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!
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Recipe
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
Macros Recipe Adaptation
1 lb. ground turkey, 16 oz. black beans, Mexican cheese.Per Serving Amount
98.3 grams meat mixture, 2 hard taco shells, ⅛ cup cheese, ¼ cup lettuce, 6 grams tomatoes.Macros
330 kcal, Fat: 15g, Carbs: 26g, Protein: 21g (serves 10) | MFP: Baked Tacos (TBFS Macros)Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe February 2016. Updated January 2021 and August 2025.
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I would like to know could you use soft shells on the bake tacos. Tt
Baked tacos has become one of my favorite weekly meals. The seasonings are so good and baking them with the cheese is just delicious. Easy to make and so much better than using store bought taco seasoning mix!
I’m not sure why you bake these. Ahhh that’s why. Warm shells melted cheese.
I made these tacos last night and they’re great! Baking them adds a lot of flavor and softens the shells a bit. We had plenty of leftovers and they heated well today for lunch!
These were a huge hit with my picky family!! I might try with soft corn tacos next time just to see since I tend to always have those on hand. Perfect for large crowd too.
Lots of flavor for easy prep! I didn’t use onion because I didn’t want to deal with some of the kids complaining:)
I almost threw in the towel when I was trying to get the shells to stand up in the pan, but then I decided to fill them and put in the pan as I filled each one- voila, they stood up w/o falling over. Used store bought Ortega taco shells and they didn’t get soggy.
I will make again! (Maybe with Tres Leche Cake from here- a family favorite!)
I loved the ease of these and they were very tasty but mine were so soggy that they just fell apart…I drained my grease and then pressed it with a cloth and I drained my beans vey well…I don’t know what happened…good idea for tacos though!!
Yes, that would work great! Enjoy!
Made this for dinner tonight, hubby loved it. It was very good a, flavorable and easy. I used boxed taco shells, I baked them for 4 min, let them cool and put then in a 8×8 (we only need 6 tacos). Worked out great!
Amazing! Fixed this tonight. I used homemade seasoned refried beans instead because it needed using but it was delicious. This is a new family fav!