Soft-Shell Tacos
Family friendly homemade ground beef soft tacos. By making your own taco seasoning with the included recipe, you get to control the heat and the salt!
Servings: 5 tacos
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano, crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder (for smoky heat) OR 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (for smoky flavor without the heat) see notes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated onion
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small onion, small dice
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 medium tomato, medium diced
- 1 cup water or unsalted beef broth
- 5 taco-sized flour tortillas
- Suggested toppings: diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce or shredded cabbage, shredded cheese (cheddar, monterrey jack, cotija, or pepper jack recommended), sour cream, guacamole
Instructions
- In a small bowl, stir together the spices for the spice mix; set aside.
- Heat a frying pan then add the ground beef; cook 1 minute, breaking up ground beef well. Add the onion and garlic; continue cooking an additional 3 minutes.
- Add spices to the beef mixture and stir well. Stir in the tomato or tomato paste and the water or beef broth. Over medium heat, cook, stirring as needed, until the liquid has mostly cooked off.
- Serve immediately in warm tortillas (see noted) of choice. Top as desired.
Notes
If beef is very lean, a little olive oil or other fat of choice can be added to pan to keep beef from sticking to pan.
To warm tortillas: Frying pan - in a hot frying pan, warm individual tortillas by heating tortilla on one side for 30-60 seconds, then flipping tortilla over to opposite side and warming for an additional few seconds. Keep warm by placing on a clean dish towel-lined plate and folding ends of dish towel over tortillas. Microwave - place a clean dish towel on a plate. Place the tortillas on top of the dish towel and cover with end(s) of dish towel. Heat for 1 minute at 50-60% power.
Taco Seasoning: Triple or quadruple (or more) the taco seasoning recipe to keep on hand for future taco nights. Simply store in a securely covered glass jar. May be stored in or out of the refrigerator. Use about 2 1/2 tablespoons (2 tablespoons + 1 1/2 teaspoons) per 1 pound of ground beef. Taco seasoning may also be used to flavor other Mexican-style dishes such as burritos, enchiladas, fajitas, refried beans and rice.