Mexican · Quick Meals

Ground Beef Tacos

Minced beef cooked with real spices rather than a sachet, in corn tortillas with whatever you have. Twenty-five minutes.

25 min total Serves 4 servings Easy
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Ground Beef Tacos

Photograph credit: Ground beef tacos at Goldmine Tacos, Yorkville GA by John Phelan · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Build the Meal Around Ground Beef Tacos

  • Pico de gallo
  • Salsa verde
  • Soured cream

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Refried Beans, Instant Pot Black Beans, Pan de Muerto.

Making Ground Beef Tacos, Step by Step

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  1. Heat the oil in a wide frying pan over a high heat.

  2. Add the mince in a single layer and leave 4 minutes without stirring.

  3. Break it up and brown 3 minutes more.

  4. Add the onion and cook 4 minutes.

  5. Stir in the garlic and cook 30 seconds.

  6. Add the cumin, paprika, oregano, coriander and cayenne and stir in the hot fat for 30 seconds.

  7. Stir in the tomato purée and cook 1 minute.

  8. Add the water and salt and simmer 2 minutes, until it clings rather than runs.

  9. Warm the tortillas in a dry pan for 20 seconds a side.

  10. Fill with the beef, top with shredded cabbage and coriander, and serve with lime wedges.

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Worth Knowing Before You Cook

Bloom the spices in fat for thirty seconds.

Four minutes untouched to brown the mince.

A splash of water at the end so the filling holds together.

Common Substitutions & Variations

  • Lemon is the everyday swap for lime in this kind of dish — the acidity plays the same role even though the flavour is not identical.
  • An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.
  • Fresh herbs work in place of the dried oregano at roughly three times the quantity — a teaspoon of dried is about a tablespoon of fresh, chopped.

Storing and Reheating

The filling keeps 3 days refrigerated and freezes 2 months.

The Numbers per Serving

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.

541Calories
36gProtein
43gCarbs
25gFat
8gFibre
4gSugar
880mgSodium

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Compiled by Turab

Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.

First published ; last changed .