20 Taco Recipes That’ll Turn Your Kitchen Into a Fiesta

Written by Michael Matthews

Santa Monica Street Tacos

Nothing can satisfy a craving for tacos like carne asada, the famous Mexican skirt steak. Even if you don’t know the name, you know the meat.

Carne aside is usually cut into small pieces or strips of juicy steak. The recipe includes recommending toppings, including cilantro-lime dressing to use instead of salsa, but these steak tacos are tasty enough to eat plain. If you do make the vinaigrette, though, you’ll have plenty left over for salads.

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Taco French Bread Pizza

Not in the mood to prepare the dough for homemade pizza? Take it easy, and make a taco pizza with a loaf of bread instead.

All you have to do is split it in half and load it up with toppings. Start with a spread of refried beans as the sauce, and then add whatever strikes your fancy. For example, swap out the cheddar cheese with Oaxaca cheese, or use jalapeno slices instead of black olives. And if you have chorizo sausage, it’ll add heat if used in place of the ground beef.

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Chipotle Shrimp Tacos

When you’re craving seafood, it doesn’t take much effort to whip up shrimp tacos.

These have a homemade broccoli slaw, but you can use other toppings as well. Since the suggested sauce is a mix of Korean chili sauce (gochujang paste) and mayonnaise, you can run with that inspiration, making Korean tacos with ingredients like kimchi, green onions, and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.

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Fresh Fruit Pancake Tacos

This isn’t just a fun way to eat pancakes. Since these are thinner like tortillas, the pancake batter only uses a little bit of flour.

And, you can use almond flour or whatever kind is available in your pantry. Mix with eggs, a banana, and baking powder, and then make them on the griddle just like any other pancakes. After they cool for a couple minutes, fill with fruit of choice, and devour.

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Mini Taco Stuffed Bell Peppers

Those tiny bell peppers always look enticing at the store, but what’s the point of getting them in miniature form? To make mini stuffed peppers, of course!

These end up with an awesome meat-to-pepper ratio, and like tacos, they’re finger food. No knife and fork required. The macros for the original recipe have slightly higher fat, which can be reduced by using lean ground beef and low-fat sour cream.

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Shredded Lamb Taco Filling

One of the easiest ways to prepare meat is to cook and shred it. And once you do that, it’s ready to season to your taste and serve in any dish that satisfies your cravings – even if they involve global fusion.

Tacos are Mexican, but the concept can be made to plate up any kind of cuisine. This recipe includes serving suggestions that are inspired by Middle Eastern flavors, including harissa yogurt, orange salsa, and pomegranate seeds to serve.

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Navajo Tacos

Fried bread tacos are awesome when you want to go all out for a meal. This recipe is for the fried bread itself, made with shortening to ensure they’re light and crisp.

From there, you can create Navajo tacos with anything you like, from fruit and veggies to meat and cheese. They’re usually served open-face like tostadas, but you could fold them to eat if you prefer. Either way, make sure to prepare a couple extra fry breads for dessert. They’re great with just a drizzle of honey.

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Blackened Fish Tacos with Chipotle Cream

Fish tacos don’t have to be fried to taste amazing. Tilapia is seasoned with a blend of herbs and spices – plus a touch of brown sugar – and then quickly pan-fried. Be sure to preheat the pan well and keep it at a high heat so that the outside sears.

The fish is so flavorful, it hardly needs anything but tortillas and your favorite salsa to feel like a complete meal. But if you want to go all out, make the accompanying chipotle cream, and serve with a dollop of guacamole.

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Red Lentil Taco Soup

Technically tacos are served in a tortilla, of course, but the flavor can be infused into other meals like this lentil soup.

The seasoning of ground cumin, ancho chili, and lime juice hit all the right notes. And corn tortillas are baked to a crisp, like croutons, to top this vegetarian Mexican soup. But it’s not to be confused with tortilla soup, in which wheat tortillas cook down to help thicken the liquid.

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Curried Chicken Tacos with Avocado Crema

Make a batch of slow cooker taco filling ahead of time, and you’ll be eating for days. You can even freeze the slow-cooked chicken to have during a busy week.

