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This taco meat recipe is about to be your new go-to! Juicy ground beef is cooked with a simple blend of bold spices, then simmered in sauce for extra flavor. Quick, easy, and perfect for taco night!
Homemade taco meat is one of those things you can make a big batch of and just use in everything throughout the week because it’s just so good! Use it in my walking taco casserole, and load it into burritos, tacos, enchiladas, salads, etc. Throw it on top of some nachos or in a burrito bowl. Regardless of how you use it, it’s always delicious.
Why This Is The Best Taco Meat Recipe
- Big, bold flavor. Cumin, smoked paprika, and garlic give this taco meat that rich, smoky goodness.
- Saucy and juicy. A little tomato sauce keeps the meat tender and packed with flavor — no dry taco filling here!
- Super easy. A handful of simple ingredients, one pan, and it’s ready in a snap.
- Way better than store-bought seasoning. No fillers, just real spices for next-level taco night. Many taco meat recipes use store-bought spice mixes, but we’re going 100% homemade here. Why not, since it only takes a minute?
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s a quick look at the ingredients you’ll need to grab, along with some notes on possible substitutions. Please scroll down to the recipe card for a printable list.
- Olive oil: Used for cooking and flavor, but can be replaced with any cooking oil.
- Yellow onion – A white onion would also work.
- Ground beef – I like 80/20, but you could use something leaner if you’d like.
- Spices – I season my taco meat with cumin, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and oregano. Feel free to add a little cayenne to the mix for extra spice.
- Tomato sauce: Adds tanginess and juiciness to the meat.
- Water: For more flavor, you can use beef broth instead.
How to Make Taco Meat
Ground beef is a convenient and affordable protein. Here’s a quick overview of how to make taco meat with it, but scroll to the recipe card further down the page for detailed instructions.
- Sauté the onions. Saute the onions in olive oil over medium heat.
- Brown the ground beef. Add the ground beef to the skillet, season with the spices, and cook, breaking it apart as you go, until browned and crumbly. Drain the grease from the pan.
- Make it saucy. Stir in the tomato sauce and water, bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer until most of the liquid has evaporated.
Recipe Tips And Variations
- Don’t crowd the pan. For the beef to brown properly, it needs enough room to breathe in the skillet. Try to use a skillet large enough for the beef to be broken up into one layer across the surface.
- Drain the beef. After browning the beef, drain the grease from the pan so you don’t have a greasy mess.
- Patience. Simmer the tomato sauce and water with the taco meat until the liquid is all but gone.
- Try a different protein. Take a cue from my turkey enchiladas and use ground turkey, ground chicken, or pork. Impossible Meat would be great for vegetarian diets.
- Experiment with spice. Dice a jalapeno and saute it with the onion, or add a little cayenne in with the rest of the seasoning for a spicier taco meat.
- Add veggies. I sometimes will add diced bell peppers to the skillet while I saute the onions. You could also mix in drained canned corn at the end.
- Add black beans. Make this a heartier affair by stirring 1/2 a cup or so of drained canned black beans into the meat before serving.
Ways to Use Homemade Taco Meat
The most straightforward way to use taco meat is to stuff it in corn tortillas, flour tortillas, or hard taco shells with some avocado, sour cream, and pico de gallo. Don’t stop at tacos, though. You can use this spiced ground beef in enchiladas or burritos, to top nachos, or as part of the filling for this Taco Casserole. I use it in these Taco Bowls, too.
How to Store & Reheat Leftovers
- To store: Allow the beef to cool to room temperature before sealing it in an airtight container. It will stay good in the fridge for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- To reheat: Thaw the leftovers in the fridge (if applicable) before heating a little olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and then adding the homemade taco meat. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until heated through (you can add a splash of broth or water if it gets too dry). You could also heat the taco meat in a microwave in 30-second intervals until warm.
More Ground Beef Recipes
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Taco Meat Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ medium yellow onion,, diced
- 1 pound 80/20 ground beef
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Sauté the onions. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 3 minutes or until translucent.
- Brown the ground beef. Add the ground beef to the skillet and break it apart with a wooden spoon. Season the beef with cumin, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and oregano. Cook the meat, breaking it apart as you go, until it’s thoroughly browned and nice and crumbly, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Drain. Drain the grease from the pan and return the pan to the heat.
- Make it saucy. Stir in the tomato sauce and water, bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 7 minutes or until much of the liquid has evaporated.
Notes
- For storage, let the beef cool down to room temperature, then transfer it into an airtight container. It can be refrigerated for up to 4 days or frozen for as long as 3 months
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
Question- (forgive ignorance- I’m not much of a cook) Wouldn’t adding spices before draining the grease cause you to lose a lot of flavor?
Hi!
The reason we add spices before draining is to ensure that the meat absorbs the flavors during the cooking process, which helps develop a deeper taste.
You can always do a taste test after draining and adding a bit more of the spices, especially salt if needed. This way, you can adjust the flavor to your liking.