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Simple Ground Beef Tacos are a great dinner recipe that you can make in less than 15 minutes, and a great option for a simple taco night at home.
Taco Tuesday is our favorite night in the house. There are so many options for tacos. Between the types of taco filling, the favorite toppings you can use, and more!
Make this taco meat for a simple dinner recipe with homemade taco meat and the best toppings, plus it is a budget-friendly meal, making this one of our favorite weeknight family meals.
Why you’ll love this family favorite recipe!
I love that with this recipe, I can make one base for the tacos, and then everyone gets to build their tacos to their liking. These are great to make sure even your picky eaters will enjoy, and it is a super quick dinner recipe that can be made in less than 15 minutes. It is also a favorite way to use up a pound of ground beef when I haven’t prepped anything.
Ingredients for Simple Ground Beef Tacos:
- Protein: Use the 80/20 ground beef or lean ground beef for the tacos
- Seasoning: I like to keep it simple with prepared taco seasoning, or you can use homemade taco seasoning
- Tomato: To make the taco meat thicker, I add a little tomato paste
- Cooking liquid: Water will work for this recipe
- Beans: Add even more protein and flavor to this recipe by using drained and rinsed pinto beans
- Tortillas: Make your choice between small flour or white corn tortillas (street taco size works great) or even hard shell tortillas
- Toppings: Our favorite taco toppings are shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, shredded cheese, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, diced onions, jalapeños, cilantro, lime wedges, and more
How to Make Ground Beef Tacos:
Brown the Beef:
- Heat a bit of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it apart with a spatula, until fully browned—about 7 minutes.
- Drain excess grease with a strainer if needed.
- Stir in the pinto beans.
Season and Simmer:
- Stir in the taco seasoning mix, tomato paste, and water. Mix well to coat the beef evenly.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 3–5 minutes, or until the sauce thickens and clings to the meat.
Assemble the Tacos:
- Warm your tortillas (in a skillet or microwave), then use the wooden spoon to place the seasoned beef into each of the tortillas.
- Add your favorite toppings and serve immediately with some chips for Mexican rice.
Simple Ground Beef Tacos
Equipment
- Wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 2 tbsp taco seasoning
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ cup water
- 14 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- Small flour or corn tortillas, street taco size works great
Toppings (choose your favorites):
- Shredded lettuce
- Diced tomatoes
- Shredded cheese
- Salsa
- Guacamole
- Sour cream
- Diced onions
- Jalapeños, cilantro, lime wedges, etc.
Instructions
Brown the Beef:
- Heat a bit of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it apart with a spatula, until fully browned—about 7 minutes. Drain excess fat if needed. Stir in the pinto beans.
Season and Simmer:
- Stir in the taco seasoning, tomato paste, and water. Mix well to coat the beef evenly. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 3–5 minutes, or until the sauce thickens and clings to the meat.
Assemble the Tacos:
- Warm your tortillas (in a skillet or microwave), then spoon the seasoned beef into each one. Add your favorite toppings and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How to store leftover taco meat:
Fridge: Once the meat has cooled down to room temperature, put the leftover taco meat and any toppings in separate airtight containers and then place the containers in the refrigerator for 4-5 days for a quick lunch or dinner.
Tips and tricks for making easy tacos:
Meat to use:
I like to use ground beef for this recipe, but you could also use ground turkey or ground chicken are great options as well.
Beans to use:
This taco recipe does great with either pinto beans or black beans for more ways to add cheap protein to these flavorful juicy homemade tacos.
Different toppings for tacos:
- Lime juice
- Pico de gallo
- Chopped lettuce
- Shredded cheeses
- Nacho cheese
- Chopped up crispy taco shells or tortilla chips
Low carb taco options:
If you want to keep to low carb options, you can turn this into a taco salad with a bowl of lettuce topped with the golden brown meat and all the toppings. This is also great for any next day with any leftover meat too.
Use low-carb tortillas in place of the crunchy tortilla shells or the flour tortillas.
More delicious beef recipes:
Quick links for making dinner easy:
- Family meal plans
- Tools for the kitchen and more
- The best cookbook for family dinner recipes
- FREE budget meal plan
- Cooking videos to watch
If you give these recipes a try, make sure to tag us on Instagram @julia.pacheco.cooking and let us know how much you liked the recipes!