Whether you leave the chicken to cook all day, or have it prepared in the fridge or freezer, all you have to do before dinnertime is make the avocado crema – or pick up guacamole from the grocery store.

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7-Layer Chicken Taco Salad

Instead of seven-layer dip, upgrade the concept into a delicious chicken salad. It doesn’t just look good on the table; guests will have fun digging through the various ingredients to get a little bit of everything.

The yogurt salsa dressing and chicken are mixed together to make one layer, which makes it easy to ensure there’s some dressing in every bite. Just be sure to assemble everything right before eating because it’s best fresh.

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Black Bean & Veggie Tostada

Sometimes you want the flavor of a whole-wheat tortilla but want something crispy. If you toast the tortillas to make a tostada, all your taco wishes can come true.

Tostadas usually have a base layer of beans, and then the toppings are piled on from there. To make a tasty vegetarian taco, this recipe uses tomatoes, cilantro, and avocado. But you could throw some shredded meat on there too.

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Bacon & Eggs Breakfast Tacos

Why cheat on the beloved breakfast burritos for these tacos? While they may not be as portable, they’re more customizable.

So you can make one with potato hash and avocado slices, and then have another with bacon and eggs. Then again, if you portion out your ingredients just right, you can fit it all in one tortilla for an out-of-this-world breakfast taco.

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Turkey Taco Casserole

Whereas you can’t fool anyone by trading out turkey for red meat in a typical taco, it works really well in a taco casserole.

It’s loaded with crispy tortillas, enchilada sauce, and cheese. If you can multi-task in the kitchen to prep the enchilada sauce from scratch while the ground turkey is in the skillet – or just make it ahead of time – this is a 30-minute meal.

And since everything in this taco bake simmers together in the oven, the meat is infused with Mexican flavor.

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Homemade Taco Sauce

Bottled taco sauces are often sweetened for no reason. Luckily it’s easy to make your own at home – and that includes the taco seasoning, which can be used to add Mexican flavor to everything from baked chicken to scrambled eggs.

Making a seasoning mix from scratch can seem daunting if you don’t have a well-stocked spice rack. But it’s easy and cheap if you can find a natural grocery store in your area that has a bulk spice section.

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Healthy Taco Pie

To get the ultimate taco tips, visit the Holy Taco Church. This blog by bestselling author Kevin Hearne has what you need to make the best homemade tacos, including a guide to roasting chiles, a recipe for tequila slaw, and – for when you’re taking a taco bread – the secret to making 30-minute chicken enchiladas.

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Creamy Taco Dip

Made too much taco meat? With just a few more ingredients, you can turn leftover ground beef into a creamy dip.

This would be incredible with the ground beef & kale taco filling, or you can start by mixing a pound of lean ground beef with taco seasoning and then browning it in a hot pan. To make the Mexican dip, mix the meat with cream cheese, salsa, and shredded cheese. Bake until it’s bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips, or if you can hunt down a bag, try quinoa chips instead.

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Chipotle Beef & Wild Mushroom Tacos

With wild mushrooms, jalapeno, and onion mixed into the taco filling, it’s hard to believe these are made with ground beef.

Traditional beef tacos would use steak to make carne asada instead, but this is a faster way to get dinner on the table. Since the original recipe is for Paleo tacos, it uses homemade coconut tortillas. But if that’s not your style, feel free to serve these with soft wheat tortillas instead.

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Ground Beef & Kale Taco Filling

When you think of ground beef tacos, the first thing that comes to mind might be fast food. Tacos can be healthy, but beef topped with processed cheese, shredded lettuce, and sour cream will not cut it.

These homemade tacos are far from fast food with black beans and kale. You’ll get a taco filling that is good enough to be savored whether you choose to wrap it in traditional tortillas or a big leaf of lettuce.

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Tacos al Pastor

These pineapple and pork tacos are now known as Mexican street food, but the history actually traces back to the Middle East.

Instead of roasting lamb on a spit, Lebanese-Mexicans began to prepare chili-marinated pork in the same style. And this authentic Mexican fusion food is relatively new, only being created in the mid-1900s.

Despite its original inspiration, tacos al pastor is now made more often in a skillet, which is lucky for you since you can quickly cook them at home.

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