Best Ground Beef Tacos
My go-to easy ground beef taco recipe! With perfectly spiced beef, crisp veggies and finished with a cilantro lime crema. This recipe is packed with flavor and so easy to make.
One of my favorite easy, weeknight meals! These ground beef tacos are so easy to make, packed with flavor and made with simple, pantry staple ingredients.
It starts with a base of ground beef that we’ll simmer in our homemade taco seasoning so it’s nice and flavorful, then top it with pico de gallo, lettuce, cheese, cilantro and my homemade cilantro lime crema.
This is such a great recipe to meal prep for the week or make it for a taco night with friends or an easy weeknight dinner with family.
I love to serve these with a side of my cilantro lime rice or Mexican rice. Also delicious with my Spanish cauliflower rice for a low carb option! You can turn this ground beef into a burrito, quesadilla or even use it on nachos.
Before we get started…
- This recipe is very versatile, feel free to add pickled onions, different cheese, salsa, whatever you like!
- I like an 85% ground beef but you can use whatever you prefer.
- One full cup of water might seem like a lot to add to ground beef, but the cornstarch will thicken it and it really helps ensure the meat is tender, flavorful and saucy.
- I highly suggest warming your tortillas before serving. This is especially important if you’re using a gluten free tortilla like I did (corn, almond flour etc.) as it will help prevent tearing.
How to make ground beef tacos
Heat a skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add in the ground beef. Cook until browned and mostly cooked through.
Whisk together all spices, salt, sugar and cornstarch. Add in the spice mixture and stir to combine.
Add in the water and mix well. Reduce the heat to medium/low and let simmer. It might seem liquidy at first and this may be more water than you’re used to using for ground beef, but I promise it works! It will thicken and make the beef much more flavorful.
Let simmer for about 10 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Taste and add more salt or some cayenne or red pepper for spice.
If you find it isn’t thickening as quickly or as much as you like, you can make a cornstarch slurry by combining 1/2 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water and add that into the mix.
Warm your tortillas either in the microwave or on the stove (this will help prevent cracking/ripping), then top with the beef, lettuce, pico, cheese and crema. Enjoy!
Homemade taco seasoning
I love a good old taco seasoning packet as much as the next person, but I also love being able to control the level of spice and seasonings so we’re doing a DIY version for these ground beef tacos!
For the spices, you will need chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cumin, salt and some brown sugar to balance it all out. You can increase the spice by adding in some jalapeno or red pepper flakes.
Variations
The best thing about tacos is how versatile they are! You can add in whatever other toppings you like. I love some sauteed bell peppers and onions, fresh avocado or guac, some crushed tortilla chips for a little crunch… whatever you like!
I opted to top with my cilantro lima crema, but my chipotle aioli is also delicious.
How to store and freeze
The ground beef taco mix will store well in the fridge for 2-3 days. I suggest storing all components to the tacos separately so that nothing gets soggy or wilted.
Just heat up the meat mixture and then serve with all of the toppings as usual. You can also turn it into a taco bowl like my ground beef taco bowls!
You can also freeze the beef once cooked! Just let it cool and transfer to an air tight freezer safe container and freeze for up to 1 month. Let thaw in the fridge, then reheat as usual. It helps to freeze in smaller containers so you can simply thaw what you need at a time.
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