Need a quick dinner win? This easy ground beef taco meat recipe is packed with flavor for Taco Tuesday—or any night you need a fast, kid-friendly, family-favorite meal!
With just a few pantry staples and about 10 minutes, you can create perfectly seasoned taco meat that beats any store-bought mix and use it in a multitude of delicious and varied dinners.
Ground Beef Taco meat is a quick-fix delight that’s easy on the budget. And it’s juicy, flavorful, and versatile enough to use in tacos, burritos, nachos, salads, or even casseroles. Once you try it, you’ll never go back to the packaged stuff again!
Ingredient Tips and Info
Ground Beef (85/25) Lower fat content means you will need to drain off a lot of grease. Higher, and your beef could be tough and dry. 85/15 is a great middle ground for the lean-to-fat ratio in this taco meat recipe.
Tomato Paste
Homemade Taco Seasoning (You can substitute store-bought packets, but the flavor isn’t quite as good.) This delicious taco seasoning contains only ingredients that add nutrition and flavor — no preservatives, artificial flavors, or fillers — and you can control the sodium content. Everything has a nutritional and/or flavorful purpose. Click the recipe link above to see the full recipe and photo tutorial.
Water
FAQs
How can I stretch the ground beef taco mixture to go even further and be even more affordable?
1. Add veggies. Saute finely minced onions, garlic, mushrooms, jalapenos, bell peppers, zucchini, celery, or even carrots in the skillet with the ground beef. The veggies will bulk up your mixture, plus add flavor, nutrition and juiciness to your taco meat. 2. Add beans. Black beans, pinto beans, lentils or refried beans are great additions to this delicious ground beef taco meat and will add bulk, fiber and even more nutrients. 3. Add cooked brown rice. Rice not only bulks up the recipe but also adds fiber, vitamins, minerals, and protein. If you have some leftover Easy10-Minute Mexican Rice (or want to make it special), it will be great in this mixture, too. *IMPORTANT CHEF’S NOTE: When adding additional “bulk” to the recipe, add extra taco seasoning, tomato paste and water to accommodatewhatever additional ingredients you include.
How should I store the meat mixture?
Sealed in an airtight container[affiliate link], taco meat will last in the fridge for up to 4 days. Great news! It freezes beautifully. Make it ahead and store in freezer-safe airtight containers in the freezer for up to 3 to 4 months. What a gift to be able to just heat some up for a tasty dinner on a busy night when nothing else is planned. It can be microwaved or reheated in a skillet in minutes, even from frozen. Add just a touch of water and stir it every minute or two to check consistency and doneness. It makes skipping the drive-thru so much easier.
How to Serve Ground Beef Taco Meat
This quick and easy taco meat recipe is the beginning of dozens of scrumptious meals your family will be excited to eat. Use it to make:
To make the meat mixture for tacos, combine the ground beef with my homemade taco seasoning (or store-bought if that’s all you have) and tomato sauce.
Heat and stir over medium heat for five minutes to combine the flavors and roast off the tomato sauce and seasoning.
Serve in ground beef tacos or any of your favorite Mexican recipes.
The Recipe
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Quick and easy ground beef taco meat is Taco Tuesday perfect! Make it in bulk and always have some premade in the freezer or make just enough to save dinner on a busy weeknight. This delicious ground beef mixture is scrumptious in so much more than just tacos. Loved by all ages!
Ingredients
UnitsScale
2pounds ground beef (85/15 ratio), browned and drained
Brown and Drain the Ground Beef. Add the ground beef to a cast iron or stainless steel skillet and cook. Break it apart as it cooks until you have mostly evenly-sized crumbles. Continue cooking until no pink remains. (I don’t add salt at this time. My homemade taco seasoning contains salt. Most commercial brands will, too. Plus, the tomato sauce is canned with salt. Add salt and pepper at the very end, if needed.)
To make the meat mixture for tacos, combine the cooked ground beef with my homemade taco seasoning (or store-bought if that’s all you have), tomato paste and water. Heat and stir over medium heat for five minutes to combine the flavors and roast off the tomato sauce and seasoning.
Serve in ground beef tacos or any of your favorite Mexican recipes.
Notes
How to Stretch the Ground Beef Taco Meat to Go Further & Be Even More Affordable:
1. Add veggies. Saute finely minced onions, garlic, mushrooms, jalapenos, bell peppers, zucchini, celery, or even carrots in the skillet with the ground beef. The veggies will bulk up your mixture, plus add flavor, nutrition and juiciness to your taco meat. 2. Add beans. Black beans, pinto beans, lentils or refried beans are great additions to this delicious ground beef taco meat and will add bulk, fiber and even more nutrients. 3. Add cooked brown rice. Rice not only bulks up the recipe but also adds fiber, vitamins, minerals, and protein. If you have some leftover Easy10-Minute Mexican Rice (or want to make it special), it will be great in this mixture, too. *IMPORTANT CHEF’S NOTE: When adding additional “bulk” to the recipe, add extra taco seasoning, tomato paste and water to accommodatewhatever additional ingredients you include.
Storing:
Ground beef taco meat will keep 3-4 days when sealed in an airtight container in the fridge or 3 to 4 months in the freezer when sealed in a freezer-safe airtight container.
I believe cooking from scratch doesn’t have to be complicated and that YOU can do it. My simple recipes, tutorials, and cooking tips will help you get weeknight dinners on the table with less stress. Forget takeout or the drive-thru. Let me show you how to make homemade easy. Read more...
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