If you want to take your Taco Tuesday to the next level, try baking your tacos! Yes, I said baking them. These Baked Beef Tacos are one of my favorite fast and easy weeknight meals. Their crunchy, toasty shells, melted cheese, and liberally seasoned beef and black bean filling always have me coming back for more. …And more. 😅
Why Bake Tacos?
Baking your tacos toasts the corn shells, makes sure the filling is nice and hot, and the cheese perfectly melted. Toasting hard taco shells is an often overlooked step in the taco making process, but makes a huge difference in the flavor of the taco shell.
I have to admit, I was well into my 20’s before I realized that you’re supposed to bake hard taco shells for a few minutes to toast the corn before filling and eating them. I guess I just never bothered to read the package before then, but I’m glad I finally did. So don’t feel bad if you’ve never done this before!
But baking the whole taco really takes these beef and black bean tacos to the next level.
Do the Baked Beef Tacos Stay Crunchy?
Yes, the taco shells stay crunchy! That is, if you use a lean ground beef, or make sure to drain the fat well when using a higher fat content beef. If the beef and bean mixture has too much oil, the oil will saturate the shells and make them soften. Also make sure to drain the beans well.
Can I Use Store Bought Taco Seasoning?
Yes. I used my own homemade taco seasoning for these baked beef and black bean tacos, but if you don’t have a well stocked spice cabinet you can just pick up one packet of store bought taco seasoning.
Can I Make These Baked Tacos Vegetarian?
Sure! try using an extra can of black beans in place of the ground beef, or try the filling from my Lentil Tacos or Quinoa and Black Bean Tacos!
Baked Beef Tacos
Servings 5 (2 tacos each)Ingredients
TACO SEASONING
- 1 Tbsp chili powder ($0.30)
- 1 tsp smoked paprika ($0.10)
- 1 tsp ground cumin ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.03)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- Freshly cracked black pepper ($0.03)
TACOS
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.37)
- 2 cloves garlic ($0.16)
- 1/2 lb. lean ground beef (93% lean or higher)* ($3.90)
- 1 15oz. can black beans ($0.79)
- 1 box hard taco shells (10 shells) ($1.00)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar (4oz.) ($1.20)
OPTIONAL TOPPINGS
- 1 tomato ($0.49)
- 1 jalapeño ($0.06)
- 1 handful fresh cilantro ($0.13)
- 1/4 cup sour cream ($0.11)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the taco seasoning, then set the seasoning aside (or use one envelope of store-bought taco seasoning). Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add the onion, garlic, and cooking oil to a large skillet. Sauté the onion and garlic over medium heat until the onion is soft and translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the ground beef and prepared taco seasoning and continue to sauté until the beef is cooked through (another 5 minutes).
- Arrange the taco shells in a casserole dish so they are all standing upright. If you do not have a dish that fits them snuggly enough to hold them up, use balled up aluminum foil to act as "book ends" to help hold the line of tacos upright.
- Drain the can of black beans well, but do not rinse them. A little sauciness helps keep the beef mixture moist.Stir the beans into the seasoned beef and allow them to heat through.
- Fill the tacos with the beef and bean mixture. Sprinkle the shredded cheese over top. Bake the tacos in the preheated oven for 7-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the taco shells are golden brown on the edges.
- While the tacos are baking, dice the tomato, slice the jalapeño, and roughly chop the cilantro leaves. Sprinkle the diced tomato, jalapeño, and cilantro over the tacos, and add a dollop of sour cream just before serving.
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Notes
Nutrition
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Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Baked Tacos – Step by Step Photos
Start by mixing up your homemade taco seasoning (or use a store bought blend instead). Stir together 1 Tbsp chili powder, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp oregano, 1/4 tsp cayenne, 1/2 tsp salt, and some freshly cracked pepper. Set the taco seasoning aside. Begin to preheat your oven to 400ºF.
Dice one onion and mince two cloves of garlic. Add them to a large skillet along with 1 Tbsp cooking oil. Sauté the onion and garlic over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent.
Add a 1/2 lb. lean ground beef and the prepared taco seasoning to the skillet. Continue to sauté until the beef is cooked through (about 5 minutes). If you are using a higher fat content beef, add the beef alone first and cook until browned, then drain the excess fat. Add the taco seasoning after draining and cook for one minute more.
Drain a 15oz. can of black beans well, then stir them into the skillet. I did not rinse the beans because the little bit of starchy coating they had helps keep the beef mixture moist.
Line up the taco shells in a baking dish so that they are all standing upright. My box of taco shells had 10 shells, but I think I had enough filling for 12. I used a smallish 8×12″ glass baking dish, which allowed them to sit in the dish snuggly enough to hold them upright. If you don’t have a dish that this works well with, you can use balls of aluminum foil to act as book ends and help hold the shells up.
