Ground Beef Tacos
Our go-to Beef Taco Recipe with the juiciest ground beef taco meat. Beef tacos are perfect for easy entertaining or busy weeknights and they always get rave reviews!
We love taco parties and usually go between these ground beef tacos or our famous fish tacos. You can prep the taco meat and toppings in advance then everyone builds their own tacos. Talk about stress free entertaining.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
If you are looking to feed a smaller crowd, you can easily cut all of the ingredients in half and the taco meat will cook even faster. You can also make the full batch and freeze leftovers for a future dinner. If you want to really take these to the next level, make sure you try our easy Homemade Hard Taco Shells.
What Makes These the BEST Beef Tacos?
It is all in the ground beef taco meat and this recipe does not disappoint. These beef tacos are:
- EASY
- Only 4 ingredients
- a 1-Pan recipe
- 15 minutes cooking time
What Kind of Ground Beef for Tacos?
You want to use ground beef with a fat content between 80-90% – nothing overly lean or fatty. If you do have a fattier beef on hand, no worries, you can spoon out the excess fat from the pan before adding the tomatoes.
How to Make Ground Beef Tacos:
The beef taco meat comes together in 1 pan in about 15 minutes. You end up with tender juicy and perfectly seasoned beef.
1. Heat a large non-stick skillet over med-high heat, add the beef and cook 5 minutes, or until no longer pink, skim off excess fat if desired.
2. Add Rotel tomatoes, 1 tsp chili powder and 1 tsp salt. Cook until beef is fully cooked and and most of the tomato liquid has evaporated (7 to 10 minutes).
Taco Toppings for Beef Tacos:
Ground beef tacos are so versatile for any kind of toppings. We love serving these with Mango Salsa (as seen in the photos), but you can make your Taco Tuesdays exciting with these taco toppings:
- Shredded iceberg lettuce
- Sour cream
- Limes cut into wedges
- Cilantro sprigs
- Sliced jalapeños (fresh or canned)
- Sliced avocado
- Diced tomatoes
- Sliced green onion or diced red onion
- Corn Tortillas – or Homemade Hard Taco Shells
How to Toast Tortillas for Tacos:
Soft Corn tortillas should be toasted just before serving to keep them fresh and warm. Toast only as many as you need. Always use dry skillet (no oil required) and do not overheat or tortillas will become dry.
- Heat a large non-stick pan or griddle over medium/high heat.
- Place tortillas in a single layer and toast 15-30 seconds on each side just until hot and barely starting to turn golden.
- Remove to a plate and wrap loosely with foil to keep warm.
These beef tacos are so fresh, hearty and satisfying. Try these for your next taco party!
More Taco Recipes for Taco Tuesday:
- Fish Tacos with the best fish taco sauce!
- Korean Beef Bulgogi Tacos – incredible flavor here
- Shrimp Tacos with Coleslaw – a restaurant copycat
- Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos – easy weeknight dinner
Ground Beef Taco Recipe
![Ground Beef Tacos on a Platter](https://natashaskitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Beef-Tacos-with-Mango-Salsa-7-160x160.jpg)
Ingredients
For the Beef Mixture:
- 2 lbs ground beef chuck, 10% to 20% fat
- 20 oz Rotel Tomatoes with Green Chilis, (Two 10 oz cans with their juice)
- 1 tsp chili powder, plus more for serving
- 1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
To Serve Beef Tacos:
- 20 yellow corn tortillas, (small) or Hard Taco Shells
- 1/2 iceberg lettuce, shredded
- 2/3 cup sour cream, for topping
- 2 limes , cut into wedges
- 1/4 bunch Cilantro sprigs, to serve
Instructions
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over med-high heat. Add 2 lbs ground beef and cook, stirring occasionally until cooked through (5 minutes). Use a spoon to skim off and discard most of the excess fat, leaving about 2-3 Tbsp in the pan.
- Add 2 cans of tomatoes, 1 tsp chili powder and 1 tsp salt. Continue to cook until beef is fully cooked and sauce slightly reduced and most of the tomato liquid has evaporated (7 to 10 minutes).
- Before serving, on a dry large non-stick pan over medium/high heat, toast both sides of tortillas just until hot and barely starting to turn golden (15-30 seconds per side). Remove to a plate and cover loosely with foil to keep warm.
- To serve, place a heaping spoonful of beef over each tortilla, top with lettuce, mango salsa, sprigs of cilantro, sour cream and a sprinkle of chili powder if desired. Squeeze fresh lime juice just before eating.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Easiest Taco Night Ever!
Here’s a secret sneaky tip for instant tacos with no cooking required: Use left-over meat from last night’s dinner. Use leftover meatloaf to make beef tacos or repurpose your Crockpot Pulled Chicken leftovers! Break up the meat and warm until just heated through then add them to your taco bar.
