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Assembled beef tacos with toppings.
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4.50 from 4 votes

Beef Tacos

Seasoned ground beef filling for tacos, burritos or nachos. Easy, flavorful taco meat comes together in the skillet in about a half hour. Put out all the fixins for a perfect weeknight dinner the whole family loves!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 227kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon coriander
  • ½ teaspoon oregano
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 pound lean ground beef, I like ground sirloin
  • ½ cup tomato sauce
  • ½ cup chicken broth, I used homemade
  • 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  • Tortillas, corn or flour or hard/crispy
  • Toppings of choice, such as: cheese, sour cream, beans, salsa, hot sauce, shredded lettuce or cabbage, jalapeños, cilantro, avocado, lime wedges, tortilla chips

Instructions

  • Get all your ingredients prepped and in place, measure your spices out into one small dish.  Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat until shimmering.  Add onion and cook until softened, about 3 or 4 minutes.  Add garlic, spices and salt, and cook until fragrant, maybe a minute, being careful not to burn.
  • Add the ground beef and cook and break up with a wooden spoon until no longer pink.  Do not drain meat.  Stir in the tomato sauce, chicken broth, cider vinegar and brown sugar.  Simmer until thickened, about 10 - 15 minutes.  You are looking for a thick beef taco mixture, not watery or runny.  Taste for salt.
  • If using hard shells, heat in oven per package instructions. If using flour or corn tortillas, heat in a nonstick skillet for a minute or two on each side.  Fill taco shells with meat mixture and toppings of choice.  Enjoy!

Notes

This taco meat is full of flavor but not spicy.  And it’s so versatile, either in a classic hard taco shell, wrapped up in a flour tortilla like a burrito or piled on chips for nachos.  Nothing fancy or time consuming, just really delicious.
Nutrition information is for filling only, no taco shells or toppings.

Nutrition

Calories: 227kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 979mg | Potassium: 634mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1384IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 4mg