Baked Tacos Recipe: A Fabulous Family Meal

Oh, these baked ground beef tacos are divine. Truly. They’re a step above unbaked tacos for two reasons. One, the cheese is fully melted. No biting into a hot, spicy taco and getting a mouthful of cold cheese. And two, the shell is hot and crispy, but also softens a bit in places. If that doesn’t sound like an amazing textural experience, try these tacos — you’ll understand what I mean.

When to make baked tacos

You can make oven baked beef tacos anytime, even during the week. They’re simple to put together. And, you can use the time they’re in the oven to put away your seasoning, clean up the skillet you used, and/or set out your favorite taco toppings. (I personally asked my husband to make me a cocktail…and then enjoyed it until the tacos were ready.)

Ingredients you need for baked tacos

Here’s what you need to make baked tacos:

• Lean ground beef
• Dried minced onion
• Chili powder
• Cornstarch
• Garlic powder
• Ground cumin
• Dried oregano
• Cayenne pepper
• Tomato sauce
• Refried beans
• Shredded cheese (cheddar or Mexican blend)
• Crunchy tortilla shells

What you can substitute

If you’re pressed for time, you could use prepared taco seasoning in lieu of the homemade taco seasoning outlined in the recipe. Just don’t skip the cornstarch, as it thickens the ground beef and bean filling a bit.

You could also swap in ground turkey for the beef to make crunchy baked turkey tacos. Heck, you could even use ground or shredded chicken for easy baked chicken tacos.

Or, ditch the crispy shells for soft flour tortillas. That’ll give you oven baked soft tacos. You get the idea: Customize this recipe to suit your tastes and whatever you’re craving on a given day. Because, what’s better than experimenting to achieve the perfect taco?!

Recipe for baked tacos

Here’s how to put these ground beef baked tacos together.

1. Make your taco seasoning

Start by preheating your oven to 400°F or 204°C.

Then mix the seasonings in a small bowl. Here are the measurements:

• 2 teaspoons dried minced onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• Dash of cayenne pepper

2. Make the ground beef taco filling

Before I start cooking the ground beef in a skillet, I like to measure out the refried beans and tomato sauce. If you’re making 4 servings of this recipe, you’ll use half a can of beans and half an 8-oz. can of tomato sauce. (Note that you can easily double this recipe for days when you have lots of hungry mouths to feed.)

Take that step and the rest of the recipe goes pretty fast. Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat. If there’s a lot of fat in the pan after the meat is browned, drain it off. The last time I made this recipe, I used 90/10 beef and didn’t have to drain — see the photo above.

Once the meat is cooked, turn down the heat a bit and add in the seasoning mix, tomato sauce, and refried beans. Stir over the flame until the beans soften and the ingredients are combined.

3. Stuff shells and bake

Now place your shells into a baking dish. Carefully fill each shell with the ground beef and beans. (I say carefully because I broke two shells simply opening the package!) Sprinkle shredded cheese over the filling.

Then pop the whole tray in the oven and let it bake for 10 or 12 minutes. You know they’re done with the cheese looks melted and gooey. You can also gently touch the shells to verify that they’re hot. They should be!

The only remaining things to do are: Top your tacos with whatever you want (or nothing at all) and enjoy!

What to serve with baked beef tacos

Treat these like any other taco. If you love tacos stuffed with lettuce, tomato, onion, guacamole, sour cream, and black olives, then go for it. If you’re a purist who doesn’t bother with vegetables (that’s my husband), then skip the toppings and dive right in.

If you want to add a side dish, try roasted zucchini or cilantro lime rice.

As for drinks, beer, margaritas, lemonade, and lemon water will complement this dish nicely.

Adapted from Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures.

Baked taco FAQs

Can I make these ahead of time? You can make the filling ahead of time. Just keep it refrigerated and covered. You will need to add a couple minutes to the baking time to ensure the tacos and shells are hot.

Can I save the leftovers? You can cover and refrigerate leftover filling to reheat later. If you have whole tacos leftover, the result after reheating will be less consistent. You’re likely to lose some of the texture. But if you must, wrap them tightly in foil. Then rebake them or reheat them in an air fryer for your best chances of recreating the crispy shell.

Do you have more taco recipes to try? Why, yes. A few of our best are shredded chicken tacos, barbacoa tacos, and lime cantina tacos.