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. 😅
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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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Equipment
- Measuring Cups Spoons
- Glass Casserole Dish
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!)
These look great and I plan to make them tonight! Is it Ok to use regular paprika? I have that but don’t have smoked paprika?
Yes, it just won’t have a smoky flavor like you get with the smoked paprika.
I made this for dinner tonight. Unfortunately, when I opened the box of taco shells, they were all broken. So, instead of filling the tacos and baking as per the recipe, I heated the crumbled tacos separately, let the cheese melt over the beef/bean mixture on the stove, and let everyone assemble their own plate at the table. They were nonetheless delicious and I will definitely make them again. I served this with quinoa and salad.
The best part of making these tacos was that … everyone got to eat at the same time! Usually I spread it all out on the counter and everyone makes their own, at their own pace, and I am left cleaning up! These were ready pronto and great too! (I did sub ground turkey for beef.)
what about hardening soft shell corn tortillas and then continuing with recipe?
I suppose that would work as long as they don’t brown while you’re hardening them?
Wow, this is amazing. I haven’t made tacos at home in 15 years. With kids my food was always cold and everyone else was done by the time I got to eat. I love the bean / meat combo. I used ground turkey twice now and it works great.
Thank you for another great recipe!!
I went to make this last night and realized the ground beef I was planning on using had gone questionable. I had some frozen Tilapia fillets and used them as a quick substitute, dicing them and adding them just as you would the beef. It turned out delicious, and the leftover fish and bean mixture is a great lunch with a little lettuce, tomato, and ranch!
So looking forward to trying this recipe this week! I’ve been drooling over it on my Pinterest board for long enough. :-)
Question: I’ve never used pre-made hard shells for tacos before and didn’t know you should warm them in the oven before use, either. Do you need to put them in the oven (by themselves) before filling with fixings and popping them back in to melt the cheese, or just put them in the oven one time with all the fixings inside?
I just put them in the oven one time after they were already filled. :)
I made these a few weeks ago and we loved them! (I knew to warm taco shells, who knew it was a thing NOT to know!) Made them again tonight using 1lb ground turkey, 2C black beans (that I did in the Instant Pot, fabulous beans!) and added a can of diced green chiles in. I’m going to freeze half for later, delicious stuff and my husband asked “Can we have these again tomorrow night??” lol Winner, winner, taco dinner. ;)
These tacos came out ridiculously delicious. I’ve never made tacos this good in my entire life! I love black beans and for some reason never thought to put them in with my hard shell tacos. I used ground turkey instead of beef because I already had a half pound in my freezer and I don’t usually choose ground turkey over beef in tacos but this time I barely could tell the difference! I added jalapeños, tomatoes, shredded lettuce, taco sauce and sour cream. I skipped the cilantro because I think it’s such a pain to rip and cut. I will definitely be making tacos more often!
I forgot to add that I decided to get those new stand and stuff hard taco shells with the flat bottom. It made assembling and eating the tacos so much easier! I highly recommend it.
Yum, five stars. I’m another one who didn’t know you were supposed to toast the damn shells, second generation cause my mother never did either!
My mother didn’t either!! Hahahah. And I never bothered to read the box because they looked ready to use… :P
I didn’t know either because my mom never made tacos! I also never read the box but I never had an issue either!
I made these tonight and they are SO GOOD!!! My family (even kids) loved them. I don’t ever think I can eat un-bakrd tacos again…I will just be let down. :)
Ooh another goodie. Quick and simple enough to make on a weeknight. I only served it with sour cream because this wuss thought it was spicy enough without jalapeños.
Delicious! Only changes we made were doubling the cayenne and we (accidentally) added a whole pound of beef. This recipe came together really quickly and we will definitely make again. Thank you Beth for another great recipe.
I didn’t rate the recipe because I did make two changes. I added a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, which was something I saw on a Trader Joe’s packaged taco seasoning and I also left out the cayenne. My 5 and 7 year kids LOVED them. In fact, my 7 year, who normally won’t eat black beans, ate one and asked for a second! I will definitely make these again. Thanks for a wonderful recipe. I bet it is delicious exactly as shown in your original recipe.
Simple and delicious!!