Baked Tacos
This baked tacos recipe takes classic ground beef tacos and bakes them all at once so everything comes out hot, melty, and lightly crisp. The shells stay crunchy, the beef turns rich and saucy, and the melted cheese brings it all together in each bite. It is simple, familiar comfort food that works every time.
Servings: 10 tacos
Calories: 320kcal
Ingredients
- 10 hard taco shells Stand & Stuff work best
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ pounds ground beef 85/15%
- ¾ cup diced yellow onion
- 1 ounce taco seasoning 1 packet
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¾ cup tomato sauce
- 1 ½ cups cheddar-jack cheese shredded
- 1 tablespoon cilantro fresh, finely chopped, optional garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Place the hard taco shells, standing upright, into a 9×13 baking dish being sure not to overcrowd the dish. This will allow the shells to crisp up evenly when baked.
- Add the olive oil to a large skillet. Once the oil is hot, add the diced yellow onions, ground beef, salt and black pepper.
- Cook for 8-10 minutes or until no pink remains. Break up the ground beef while cooking for even browning.
- Drain off as much of the excess grease as possible before adding the remaining ingredients to the skillet.
- Stir in the tomato sauce and taco seasoning to the cooked ground beef and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until the taco meat has absorbed as much of the sauce as possible without drying out.
- Fill each of the hard taco shells with approximately ⅓-½ cup of the taco filling. Be sure to divide the filling evenly between each of the hard taco shells.
- Sprinkle the tops of each of the filled taco shells with the shredded cheddar-jack cheese being sure to evenly distribute the cheese between each of the tacos.
- Bake for 5-7 minutes or just until the cheese is melted and the hard taco shells are crispy.
- Remove the baked tacos from the oven and lightly sprinkle the optional garnish of chopped fresh cilantro over the baked tacos before serving.
Notes
- Cook the filling until thick and slightly saucy, not wet or runny. It should hold together when stirred.
- Drain excess grease from the beef before adding sauce to prevent soggy shells.
- Fill each shell lightly, about ⅓ cup, so they crisp properly and are easier to eat.
- Arrange shells with space between them so they bake and crisp and don't steam.
- Bake just until the cheese melts, about 5 to 7 minutes. Do not overbake or the shells can become too hard.
Nutrition
Calories: 320kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 619mg | Potassium: 298mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 481IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 156mg | Iron: 2mg