Delicious and so easy! All of your recipes we make are 5 star and we’ve made alot! Can’t wait for your book to come out.
Hi Vern! Thank you so much for the wonderful comment. I’m so glad you are enjoying my recipes.
I am so happy to have find you. You make your recipes so easy to follow through and I enjoy making them. Your ingredients are so simple and very delicious. Thank you for making me want to go back in the kitchen.
Thanks so much! I’m so glad you find my recipes helpful!
Thank you for sharing this recipe! Definitely not going to use taco seasoning packets anymore, this turned out to be so much tastier and more juicy! Thank you!
You’re welcome! It’s always best to know exactly what goes into your food!
Thank you Natasha for all your great recipe!!!
Today is Cinqo de mayo and I made your chicken fajitas, ground beef tacos, and mango salsa. They all turn out amazing as usual with all your great recipes!🌷
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Mariam!
Natasha,
These are the best tacos I’ve ever had! That mango salsa was perfection as well! I made extra taco meat with a packet of seasoning because my daughter wasn’t so sure about this recipe. She ended up trying one of each and said she liked yours better!! 🙌 Thank you for all the amazing recipes! I posted the tacos on Facebook and tagged you!
Sincerely,
Susan
That’s great news! Thanks a lot for sharing that with us, I hope you’ll both enjoy all the recipes that you will try from my website.
Can I use store bought taco shells for this recipe?
Hi Lina, I don’t see why not! I hope you love this recipe!
Thank you so much!
I think “You want to use ground beef with a fat content between 80-90%” would make your meatloaf awfully greasy!
I use 1 pound 80/20 and 1/2 pound ground turkey…I drain off meatloaf 1/2 way thru cooking…flavorful and eagerly eaten…also add minced vegies,onion,celery and a bit of celery with onion soup mix and lotsa other goodies…
Where do you get the corn tortillas? All I can find are so small you can hardly get anything on them.
Hi Sandra, at the grocery stores. Feel free to ask at the store if you cannot find the right size that you want.
Meat is pretty bland. I even tripled the chili powder. Might try the mango salsa recipe though!
Hi Katherine, these are normally very flavorful without needing extra spice. Make sure you use the right amount of Rotel tomatoes and not just plain diced tomatoes which will make all the difference. I hope that helps!
Your nutritional information doesn’t show serving size? Am I missing something ??
Hi Kathy, the nutrition label is based on how many servings. The number of servings are listed towards the top of the recipe card.
These were the best beef tacos I have ever made! My son went nuts over them. Just so good!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite, Beth!
I haven’t tried this recipe yet but it definitely looks like a 5-star recipe. I promise I will try out this recipe! I only had one question. Can I make beef enchiladas with this meat mixture? Thank you in advance for your response. P.S.: You have the greatest recipes! I love your videos! You make it look so easy!
Hi Theresa! I hope you LOVE this recipe when you try it. I haven’t tested that with that meat but I bet it will work! If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
This recipe looks delicious. I haven’t tried them yet, but I will soon. Never thought of using Rotele, I love rotele cheese dip. I am Mexican and made my tacos with ground beef only, which I love. I use crispy corn tortillas. Oh, by the way, I also love mango salsa on salmon. I will try this recipe soon. I know it will be good. All of your recipes I have made are delicious. My husband really like then too.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me Linda! I’m so glad you’re enjoying our recipes!
Hi Natasha,
I have never heard of Rotel tomatoes with Chili in Australia.
Can I just use tin tomato with a Chili?
Hi Cobie, if they are similar to this I imagine so. If you experiment with that I would love to know how you like that.
Made these tonight, used a can each of diced tomatoes and green chiles, sooooo good!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Beth!
I haven’t tried these yet but they look great, and I’m sure they will taste as good as they look. One thing I didn’t see was cumin. I have been told that cumin was a major player in the flavor of beef tacos.
Hi Chris, I have heard that also and it it more by personal preference.
I am a taco lover and these are simple and really good. Kids ate them up. Simple clean up.
I’m so happy you all enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
I made this at my 11 year old son’s prompting and it came out quite delicious! Our family enjoyed it! How do you make them stand up perfectly on the plate? By the way, I used regular tortillas, still tasted good.
Hi Galina, without a special taco holder, it’s not easy to make them stand – I’m sure I had something propping up the taco for the photo 🙂
So good and so easy, we love this dinner!
Hi Aimee, I’m so glad to hear you love the taco recipe. Thank you for the wonderful review!
The mango salsa is a MUST!! YUM!
Sounds like you found a favorite! Thank you for sharing this awesome review with us!
Thanks for the easy recipe!
You’re so welcome! I’m happy you enjoyed that
I just love this recipe! My family would be happy if I made it every night.
That’s so great Toni!
