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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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
- 1/2 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
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
I originally shared this recipe February 2016. Updated January 2021.
Farrah says
I’ve never tried baking tacos before, but I love this idea! 😀 These look delicious!
Jessica Robinson says
These look so yummy! Cannot wait to try!
Diana says
I really like the way these turn out compared to separately heating taco shells and then adding ground beef. This is way better. Another fabulous recipe. Thank you
C Gates says
The whole family loved them. So glad to find a new taco recipe.
Nancy Corneille says
My family does not like the hard tacos. Do you think soft tortillas would work? Such a great concept!
Lauren Allen says
Hi Nancy, My only worry with soft tortillas is that the bottoms may get soft/soggy when you put the filling in and bake them….but it could work. I haven’t tried it to say for sure. But let me know if you do!
Nicole says
Love your site. I was completely tired of the same old meals. These tacos were a huge hit my family.
Lauren Allen says
Thank you Nicole! I’m so happy I could help with the dinner “rut” we all get in sometimes. Thanks for following TBFS!
Krystal Nicholes says
Thanks for these recipes. My super picky kids loved the baked tacos.
Jen says
I make these pretty often. I remember my sister LOVING hard shell tacos when i was a kid but i was rather ambivalent about them. I really like them this way. I made them for probably the 5th time last night and my kindergartener kid raved about how much she loved them. 🙂
Thanks for the great week night meal!
Cheryl G. says
Lauren, what brand of corn hard taco shells do you like best for this baked recipe? Thank you!
Lauren Allen says
I usually use Old El Paso 🙂
Rhonda says
I made baked tacos once, but the bottom of the shells got soft and fell apart. Bummer! I drained everything well before filling the shells. Any suggestions?
Lauren Allen says
I have found that the “store brand” hard shells are thinner and flimsy-er, be sure to use a name brand for shells.
Also, when you brown the ground beef ALONG with draining it, put a couple of paper towels down and pour the ground beef on them
to absorb all the juice.