Ground Beef Tacos

Beef tacos on a wooden board covered in garnishes such as lime, coriander and tomatoes

5 from 5 votes

Take your Taco Tuesday to new heights with these easy Ground Beef Tacos. Served with homemade baked taco shells, you really can't go wrong!

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican, Tex Mex

Servings: tacos

Author: Chris Collins

Cost: £1.50 / 2

Equipment

Oven Wire Rack
Brush
Large, Deep Frying Pan
Sharp Knife & Chopping Board

Ingredients

Baked Taco Shells

10 Taco Tortilla Wraps, warmed in the microwave (see notes)
Olive Oil, to brush

Taco Mince

1lb / 500g Ground Beef (see notes)
3 tbsp Taco Seasoning
1/2 cup / 125ml Water or Beef Stock, or as needed (see notes)
1 heaped tbsp Tomato Puree/Paste
1 tsp Cornstarch/Cornflour, optional (see notes)
Olive Oil, for frying

Toppings

Cheese
Lettuce, shredded
Tomatoes, finely diced
Jalapeños, sliced
Sour Cream
Lime Juice + Coriander/Cilantro, to serve

Instructions

Baked Taco Shells

Brush each side of your wraps with olive oil, fold over your wire rack (see video) and pop in the oven for 10-15mins at 170c/340f, or until golden and crispy. Take them out and allow to rest for 5 or so minutes, they will actually crisp up as they rest. As every oven/tortilla wrap will be different, timings do vary quite considerably, so just be vigilant past 10mins. These go from perfect to burnt VERY quickly so increase the temp only slightly (with caution) if they're struggling to crisp.

Taco Mince

Fry 1lb/500g ground beef in a drizzle of olive oil over medium high heat until it begins to brown. Stir in your spices and fry for a minute or so longer, then stir in 1 heaped tbsp tomato paste. Fry for a few mins then add your water/stock and cornstarch and allow to rapid simmer for a few minutes until it thickens, stirring occasionally.

Stacking

It's best to serve them 'un-built', just so the taco shell doesn't go soggy. Plus it's more fun to have everyone build their own! Just for reference, I stack mine in the following order: beef, cheese, lettuce, tomato, jalapeños, sour cream, then garnish with lime juice and coriander/cilantro. Of course you can use any toppings in any order, but I do recommend placing the cheese on top of the beef, just so it goes nice and gooey!

Video

Notes

a) Homemade Taco Seasoning - Be sure to check out my Homemade Taco Seasoning for Ground Beef

b) Taco Tortilla Wraps - You'll find these (i.e small and oval) in most supermarkets. If you can't find them just use the smallest wraps they offer. In both cases, I find corn tortilla come out slightly more flavoursome and crispy, but flour tortilla wraps will work too.

c) Can I use soft tortillas? - Absolutely! Making the shells crispy is just optional :)

d) Ground Beef - I usually get beef with around 10% fat. This gives a bit more flavour than lean mince (say 5%) but doesn't go oily like fattier beef. If you've only go non-lean beef (say 20%) consider pouring out some of the fat after the beef has fried BEFORE adding the spices.

e) Adding Water/Beef stock & Cornstarch - Firstly, beef stock will add more flavour to the mince, but if you only have water it'll still be great. Secondly, if you're using cornstarch (which will add a glossy kind of gravy to the mince) then use around 1/2 cup of liquid to 1 tsp cornstarch and allow to simmer until it thickens. If you're not using cornstarch then just add 1/4 cup/60ml liquid and simmer until the water reduces and the beef is juicy.

f) Calories - just the tacos and mince (no toppings), using 2 tbsp olive oil (a drizzle for frying and the rest to brush the wraps) and 10% lean beef.

Nutrition