Divide the beef and bean mixture between the taco shells, then top the tacos with 1 cup (or 4oz.) shredded cheddar cheese.
Bake the beef tacos in the preheated oven for 7-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the edges of the tacos become slightly golden brown. See those browned edges? That’s the FLAVOR. The total cooking time will depend on the type of shell you have, your oven, and other factors, so just keep an eye on them. The important part is that after baking they are all hot and toasty with melted cheese allll over ’em.
Finally, add your favorite cold toppings to your baked beef tacos. I used one diced tomato, one sliced jalapeño, a handful of chopped cilantro, and a little sour cream. Avocados, taco sauce, pineapple, and pico de gallo, would also be awesome!
Seriously, though. Tacos should not be confined to just Tuesdays. Tacos EVERY DAY. #teamtaco (P.S. try topping your tacos with some homemade Pico de Gallo!)
Way better than the standard taco!
I was so excited to see this recipe! Thank you, Beth! I immediately got the ingredients and made it for dinner that night. I thought it was excellent! I had doubled the bean/meat/seasoning mixture so I could have it for a second dinner. For the second dinner, I stirred in some frozen corn (before baking but after the meat/beans were together), and served it with sour cream. I loved it even more the second night because I like the sweetness of the corn and the coolness of the sour cream with the salty/squishy/warm meat combination. All those textures and temperatures made it so interesting to eat.
On taco night, by the time I get everyone’s dinner together mine’s cold. I never thought to bake them. Thank you! Now I’ll finally have hot tacos =o)
I totally agree with this! I never thought to batch bake tacos! We usually do taco bowls (just served with chips, not in the tortilla bowls) and mine is usually cold by the time I fix up everyone else’s.
wow I can not believe you guys do not know that you have to bake the taco shells before using it shows on the taco package you have to do so
I think Sarah and the others are referring to the assembling of the tacos and baking them with everything altogether.
Some years back I got tired of messy tacos that break when you’re trying to eat them, so I started to build a little taco casserole on my plate instead. Broken up taco shells mixed up with all the fixin’s. To this day that’s how I eat tacos. I got my boyfriend to start doing it to!
LOL, I totally used to do that, too! Forget trying to hold them together while eating, just break them up before you even start and eat it like a taco salad. ;)
I make a similar taco seasoning but I use Ancho chili powder and New Mexico Chili powder (1/2 Tblsp each). The grocery store I use here in Houston has fresh spices that you can bag. The Ancho has a nice deep flavor to it. I also use the same combination when making your enchilada sauce recipe.
I had no idea that hard taco shells were supposed to be warmed/toasted! =0
Those are some seriously dream looking taco’s! I’ll sub the beef but will definitely be making these! One way we make taco’s go further is to heat some refried beans, spread it on a soft tortilla and put the taco in that – like a double decker. SUPER filling and then it doesn’t matter if the taco shell breaks!
Oooooh double decker!! I like! :D
These look so good! I wonder if I could prepare them ahead of time and bake just before serving. Maybe the shells would get soggy.
I feel like that might work. The beef/bean mixture wasn’t really that wet. BUT there is a lot more moisture in refrigerator air than you might think, so that might affect the taco shells and make them seem kind of “stale”.
This recipe for Beef and Black Bean tacos looks awesome! We will be making it this weekend. I do have a question about the filling. I am planning on making this as a dish for a family bbq, and I was curious if I can make the filling ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator until just before I bake the tacos? It would save time and make these tacos something I could prepare in larger batches. :)
I would think that would be okay! You might have to bake a bit longer, though. You can try baking covered with foil for 5-7 minutes, then remove the foil, top with cheese, and bake for another 5-7 to toast the shells and melt the cheese.
I’m 52, and I didn’t know you were supposed to bake hard shell tacos. Thanks, Beth!
Oh god yes these are like handheld nachos! BRILLIANT.
Most definitely had a little bit of beef and a can of beans that I needed to use, perfect timing! Recipe looks great, going to give it a try tonight.
We always use the fresh, non-formed corn tortillas but do basically the same thing- just bake them flat like little tostada. They never get all the way hard so you can still bend them and eat them like a normal taco.
I heat the taco shells in the microwave. Who wants to heat up the oven (and kitchen) for a taco shell?
It’s not just heating the shell up, it’s actually toasting the corn. It’s the same difference between microwaving a bagel vs. putting it in the toaster. Warming vs. toasting.
I use soy or seitan crumbles for my tacos, sometimes adding black beans or lentils. Baking the tacos with their filling is a great idea!