Hi Guys! Today we have these crazy-good crunchy ground beef and cheesy tacos. We made these somewhat “trashy” tacos in honor of Jess of How Sweet Eats and a little virtual baby shower a bunch of us are throwing for her today! Yay! We don’t actually know Jess, but when we got an email from Bev of Bev Cooks we just couldn’t say no, because we love Bev and her quirky and creative personality. We also love it when people within communities come together to celebrate something exciting and fun, like a new baby on the way!
We’re celebrating today with some of our favorite kinds of tacos. Some old school, crunchy ground beef tacos that we made even more tasty with home-fried taco shells and an extra cheesy double cheddar sauce! Think taco bell meets hole in the wall taqueria, but not gross, instead just insanely delicious and easy to make. You can simplify this recipe even more by buying hard shell taco shells instead of making your own. These are perfect for taco tuesday (or anytime, really).
We want to wish Jess a very Happy Virtual Baby Shower and send a big thank you out to Bev (from Bev Cooks) and Ashley (from Edible Perspective) for setting this fun and thoughtful event up! Click here to see everyone who participated and all the awesomely trashy recipes everyone made! Enjoy!
Crunchy Ground Beef and Cheesy Tacos
Makes 6
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon chile powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
cheese sauce:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups whole milk
4 ounces grated sharp cheddar
2 ounces grated white cheddar
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
6 (5 inch) crunchy taco shells
1 1/2 cups loosely packed shredded lettuce
2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
Directions:
1. Pour oil into a skillet and place over medium-high heat.
2. Add beef and sauté, while breaking up into small pieces. Cook beef for 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Stir tomato paste, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, onion powder, chile powder, cumin, and black pepper into the ground beef and stir until fully incorporated and beef has cooked though. Low heat to medium-low and simmer for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Cheese sauce: Melt butter into a small saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and whisk together. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes. Whisk milk into the mixture and continue to whisk until no lumps remain and mixture begins to thicken. Whisk cheeses into the mixture, one at a time, allowing cheese to melt completely before adding more. Stir in the remaining sauce ingredients and stir until smooth. Remove from heat.
5. Assemble: Fill taco shells with ground beef, followed by cheese sauce, lettuce and tomatoes. Serve immediately.
YOU GUYS.
thank you! these are truly insane. I’m in love.
Happy Virtual Baby Shower Day To You!! xx
There’s no going wrong with a good taco.
those taco shells look absolutely perfect!
The crunchy shells!!! Your taco styling is fantastic as well. So happy you two joined in for the shower! xo
It’s only 8:30 am and now I’m craving some home made tacos. Those shells look so good!
Those are some fantastic looking tacos. I know they would be a huge hit at our house!
I’m going to add this to our taco rotation! If only you knew how much I loved tacos ;)
Oh my gooooooosh I could nap in that. Thank you guys SO MUCH for being a part of this! xo!
These look so delicious! I love the addition of the cheese sauce. It’s always a treat when we make our own homemade crunchy taco shells, and these ones look perfect.
Those taco shells look amazing!! Recipe please?!
Would love to make these! Do you have directions for frying the taco shells? I’ve never been able to get them quite right.
These really look too good to be true – like some sort of magazine ad. Stunning!! Can’t wait to try them and make my kids week. :)
Puffy taco shell recipe please!
Yes, will be added shortly!
Yesssss! I was just about to ask!
I could eat at least 4 of those in a snap. YUM!
You had me at tacoooos! Looks delicious.
I am sooooo craving tacos now! I wish I Had the ingredients on hand. Maybe these will make the menu for dinner next week.
I just want to crunch into this delicious taco recipe!
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Did I miss the taco shells recipe? These look amazing!
I am dying for the puffy taco shell recipe, any idea when it will be up?
Thank you! Happy Holidays.
Yikes, thank you for the reminder! It will be up by the end of the weekend!
Taco shell recipe? Did I miss that?
nope, I’m just terrible at keeping my promises…..recipe coming SOON!!
I want to make these but would love to see the taco shell recipe.
Here you go! :) http://www.spoonforkbacon.com/2016/04/diy-hard-and-puffy-corn-tortilla-shells/
saw these on the front page and had to comment that I love these straightforward ground beef tacos, and the wonderful cheese sauce, too many taco, thank you!