Delicious Baked Tacos include crunchy tortilla shells filled with a seasoned meat and bean taco filling, topped with cheese and then baked. They’re fun and easy to make (or even to make in advance!);don’t expect leftovers!
We always reserve at least one day a week for “taco night” and these Baked Tacos make a regular appearance (along with fajitas, carne asada tacos, shrimp tacos and carnitas!) They’re also great for feeding a large group because you can prepare a whole bunch in a pan a few hours ahead of time and bake them just before you’re ready to eat. The taco meat mixture is made up of ground beef, beans, tomato sauce and pantry spices you already have, giving it a crave-worthy flavor that can’t be beat!
How to Make Baked Tacos:
- Cook the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking it into very small pieces until browned. Remove grease. Add onion and saute for a few minutes. Stir in the dry spices.
- Add the tomato sauce and pinto beans and stir to combine. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two 9×13” pans with the taco shells.
- Spoon taco mixture into tacos. Top with cheese. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Top with a little bit of lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream and salsa, if desired.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: The taco meat filling can be made 2-3 days in advance (depending on the freshness of your ingredients), stored in the fridge. When ready to use, fill tacos and bake as instructed. Assembled tacos, in the shells, will keep for a few hours stored in covered in the refrigerator (the taco shells will start to soften too much if assembled for longer than a few hours before baking).
To Freeze: You can freeze taco meat filling in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, fill tacos and bake as directed.
Consider trying these popular dinner recipes:
- Slow Cooker Pot Roast
- Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
- Honey-Lime Chicken Enchiladas
- Italian Grilled Cheese
- Gourmet Baked Mac N Cheese with Bacon
- Crispy BBQ Chicken Wraps
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Recipe
Baked Tacos
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef (or ground turkey)
- 1 small onion , chopped
- 1 Tablespoon chili powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 16 ounce can pinto beans , or black beans
- 20 hard tacos shells
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese , or your preffered kind of cheese
- 1 romaine heart , chopped
- 2 Roma tomatoes , chopped
- salsa and sour cream , for topping, optional
Instructions
- Cook the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking it into very small pieces until browned. Remove grease. Add onion and saute for a few minutes. Stir in the dry spices.
- Add tomato sauce and pinto beans and stir to combine. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two 9x13'' pans with the taco shells.
- Spoon taco mixture into tacos. Top with cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes.
- Top with a little bit of lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream and salsa, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe February 2016. Updated January 2021.
Hi, Just discovered your site from Pinterest and LOVE it. A ? for you for these oven baked taco’s do you grease the baking pan or should one use non stick foil in the bottom before layering the tacos?
Thank you so much.
You could just lightly grease the pan if you want–mine never stick, but if you’re worried about it, that’s a good solution 🙂
Thank you so much for your speedy response to my ?. Also, I had saved 3 recipes on my custom meal plan, however, today they are not there any more and its showing 0 saved recipes. Am I doing something wrong?
Thanks & sorry for too many ?’s.
You’re welcome! As for the custom meal plan, my website doesn’t have the capability at this time to save recipes after being closed out of. You’ll have to add them again and print the shopping list, or email it to yourself when you’re done, before leaving. Sorry for the inconvenience!
Wow, These were the best tacos I’ve had in awhile. And so simple to make. I thought it was going to make a ton and almost offered some to my neighbor, but after I took my first bite I knew my husband and I could pound at least 5 each an the rest for our 3 young kids. (only had 2 leftover) :). My husband is always a kind critic, he’ll eat my food but does not compliment me unless he really genuinely loves it. Well these tacos got the compliment.
I’m so thrilled to hear that, thanks for your sweet comment Brittany!
First off let me tell you how much i love your site.
The only issue i had with these was the Soggy shells is there a trick to stop that from happening?
Other that that these were awesome!
Is there a way to make these without meat? They look delicious but would enjoy a vegetarian option if there is one. Thanks!
Lentils are a fantastic substitute!
Use soy meat substitute
Bob’s Red Mill has their brand of TVP (texturized vegetable protein) that looks, feels and tastes just like fried hamburger if you follow the package instructions. I prefer it because it has no “grease”.
These were incredible! I used the La Tiara white and yellow corn authentic Mexican taco shells, which were perfect. I will definitely make these again!