15 Minute Ground Beef Tacos Recipe

These ground beef tacos are simple, delicious, and so easy to throw together. Keep a jar of my homemade taco seasoning in the pantry and you can have tacos ready to go in just 15 minutes any night of the week!

 

Easy Ground Beef Tacos Recipe

• Perfect Balance. These homemade ground beef tacos strike the perfect balance between amazing flavor and good ol’ simplicity. My secret ingredient (tomato paste), homemade taco seasoning, and the cooking process are what take these ground beef tacos from regular and boring to delicious and memorable!
• Homemade Seasoning. While you can totally use store-bought, homemade taco seasoning is so delicious. And you’ll never believe how easy it is to make!! Simple pantry staples and a few minutes is all it takes.

Ingredients for Ground Beef Tacos

• Ground Beef: I recommend 85/15 ground beef for this recipe but you can use your favorite. Remember fat equals flavor!
• Taco Seasoning: You can use my homemade taco seasoning or store-bought. Either will be delicious.
• Tomato Paste: Tomato paste adds a delicious depth of flavor and gives it that “cooked-all-day” flavor in just minutes.
• All the Fixings: Crispy taco shells, flour tortillas, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, and taco sauce are my favorites for homemade taco night at home. Pickled onions, pickled jalapeno, diced white onion, or chopped cilantro would also be delicious!

How to Make Ground Beef Tacos

Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add ground beef, and cook, crumbling with a spatula until browned and cooked through. Add taco seasoning, tomato paste, and water.

Stir until well combined. Turn heat to low and simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Season to taste with salt and pepper and enjoy! Serve ground beef in flour tortillas with lettuce, cheese, sour cream, and taco sauce. 

Tips for Making the Best Ground Beef Tacos

• Season. This recipe is super simple so be sure to season moderately with salt and pepper. These simple seasonings are going to add tons of flavor.
• Don’t Overcook. Ground beef cooks pretty quickly, especially when you’re breaking it up into smaller pieces. Once you don’t see any pink, add the taco seasoning and tomato paste. Overcooking the beef will result in a tough texture that doesn’t taste great.
• Drain the Grease. If there’s a lot of grease in the pan after browning the beef, you can pour some of it off before adding the taco seasoning and tomato paste.

Make it Saucy!

Add your favorite sauces to these simple tacos. Try:

• creamy avocado sauce
• cilantro lime sauce
• chipotle sauce
• Taco Bell quesadilla sauce
• avocado lime ranch

Serve Tacos With

• easy blender salsa
• cheesy Rotel dip
• crockpot queso
• chicken enchilada dip
• Chipotle corn salsa
• street corn dip
• smoked queso dip

Making Tacos Ahead of Time

• I literally prep these tacos at least once a week!
• It’s the perfect make-ahead meal because it reheats beautifully and stays fresh in the fridge for days.
• You can also turn the taco meat into nachos, gordita crunches, walking taco casserole, supreme chalupas, or crunchwrap supremes.

Storing Leftover Taco Meat

Store leftover taco meat in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

Freezing Taco Meat

Freezer leftover taco meat for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.

Reheating Ground Beef Taco Meat

• Reheat taco meat in a saucepan over medium heat until warmed through.
• Or in the microwave in 30-60 second increments until warmed through.

Try these taco recipes next!

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