Easy Ground Beef Street Taco Recipe

If you've ever been to Mexico, it's likely you fondly remember how wickedly delicious the tacos were. Usually filled with well-marinated meat and simple, fresh toppings, those tacos might have even changed your life. With this recipe from Michelle McGlinn, your tacos nights at home can be life-changing, too.

Ground beef isn't a typical filling for authentic Mexican tacos. It's unlikely you'd find ground beef in many dishes at all, besides a picadillo or maybe a stuffed chile relleno. It's a popular meat in America because of how inexpensive and quick-cooking it is, making it a popular choice for commercial taco restaurants.

While delicious, it's hard to braise large cuts of beef or roast big shoulders of pork for a weeknight dinner. To recreate that authentic street taco taste in under 20 minutes, we used quick-cooking ground beef flavored with spices, lime, and adobo and cooked until crispy for a similarly delicious filling. Crumbly cotija, fresh onion, and cilantro will quickly replace the lettuce and tomato of taco nights past, might make these easy ground beef street tacos your new favorite Tuesday treat.

First, grab ground beef. We recommend opting for lean ground beef for this recipe since we will be draining any excess fat in the skillet and won't need the extra grease (unlike a burger, which benefits from juicy fats). To season the beef, you'll need cumin, chili powder, lime juice, salt, pepper, and a can of chipotles in adobo. Unless you like your tacos extra spicy, you won't need the whole can of chipotles and can save the rest for something like chipotle mayo. For toppings, you'll just need a small white or yellow onion, fresh cilantro, and cotija cheese. If you can't find cotija, try queso fresco, which is found in most grocery stores near cheeses like feta or mozzarella. Finally, get the smallest tortillas in the store — they'll be about 4 inches wide and sold as either corn or flour street taco shells.

Something many people don't know about ground beef is that cooking it on high heat can give it a crispy, caramelized texture, adding a richness similar to the sear on a steak. To get this crust on a crumbly meat, heat a cast iron over medium high heat and add the oil and beef. Crumble the beef as it browns, then let it cook without stirring for several minutes. Using lean ground beef will help here; the dry heat is what will crisp the beef. After a few minutes, toss the beef, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Repeat the process again until the beef is about half caramelized and crispy.

Add in the adobo sauce, chipotles, cumin, chili powder, lime juice, salt, and pepper. Crush the chipotles with the back of a spoon to combine, and stir the seasonings into the ground beef until well incorporated. Taste and add more salt and pepper or adobo as desired. If the mixture is too spicy (the adobos can sneak up on you), just squeeze in a little more lime juice to tone it down.

Assembly is a breeze, especially if you have a handy sous chef to help you chop the veg. Warm the tortillas to package directions — typically they are warmed in the microwave for a few seconds or heated on the stovetop until hot. If you have a gas stove, try putting the tortillas directly on the flame to warm through.

With the tortillas warm, layer two shells with ground beef, then top with chopped onion. Sprinkle with cotija cheese, then add a handful of cilantro. To jazz it up further, try adding pickled red onions, chipotle mayo, or mashed avocado.

These tacos not only make an excellent taco Tuesday, but also make a good meal prep for the rest of the week, too. The seasoned ground beef lasts for a week in the refrigerator and the toppings can be chopped and saved ahead of time to make lunches a breeze. If you don't want handhelds for lunch, there are plenty of ways to use up leftover taco meat. For instance, you could make a taco bowl out of the leftovers, piling the ground beef and veggies on top of rice and beans. These easy ground beef street tacos pair well with chips and guacamole, fresh pico de gallo, and tender rice and beans.

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The combination of tortilla, protein-rich filling, spicy, smoky, or piquant sauces, and toppings is open to a dizzying amount of experimentation. The tacos we get from a fast food joint or make from a supermarket kit pale in comparison to the many varieties of tacos available from street stands throughout Mexico. 

You'll find a seemingly endless array of variations throughout the country, but perhaps one of the best known is Carnitas, which hail from the state of Michoácan and feature pork slow-cooked until tender and juicy with crispy edges. Barbacoa, from Mexico City, also involves slow-cooked meat, which might originally have been sheep but is now commonly beef.

Al Pastor tacos were first made in the 1930s in Puebla, Mexico. The meat — originally lamb  –  would have been cooked on a spit. Al Pastor tacos bear a striking resemblance to shawarma because they were the creation of Lebanese immigrants to the region. Today, Al Pastor tacos are likely to be made with marinated pork and piled with toppings like onions and cilantro. Carne Asada, from Northern Mexico, showcases marinated and grilled strips of steak or chicken and has become a popular street food item around the country. Tacos al vapor are sold from bicycle baskets on the streets of Mexico City. The tacos are filled with refried beans, chicken, or pork rinds, steamed in a basket above hot water, and served with salsa verde and other toppings.

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