These Ground Beef Tacos have been a staple in my life for as long as I can remember. Back in the day, I used to buy the Old El Paso seasoning packets, but now I make my own seasoning. I love to serve these tacos with freshly shredded lettuce, onions, cilantro, cheddar cheese, salsa, and sour cream.
Looking for more easy dinner recipes? Try my teriyaki chicken bowls next!
About This Recipe
These ground beef tacos are a SUPER easy and satisfying dinner. When I was a kid, my family used to make this all the time for taco night. Obviously, they weren't authentic at all (sorry to my Mexican readers), but we still really enjoyed them. This was the one meal where I would eat more food than my dad.
I love serving these tacos in crunchy taco shells for an extra bit of SNAP, but soft tortillas work great as well. Whatever you do, just make sure to pop the shells or tortillas in the oven or air fryer for a bit to heat up. They taste way better that way.
Even in college, I would make these for meal prep pretty often. As long as you keep the ingredients in separate containers, it's super easy to assemble a fresh-tasting taco in under 10 minutes.
Key Ingredients
Ground beef: Of course, we'll need some ground beef! I used lean ground beef, but you can use regular ground beef too. If you use regular ground beef, just make sure to drain some of the fat.
Tomato paste: A little bit of acidity goes a long way for flavoring the beef. If you don't have tomato paste, you can use tomato sauce and omit some of the water.
Taco seasoning: You'll need chili powder, paprika, cumin, black pepper, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano, and a pinch of cayenne for heat.
Taco shells: I'm using hard taco shells, but you can use any kind of tortilla you want.
Toppings: I used chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce, cheese, sour cream, onions, and cilantro.
Instructions
STEP 1: In a small bowl, combine all the taco seasoning ingredients. Set aside.
STEP 2: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the ground beef until no longer pink, about 7-8 minutes. If there's a lot of fat, drain it.
STEP 3: Add the seasoning mix and cook for 1 minute. Mix in the tomato paste and cook for another minute. Add the water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes, or until thickened.
STEP 4: Serve with taco shells and your desired toppings. Enjoy!
Ground Beef Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ cup water
- 8 taco shells
- topping as desired (tomatoes, lettuce, shredded cheese, sour cream, onions, guacamole, etc)
Taco seasoning
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine all the taco seasoning ingredients. Set aside.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink, 7-8 minutes. If there's a lot of fat, drain some of it.
- Add the seasoning mix and cook for 1 minute. Mix in the tomato paste and cook for another minute. Add the water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 3 minutes, or until thickened.
- Serve inside taco shells with desired ingredients.
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