Old School Beef Taco
Recipe video above. Beef tacos - the old school way! A juicy beef filling stuffed in crispy taco shells. For the real old school experience, go with shredded iceberg lettuce, tomato and sour cream! I like to BAKE my shells with the taco meat and cheese for molten goodness, but this is optional. If you skip it, just bake the empty shells per packet directions. SCALE UP the seasonings and add vegetables to make the filling stretch further!
- Prep time
- 14 min
- Cook time
- 31 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 10 to 12 crispy taco shells (("stand and stuff) OR soft tortillas of choice (Note 1))
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 garlic cloves (, minced)
- 1 onion (, finely chopped)
- 500 g / 1 lb beef (, ground / mince (Note 2))
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1/4 cup / 65ml water
- 1 tsp EACH garlic powder, onion powder, dried oregano
- 2 tsp EACH cumin powder, paprika
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper ((adjust spiciness to taste, can skip))
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- Shredded cheese ((Note 3))
- Shredded iceberg lettuce
- 2 tomatoes (, chopped)
- 1/2 red or white onion (, chopped)
- Sour cream
- Taco sauce ((optional))
- Other: coriander/cilantro (, jalapeño, hot sauce / chilli sauce, pickled chillies, salsa sauce, pico de gallo)
Instructions
- 1
Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- 2
Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add garlic and onion - cook 2 minutes until golden.
- 3
Add beef and cook for 2 minutes, breaking it up as you go, until it changes from red to light brown.
- 4
Add Taco Seasonings and cook for 2 minutes until beef is cooked through.
- 5
Add tomato paste and water. Cook for 1 minute or until water is evaporated and you're left with a juicy not not watery beef filling.
- 6
Place taco shells in a baking pan (I can fit 10 in). Fill with taco meat, top with cheese.
- 7
Bake 5 to 7 minutes until cheese is melted by which time the shells with be crispy.
- 8
Serve tacos hot, straight out of the oven. Lay out toppings and sauces of choice on the table and let everyone assemble their own!