in the microwave, oven or on a skillet for 1-2 minutes per side. This makes the tortillas soft, pliable and much less likely to break.
- Add onions to the mixture to make it more savory. You’ll want to cook the onions until they soften before adding the ground beef. It gives the taco meat a deeper flavor, but it’s totally optional. Adding onion powder is a quick easy update as well.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best ground beef for tacos?
I prefer to use 90% lean ground beef for tacos for the best flavor and consistency. If it’s any more lean, it may be too dry. If you use a less lean kind, make sure to drain off the fat after cooking the ground beef, before adding the seasoning.
How can make the tacos low carb?
The actual ground beef taco meat is low carb, so you can use low-carb tortillas or skip the tortillas all together as serve it as a taco salad or in a taco bowl.
How much taco meat do you need per person?
Using a traditional 6-inch tortilla or traditional size hard taco shell, you can use about 2-3 tablespoons of taco meat per taco. That means that depending on how much you load up the ground beef tacos with other ingredients, one pound of beef could serve between 8 and 12 people.
For more Tex Mex recipes:
- Mexican Street Tacos
- Baked Chicken Tacos
- Tempeh Tacos
- Beef Taco Burritos
- Shrimp Fajita Bowls
- Chicken Burrito Bowl
- Walnut Tacos
This is one of those family friendly recipes that is always in our rotation. They kids love, and I love how easy it is to prepare. I’ll often double or triple the recipe when I’m having people over, or to have leftovers for adding to a taco salad lunch bowl.
If you’vetried this healthy-ish feel good Ground Beef Tacosrecipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget torate the recipeand leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me onInstagram so I can repost on my stories!
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Ground Beef Tacos
These Ground Beef Tacos are filled with juicy flavorful taco meat made with my homemade taco seasoning – it's an easy weeknight recipe for the whole family!
5 from 2162 votes
Author Yumna Jawad
Servings 8 servings
Course Main Course
Calories 142
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 10 minutes mins
Total Time 25 minutes mins
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ cup water
For serving the tacos
- 8 Corn or flour tortillas
- Lettuce finely chopped
- Shredded Mexican cheese blend or cheddar cheese
- Tomatoes chopped
- Chopped red onions
Instructions
Heat the olive oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add the ground beef and cook until browned, about 5-7 minutes. Drain any fat.
Add the chili powder, cumin, dried oregano, garlic powder, salt, pepper, tomato paste and water. Stir to combine and continue cooking over medium-low heat until the sauce has thickened, about 3-5 minutes
Serve warm over tortillas with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and red onions, or your other desired toppings.
Equipment
Notes
Storage: Store any leftovers in an airtight container. They will last up to 4 days and can be reheated on the stovetop. To reheat, add a splash of water so the taco meat doesn’t dry out.
Freezing Instructions: Allow the taco meat to cool down completely, then place in freezer-safe storage containers or ziplock bags for up to 3 months.
Substitutes: For best results, follow the recipe as is. However here are some common substitutes that would work well in this recipe.
- Instead of tomato paste and water, you can simply use tomato sauce.
- Instead of chili powder, you can use paprika.
Nutrition
Calories: 142kcal, Carbohydrates: 13g, Protein: 14g, Fat: 4g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 35mg, Sodium: 236mg, Potassium: 304mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 216IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 36mg, Iron: 2mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Cuisine Mexican
Course: Main Course
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Comments
I would maybe have seasoned the beef before cooking it, just so that it absorbs the flavours better and saute some finely minced garlic too for a little extra flavour.
The gravy/mixture didn’t thicken up for me unfortunately and kind of just turned the beef into a less bouncy, slightly mushy consistency because it just soaked up the juice, which in terms of texture just isn’t really for meI think next time I’ll try it this way:
-Pre-season the beef / work in spices you like before cooking, salt liberally.
-Pan fry with a bit of oil, drain excess oil like the recipe says.
-Make a hole in the middle for the garlic and once its a bit fried/sauteed, mix it in.
Open to more suggestions!Reply
Thanks for the feedback, Anj! It’s possible your stovetop needed a higher temperature to get the right consistency. Next time, try turning up the heat slightly while cooking the beef. Your other adjustments sound great!
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Looking forward to trying this recipe!
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Yay! I hope you enjoy!!
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Used ground pork instead of beef, turned out delicious.
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Happy to hear it worked out, thank you for sharing!!
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You do not give specific portions of spices. Why?
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Hi, I actually have provided suggested amounts! Scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of the page or click on the Jump to Recipe button at the top of the page. Hope that helps!
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I love this
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I’m so glad!!
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I enjoyed this recipe! I will say, I am not a fan of cumin and know from experience that more than just a little bit will taste overpowering to me. So, even with just a sprinkling of cumin instead of 2 teaspoons, I still found this very flavorful.
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Yay! Love that you tweaked the recipe and liked how it turned out!!
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I made this recipe for the first time for family taco night. The results are in; this is the most flavorful and delicious taco meat I have ever made. And it was so easy! Now I just need to figure out what to do with the extra tomato paste….maybe I should make more tacos! 🙂
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Love this, thanks for sharing!
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FYI tomato paste can be purchased at the grocery store in a tube, instead of a can. You can squeeze out just as much as you need for a recipe and recap it. No waste! A game changer when I found this. Mutti is my brand of choice.
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Scoop out tablespoonfuls of the tomato paste onto a cookie sheet, freeze and then put the cubes into a zip lock bag and freeze!
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I just scrape the remaining tomato paste into a ziploc bag, seal it removing the air, spread out the paste inside so that it’s as flat as possible, and freeze it flat. This way, if I need to use less next time I can just break it off.
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Thanks for the great recipe, I always use it when I need some quick Tacos!
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Of course! So glad you enjoyed this one.
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Making these tonight for the second time. I use ground sirloin (96% lean) for tastier meat and less mess, cleanup, etc. Super delicious! The combination of seasonings is the best I’ve had. Making your own taco seasoning is easy and probably healthier without the anti-caking ingredients.
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Thanks, Diana!
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