Our Favorite Ground Beef Tacos
User Reviews
5
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Prep Time
10 mins
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Cook Time
10 mins
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Total Time
20 mins
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Servings
4
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
American
Our Favorite Ground Beef Tacos
Description
Our Favorite Ground Beef Tacos focus on the simple seasoning of ground beef with cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, chili powder, salt, and freshly cracked black pepper. The meat is browned without adding oil unless necessary, allowing the fat content to render naturally. The seasoning blend highlights earthy and smoky flavors that complement the beef well. Once cooked, the beef can be made saucier with added stock or tomato sauce if preferred.
The tacos are assembled with warmed corn or flour tortillas, accommodating hard taco shells or tortilla chips as desired. Toppings such as quick pico de gallo, sharp white cheddar cheese, diced avocado, fresh cilantro, and pickled onions provide a range of textures and fresh flavors that brighten the dish.
This taco recipe is practical for a casual meal and adaptable to different serving formats like nachos or salads, making use of common ingredients and straightforward cooking steps.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef 85% to 93% lean
- 1 teaspoon cumin ground
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper freshly cracked
quick pico
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes quartered
- ½ onion diced, sweet
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
- ½ lime juiced
- pinch salt
- pinch black pepper
for serving
- corn tortilla warmed, or flour tortillas
- hard taco shell if desired, or tortilla chips
- White Cheddar Cheese freshly grated, sharp
- avocado diced
- cilantro fresh
- onions quick pickled
Instructions
- Heat a skillet over medium heat. With ground beef, I rarely add any oil to the skillet because it tends to be fattier. If needed, you can add 1 teaspoon of olive oil (of your oil of preference). Once the skillet it hot, add the ground beef and break it apart with a wooden spoon.
- Cook, stirring and breaking apart the beef often, until it begins to brown. Add in the cumin, paprika, garlic powder, chili powder, salt and pepper. Stir well to disperse all the seasonings. Cook until the beef is just browned.
- I love the seasoned beef like this – it’s a personal preference. If you’d like it saucier, follow the directions below. You can also add in a tablespoon of beef or vegetable stock, or even tomato sauce, to make it saucier.
- Serve the ground beef in tacos (warm corn or flour tortillas in the oven for a few minutes), on nachos or in salads. We like to top ours with a quick pico de gallo, fresh cilantro, white cheddar cheese, diced avocado and pickled onions.
- If you’d like to add peppers and onions: heat the skillet over medium heat and add 1 to 2 teaspoons of olive oil. Add in 1 diced onion, 1 diced bell pepper and a few minced garlic cloves with a pinch of salt. Toss well and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Proceed with browning the beef above!
For a saucier ground beef
- I use a slurry to make my homemade ground beef saucy. Fill a shaker cup with ½ cup cold water or beef/vegetable stock. Add 1 ½ tablespoons all-purpose flour, masa or whole wheat flour to the liquid and cover it. Shake for at least 30 seconds. With the skillet on low heat, slowly stream in the slurry while stirring with a wooden spoon. Stir often and cook over low for about 10 minutes.
quick pico
- Toss the tomatoes, onion, cilantro and lime juice together in a bowl. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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