Ground Beef Tacos
The absolute best seasoned ground beef for your taco fix!
I have been infatuated with tacos since I was a little kid. I’m not sure when I started loving them so much, but they were always my food of choice if we were at the mall and eating at the food court, or if I got to pick what we had for dinner on any given night. Tacos. Always tacos.
The weekend after Christmas, I had a feeling that everyone was pretty much over big, heavy holiday meals, so when I planned Sunday dinner, I spied ground beef that needed to be used up and thought a simple taco bar would be perfect. I keep a jar of homemade taco seasoning in my pantry for quick taco nights, but I had just gone through some recipe binders and saw this recipe for ground beef tacos, so I decided to give it a try.
Everyone said that they were the best tacos they’d ever had, so the recipe was a total win!
Save This Recipe
Enter your email address, and we'll send it straight to your inbox!
This recipe takes a little bit more time than just throwing some taco seasoning mix into the pan with ground beef, but not all that much more, and for the crazy amount of flavor that you get, it’s totally worth it! I love the addition of coriander, which isn’t something I normally include in my seasoning mix, but it really adds to the characteristic Mexican flavor.
Many of you have asked for some Whole30 recipes since I’m doing it again this month. We loved this taco meat so much that last week I made a double batch (minus the vinegar and brown sugar) to keep in the refrigerator. My husband loved it in his scrambled eggs in the morning and with roasted vegetables, and I ate it with a sweet potato for my lunches (I’d cut the potato in half, mash it up and add the meat for a “stuffed” potato). Delicious and so easy to make.
Whether you’re looking to make traditional tacos or would like a spiced up beef option for other meals, this taco meat is the absolute best recipe!
One year ago: Banana Muffins
Four years ago: New England Clam Chowder
Five years ago: Peanut Butter Cup Bars
Six years ago: Maple-Oatmeal Scones
Ground Beef Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
- 1 small onion, minced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- 1 pound (453.59 g) ground beef
- ½ cup (122.5 g) tomato sauce
- ½ cup (117.5 ml) chicken broth or stock
- 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon light brown sugar
- Black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until shimmering, about 2 minutes. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, oregano, cayenne and salt; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the beef and cook, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until the beef is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, chicken broth, vinegar and brown sugar, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring frequently, until the liquid has reduced and thickened (the mixture should not be completely dry), about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Assemble hard or soft tacos as you'd like, with toppings such as shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, guacamole, sour cream, cilantro, etc. Leftover taco meat can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Thank you for your wonderful recipe! I have used this recipe consistently for the past few years. I usually add a can of black beans too — delicious!
This has been my go-to taco recipe for years. Love it!!
I was wondering if this spice mixture would work for chicken tacos also?
Yes, absolutely!
Very rich in flavor!! Delicious and I’m a big taco fan always want to stay away from that prepackaged stuff!! Thanks for a great recipe!
Awesome!! I’ve made this three times. I made two minor modifications; using 2 tablespoons of tomato paste for the tomato sauce and using beef stock instead of chicken. Tomato paste because I like the depth over tomato sauce and beef stock , well, because we’re using beef. Chicken stock will work fine in a pinch. Really like it.
How can I reduce the sodium?
Yes, if you prefer/need to.
Wow! It was so yummy! I just discovered your website and I plan to try more recipes like this! :)
Hi Audrey, I’m so glad you enjoyed the tacos, and welcome! :)
You call for 2T Chili Powder. I have been learning about the difference between Chile Powder and Chili Powder and have found have found the latter has many of the ingredients that you also call for in the recipe including cumin. So do you mean chili or chile powder?
I am not a fan of cumin and most beef taco recipes I see call for a ton of cumin. Yours does not which is why it caught my eye. So if you intended to use Chile Powder (pure ground chiles) then the only cumin is the 1 teaspoon. Which I could adjust if required. Just hoping to get your thoughts on this related topic. Thanks.
Hi Brent, I use chili powder in this recipe.