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).
More taco recipes we like:
We have a couple of options for homemade tortillas and taco shells. For this recipe we love our hard and puffy taco shells. They are so easy to make, and are just so delicious. We also have a recipe for homemade corn tortillas!
Crunchy Ground Beef and Cheesy Tacos
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon chile powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
cheese sauce
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups whole milk
- 4 ounces grated sharp cheddar
- 2 ounces grated white cheddar
- ½ teaspoon ground mustard
- ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
assembly
- 6 (5 inch) crunchy taco shells
- 1 ½ cups loosely packed shredded lettuce
- 2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
INSTRUCTIONS
- Pour oil into a skillet and place over medium-high heat.
- Add beef and sauté, while breaking up into small pieces. Cook beef for 3 to 4 minutes.
- 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.
- 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.
- Assemble: Fill taco shells with ground beef, followed by cheese sauce, lettuce and tomatoes. Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe? We want to see!
tag @SpoonForkBacon and #SpoonForkBacon on Instagram
Your recipe looks perfect but I wish you would have included your favorite toppings/condiments like onion or cilantro or your favorite salsa.
I’m making this tonight with pepper jack cheese because that’s all I have at the moment.👍
Thank you for this suggestion! We will definitely make a list and add, what a great idea. We do love shredded lettuce and diced tomato. A chunky salsa is always yummy too, and sour cream. I also love finely diced red onion. Hope you enjoy them!
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!
I want to make these but would love to see the taco shell recipe.
Here you go! :) https://www.spoonforkbacon.com/diy-hard-and-puffy-corn-tortilla-shells/
Taco shell recipe? Did I miss that?
nope, I’m just terrible at keeping my promises…..recipe coming SOON!!
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!
Did I miss the taco shells recipe? These look amazing!
I just want to crunch into this delicious taco recipe!
I am sooooo craving tacos now! I wish I Had the ingredients on hand. Maybe these will make the menu for dinner next week.
You had me at tacoooos! Looks delicious.
I could eat at least 4 of those in a snap. YUM!
Puffy taco shell recipe please!
Yes, will be added shortly!
Yesssss! I was just about to ask!
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. :)
Would love to make these! Do you have directions for frying the taco shells? I’ve never been able to get them quite right.
Those taco shells look amazing!! Recipe please?!
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.
Oh my gooooooosh I could nap in that. Thank you guys SO MUCH for being a part of this! xo!
I’m going to add this to our taco rotation! If only you knew how much I loved tacos ;)
Those are some fantastic looking tacos. I know they would be a huge hit at our house!
It’s only 8:30 am and now I’m craving some home made tacos. Those shells look so good!
The crunchy shells!!! Your taco styling is fantastic as well. So happy you two joined in for the shower! xo
those taco shells look absolutely perfect!
There’s no going wrong with a good taco.
YOU GUYS.
thank you! these are truly insane. I’m in love.
Happy Virtual Baby Shower Day To You!! xx