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Our easy Baked Tacos recipe is perfect for dinner any night, or for feeding a crowd, with crispy ready in under 30 minutes, that you can prep ahead of time.
Crispy Tacos are the easiest way to do taco night!
Crispy Tacos are the easiest way to do taco night!All you do is line a pan with crispy taco shells, fill them with taco meat, beans and cheese and bake them! Then add whatever toppings you like. They come together fast, which is a lifesaver on busy nights, and my whole family devours them. They actually make dinner feel fun and effortless.
It's no secret, I love tacos and have so many taco recipes on my site from Tacos Al Pastor and Korean Beef Tacos to Chicken Street Tacos and Fish Tacos.
How to make Baked Tacos:
Cook Taco Meat: In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef, breaking it into small pieces. Drain grease, then add onion and sauté until softened. Stir in the dry spices, tomato sauce, and pinto beans. Simmer on low for 5–10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Assemble: Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line two 9×13-inch pan (or similar size pan) with taco shells, fill each with the beef mixture, and top with cheese. Bake for 10 minutes, then serve with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and Easy Homemade Salsa or Mango Salsa!
Baked Tacos
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef, or ground turkey (454g)
- 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, (170g)
- 1 romaine heart, , thinly shredded
- 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.1 pound lean ground beef, 1 small onion, 1 Tablespoon chili powder, 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin, ½ teaspoon paprika, ¼ teaspoon Dried oregano, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, ¾ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Add tomato sauce and pinto beans and stir to combine. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.8 ounces tomato sauce, 16 ounce can pinto beans
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line two 9×13'' pans with the taco shells (or us a larger baking sheet to fit more).20 hard tacos shells
- Spoon taco mixture into tacos. Top with cheese. Bake for 10-15 minutes.1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
- Top with a little bit of lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream and salsa, if desired.1 romaine heart, 2 roma tomatoes, salsa and sour cream
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe February 2016. Updated January 2021 and August 2025.
When making these are you draining the pinto or black beans or are you using refried?
Hi Kelly, Thanks for checking out the recipe. Make sure and drain the beans and please let us know what you think of the recipe.
Love the tacos! What’s the tasty looking sauce you have beside the picture? These are absolutely delicious!
I’m wondering what the serving size is? I’m assuming the calories posted are based off of serving size. Thank you!
Nice and quick, and you can have most of the ingredients in your pantry.
I’ll be making this again. I didn’t make any changes to ingredients and I thought it was really tasty.
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!
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”.
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!
Delicious. Made for one, reduced to 3 tacos. Perfect.
Use soy meat substitute
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!
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!
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!