These soft shell tacos come together with ground beef, homemade seasoning, and toppings of your choice. This recipe comes together in one pan, in under 30 minutes. Great for an easy weeknight dinner!
We love taco night in our house. Homemade tacos are kinda my speciality and the meal I know I can whip up in no time, that will also please everybody.
I can't wait to share how to make ground beef tacos you and your family will love! Growing up in Texas, Mexican and Tex-Mex foods are some of my favorites.
If you enjoy these ground beef tacos, you'll love my air fryer tacos, homemade tamales, breakfast tacos, dairy free enchiladas, and ground beef flautas too.
Why you'll love this recipe
15-minute meal, what's not to love?!
They're easy for each person at the table to customize, so always a crowd-favorite.
Seasoned beef tacos are naturally dairy free and can easily be made gluten free, making them perfect for allergy friendly families.
Equipment
This is my favorite large skillet to use when cooking ground beef. Sometimes I'll double the recipe for extra leftovers, and this frying pan works great for that.
To warm up the soft tortillas, I like to use my cast iron comal. A comal is a smooth, flat griddle typically used in Mexico, Central America, and parts of South America.
If you don't have a comal, no worries! Either heat the tortillas up over an open flame or wrap tortillas in foil and place in a 300F preheated oven until heated through.
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need for ground beef soft tacos:
Ground beef: I prefer using 80% lean / 20% fat ground beef for my tacos. However, you can use 85/15, 90/10, or a lean ground beef, depending on your preferences.
Taco seasoning: You probably already have most of the seasoning right in your spice cabinet to make homemade taco seasoning for ground beef. If you do, there's no need to buy a premixed store bought packet.
Tortillas: Soft shell tacos can be served in flour tortillas or corn tortillas, rather than hard shell tortillas. I personally prefer small flour tortillas for a soft and pillowy texture.
How to season ground beef for tacos
Once I realized how easy whisking together a DIY taco seasoning way, I never bought the store bought stuff again. Here's what you'll want to have on hand to make it yourself:
Variations
Homemade soft tacos are one of my favorite meals to make because they're so versatile! Check out these simple substitutions to switch up Taco Tuesday.
Try ground chicken or ground turkey instead of ground beef!
Make vegan soft shell tacos using plant based meat alternatives such as Beyond Meat or Impossible Foods. I often times make tacos for breakfast using tofu scramble with avocado.
To make gluten free tacos, serve your filling inside corn tortillas or a gluten free tortilla.
How to make soft beef tacos
Whisk chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper together to make a homemade low sodium taco seasoning from scratch! The savory seasonings pair perfectly with the beef crumbles.
Heat a large skillet over medium, coat with olive oil (or oil of choice), then add the ground beef.
Cook the ground beef until brown, breaking it apart while cooking. Drain any excess grease from the skillet, then return to the stove.
Stir taco seasoning into cooked meat, then add water. Stir until combined, let simmer for about 5 minutes.
As the taco filling simmers and begins to thicken, warm tortillas and prepare any additional toppings.
Divide the ground beef into equal portions, then load the tortillas up, and top with desired toppings.
Taco toppings
Top individual servings with your favorite taco toppings. Here are a few ideas:
- Lettuce
- Onion
- Corn
- Tomatoes
- Avocado slices
- Bell pepper
- Taco sauce
- Black beans
I also enjoy serving tacos with a drizzle of dairy free crema, tofu queso, or taco sauce. Plus a side of tortillas chips, guacamole, and salsa!
Need homemade salsa recipes? Try my pico de gallo, tomatillo salsa verde, spicy peach salsa, or cowboy caviar.
Cocktail pairings for a taco party
If you're looking for an adult beverage pairing, I've got you covered! For wine, I recommend Tempranillo, Malbec, or Grenache. If you're a beer drinker, go for a dark craft beer.
For my cocktail lovers, you can't go wrong with any of these simple homemade cocktails:
Storage and Reheating
Homemade beef tacos are my favorite to meal prep! Cook the ground beef ahead of time and you've got lunch or dinner ready for the week.
How to store leftovers
Store leftover taco meat in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Can you freeze taco meat?
If you make a large batch, let the meat cool to room temperature, then place in a freezer safe bag or container. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
How to reheat
To reheat frozen taco meat without drying out, it's important to thaw it completely before reheating.
Place portion in a microwave-safe bowl and cover with a damp paper towel. Warm in the microwave until heated through, stirring every 30 seconds or so.
You can also reheat ground beef taco meat in a skillet with a splash of water or broth.
Related
Looking for additional quick and easy weeknight meals? Try these recipes next:
- Homemade Baked Meatballs
- Dairy Free Shepherd's Pie
- Old Fashioned Sloppy Joe's
- Air Fryer Frozen Hamburgers
- Deconstructed Stuffed Peppers
- Ground Beef Tater Tot Casserole
- Easy Enchilada Casserole
15-Minute Soft Shell Tacos
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 8 tortillas
Homemade Taco Seasoning
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium, coat with olive oil, then add the ground beef.
- Cook the ground beef until brown, breaking it apart into crumbles as it cooks. Drain any excess grease from the skillet, then return to the stove.
- As the meat cooks, whisk the chili powder, cumin, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl.
- Stir taco seasoning into cooked meat, then add water. Stir until combined, let simmer for about 5 minutes.
- As the taco filling simmers and begins to thicken, warm tortillas, and prepare any additional toppings.*Warm tortillas on a hot comal, over an open flame, or wrapped in foil in the oven at 300F.
- Divide the ground beef into equal portions, then load the tortillas up, and top with desired toppings.
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