Ground beef tacos are super easy and delicious! This cooking method gives flavorful, tender, homemade taco meat in minutes.
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You all know that we love tacos around here! This is the taco meat recipe I make most often, it's easy and quick and we always have a freezer full of ground beef to use up.
I typically use my homemade taco seasoning when I make this recipe, but you can use your favorite brand if you don't have time to make your own. BUT, I promise it's worth it! It's super easy, delicious, and will save you money in the long run.
When you first add all of the ingredients, I know you are going to question the amount of liquid going into this ground beef taco recipe. But trust me!! The simmering step does take some time, but it makes the meat really tender and melds all of the flavors together so well.
Can I Freeze Taco Meat?
This question is music to my ears!!! If you don't know already, I am in love with my freezer. Not in a creepy way, just in a food-and-money-saving loving way. Ok, maybe that is creepy. Regardless, I freeze so many things! This ground beef taco meat is one of them.
You can make a big batch, portion it out, and freeze it. I usually use quart sized zipper top bags for this, label them, and then freeze them flat so they are easy to stack on top of each other in the freezer. Super quick and easy taco freezer meal when you need it.
Can Taco Meat Be Made Ahead of Time?
Again, YES!! I make 80% of my recipes ahead of time - in fact, I'll include a handy list of my most popular ground beef recipes and I make almost all of them partially ahead of time. Usually, I'll cook the taco meat ahead, but leave more liquid in it than I would if I were going to serve the ground beef tacos right away.
Obviously, store the cooked meat in the fridge. Then when it's time to serve, you can heat the taco meat in a pan or in the microwave. Leaving some extra liquid just ensures your delicious taco meat won't be too dry.
Here are some other great taco recipes:
- Homemade Taco Seasoning
- Leftover Steak Tacos
- Chicken Taco Filling
- Pork Street Tacos
- How to Fry Taco Shells {warning - I need to update this post, it was one of the first posts I ever published!! The pictures are so horrendous but the information is great. Ha!}
More easy, ground beef recipes!
- Homemade Beef Stroganoff
- Ground Beef Nachos
- Korean Beef Bowls
- Ground Beef Enchilada Recipe
- Easy Ground Beef Dinner Ideas
- Homemade Meatloaf Recipe
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Ground Beef Tacos
Ingredients
For the Tacos
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (see note)
- 1 pound ground beef (see note)
- 1 onion (medium, chopped fine)
- 3 tablespoons taco seasoning (I use homemade, see note)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ cup beef broth
- 2 teaspoons vinegar (white or cider)
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
Optional Toppings
- taco shells
- tomato
- lettuce
- sour cream
- avocado
- black olives
- cilantro
Instructions
- In a medium skillet, heat oil until shimmering and add ground beef. Cook until almost browned. Drain any excess grease, if necessary (see note).
- Add onion and cook until ground beef is browned and onion is translucent.
- Add taco seasoning and garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Add tomato paste, broth, vinegar, and brown sugar. Bring to a simmer.
- Simmer until almost all of the liquid is reduced in the pan, about 5-8 minutes.
- Serve however you like your tacos! You can find a tutorial for frying your own taco shells here.
Alli
Easy and delicious!