Oh Natasha! As if I didn’t love tacos already!!! That mango salsa… omg. So so good! 🙂 XO
Hi Jessica, you have to try that mango salsa – it’s amazing on everything. We are making a double batch just to enjoy with tortilla chips tonight. YUM!
Hey Natasha,
Making these tacos tonight…can’t wait to let you know how it turns out!
-Kim
I can’t wait to hear how you like it Kim!
This has turned our family forever away from the packet of taco seasonings!
Shana, thank you for sharing such a nice review, I’m glad your family loves it 😁.
Made these first time for a home party, such a keeper recipe! Made no changes to it, it is impressively!
I’m so happy you loved it! Thank you for the wonderful review!
Hello Natasha! Your tacos are very delicious. I also did tacos and one thing that made a difference was adding Hoisson sauce to ground beef. I have it on my website
So I made the tacos but I had left over beef what should I do with it?
There are so many options. Use it up for one more taco. You can top of chips with it to make meaty nachos etc. I hope that gives you some ideas.
Hello Natasha,
I am planning a small family dinner for my husband’s birthday and want to serve these tacos. Is this something I can do in advance and serve the following day?
I work on the day of the dinner, but I have free time the day before to prep. What part of this recipe is safe to prepare the day before? And what should be prepared on the day of the dinner?
I’m excited to try it.
Hi Nadia, you could pre-cook the beef and then just warm it up on the skillet before serving. Also, it’s ok to pre-slice the lettuce and pre-make the mango salsa and keep everything covered and refrigerated overnight. Keep as much air out of the salsa as possible to prevent the avocado from changing color. I hope you all love it! 🙂
Yummy!! Thank you for this super easy dinner idea! I love me some mangoes! This was so simple, but so satisfying! Yer website is still my go-to. Everyone around me knows where my recipes come from by now haha.
That’s so nice and I’m happy to hear you are enjoying my blog 🙂 Thank you so much for your awesome review!
I feel like mango was MADE for combining with savory food… I love mango salsa and mostly put it on fish, but I will have to try it on beef tacos sometime!
Oh it’s just as good on beef as it is on fish. I hope you give it a try! I agree it’s made to combine with savory food and it makes everything taste so exotic 🙂
Hello Natasha,
Can you please post recipe(s) for Brussels sprouts?
I enjoy your videos.
By the way, I made pulled pork and your Creamy Coconut Coleslaw and oh it is yummy!!
Thank you!!
Mmm you’re making me hungry!! I’ll add Brussels sprouts to my very long list 🙂 Thank you so much for the suggestion!
Awesome post. Thanks for sharing this with us. I don’t eat beef so will replace this chicken.
Thanks once again !
I hope you love it! I think chicken, turkey or pork would all be good options 🙂
This looks amazing!! Definatly going to try this one😊 And I was just wondering what camera you use to take your pictures with because they are so clear and have great lighting. And also, do you edit your pictures? Or leave them as is. Thanks so much for your recipes!! Love them!!
Thank you so much Christin! I take the photos and my husband does that amazing editing :). here is a list of all the photography tools we use. I use my 100mm lens for final photos and 50mm for prep photos
Natasha,
The taco shells are easy to make at home.
1 cup organic all purpose / white flour
1/2 cup organic corn meal
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water
1 egg
Preheat a dry skillet ( seasoned cast iron works perfect)
Mix the ingredients well
The batter will be runny
Drop by large utensil ( soup ladle ) spoonful onto skillet , quickly spreading the batter in a circular motion , working from the inside out.
Each side only takes about 1 minute of the cooking.
The shells are not supposed to brown.
When the shells are removed from the pan , they can be molded into “taco shell shape” by placing half curled , between two objects , such as coffee cups. You can also lay them over your oven racks and bake till crisp.
I like to serve them each guest directly from the pan without molding them, because I find they don’t crack while still hot and pliable .
Fill with all the taco stuffings and enjoy.
Usually fill taco shells & add cheese and place in oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese
The recipe looks great can’t wait to try the mango salsa as my girls love mango as well as tacos
Thanks for the recipe
Oh wow! Homemade sound wonderful! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe 🙂
Loved the taco meat! Do you have any ideas for replacing the egg in the homemade shells recipe?
Hi Melissa, I have had someone report good results omitting the egg in the stuffed shells.
Yummm ☺can’t wait to make it this weekend! Please make more Mexican recipes, thanks Natasha!
I have another great one coming soon 🙂 Thanks Nina!
How do you make those perfect sour cream drizzles? When i use a spoon I end up with (tasty) blobs of sour cream on whatever i’m trying to eat.
Oh it’s so easy! Put it in a ziploc bag, trim off the corner and you end up with a perfect drizzle! 🙂
You can add McCormick Taco Seasoning and it gives the same flavor of ground beef as in TacoBell. Works great 🙂
Cool tip! Thanks for sharing!! 🙂