Ground Beef Tacos: 20-Minute Seasoned Taco Meat With Warm Tortillas
By Isabella Quinn
Prep
10 min
Cook
10 min
Total
20 min
Servings
4
Level
Easy
Dinner will be ready in 20 minutes using only one pan and pantry items. These taco recipes produce moist, crumbly beef seasoned with chili powder, cumin, and a small amount of tomato sauce. Prepare other taco ingredients as desired.
Chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, dried oregano, onion powder, salt, and pepper are mixed with the meat in the skillet. Tomato sauce and water are included to add moisture to the skillet-simmered meat instead of providing a separate sauce. Either corn or flour tortillas and other toppings, such as cheese and lettuce, can be used to make tacos with the taco meat.
Crumbed beef should be browned before other ingredients. The dish should not look runny after 5 minutes of cooking. Techniques to avoid a runny dish include draining excess fat after browning, especially when cooking less lean beef. The main problem with this dish is overcooking the beef. If the beef appears dry, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water and continue cooking briefly.
Plan ahead by cooking tortillas and taco toppings to make serving dinner easier and give family members options for taco toppings. Other uses for leftover taco meat include taco salad, nachos, beef enchiladas, and burrito bowls.
Why we keep this one around
- Speeds meal preparation. Cooking seasoned beef requires 20 minutes, as stated, including preparation and cooking time.
- Uses one skillet to brown and season the meat. No other tools or pans are required to cook the main dish.
- Prevents using taco seasoning packets by suggesting other seasonings in your kitchen, such as chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, onion powder, salt, and pepper, as taco seasonings.
- Helps keep the beef moist with tomato sauce and water. The liquid helps when cooking the tomato sauce and ground beef so that the beef doesn't dry out.
- Provide supplies for making tacos with corn tortillas, flour tortillas, taco shells, and other taco ingredients. Doing so will give diners options for eating tacos during the meal.
- Makes the batch of meat more adaptable for other uses beyond tacos. Other options for using the cooked meat include nachos, enchiladas, and taco salad and bowl dishes.
Ingredients
- •1 lb ground beef (or ground turkey)
- •2 teaspoons chili powder (or to taste; use less if sensitive to spice or if chili powder is very spicy)
- •1 teaspoon ground cumin
- •½ teaspoon garlic powder
- •½ teaspoon dried oregano
- •¼ teaspoon onion powder
- •¼ teaspoon salt
- •⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- •½ cup tomato sauce
- •½ cup water
- •8 taco-size corn or flour tortillas
- •shredded cheese (as desired)
- •shredded lettuce (as desired)
- •chopped tomatoes (as desired)
- •sour cream (as desired)
- •avocado (as desired)
- •guacamole (as desired)
- •cilantro (as desired)
- •chopped red onion (as desired)
Instructions
- 1
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- 2
Add the ground beef and cook, crumbling it with a spoon or spatula, until browned.
- 3
Drain any excess grease from the skillet.
- 4
Reduce the heat to medium and add the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, dried oregano, onion powder, salt, black pepper, tomato sauce, and water.
- 5
Stir to combine and cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes, until the taco meat is fully cooked and reaches the desired texture.
- 6
Serve the taco meat in warmed tortillas with toppings as desired.
FAQ
Nutrition (per serving)
258
Calories
22g
Protein
17g
Fat
3g
Carbs
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