Making homemade seasoned taco meat is easy. Even better, this taco meat recipe is a hit with my family! You will probably find all the spices you need to make the taco meat seasoning in your spice cupboard.
Taco Tuesday is a very real thing in our house. However, my family is perfectly willing to eat tacos Wednesday through Monday as well. In fact, they will eat southwest inspired recipes for breakfast, lunch, and even for snacks. I like to make a big batch of this taco meat recipe so we can use it in a variety of dinner and lunch recipes throughout the week.
Homemade Taco Seasoning vs. Store-Bought Mix
Have you ever read the back of one of those store-bought taco seasoning packets? There’s often a list of ingredients you can’t pronounce! The kicker for me was when I saw that a package of taco seasoning that contained genetically modified ingredients. What?!? a spice mix shouldn’t contain any GMO foods! Making this Homemade Seasoned Taco Meat Recipe ensures you know exactly what’s going in it, and you can customize it to suit your taste.
We also don’t use any flour in this recipe, so it’s completely gluten-free. And since we don’t use flour, this doesn’t have a thick gravy-like consistency that you get when you use the taco meat seasoning packets. As the beef simmers with the liquid, the flavors will cook down and intensify which gives the beef lots of flavor and keeps it moist. That said, if you like a thicker sauce that you get with store-bought taco seasoning mix, just don’t cook all of the liquid out, and thicken it with a slurry of 1 tablespoon cornstarch to 2 tablespoons water.
If you like your tacos spicy, feel free to add some cayenne or crushed red pepper along with the seasonings. You could also add green peppers, jalapeños, or whatever else you like. My husband and son like spicy tacos, my daughter and I prefer mild tacos, so I prefer to allow the boys to add jalapeños to their tacos instead of to the taco meat.
Hat Tip: I started adding diced tomatoes to my taco meat recipe after seeing my friend Tegan’s Tacos. When tomatoes are not in season, I use canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh. If you don’t have tomatoes, you can substitute 1/3 cup of tomato sauce for the 1/2 cup of diced tomatoes.
Batch Cooking Ground Meat for Tacos
This usually provides me with 2 – 3 meals worth of taco meat, but the amount this recipe will serve is going to depend on how you use it. You can use this recipe to make ground turkey or ground beef tacos. It’s not only delicious in homemade tacos, it is also a flavorful addition to burritos, quesadillas, and even taco salads!
Prep-Ahead Tip: You can batch cook the ground beef ahead of time. Then skip to step 3 and use 3 cups of cooked ground beef.
Batch Cooking Tip: You can double or triple this taco meat recipe. Then freeze the cooked meat in usable portions. You can put it in the refrigerator to thaw the night before you need it. Then reheat before serving.
Homemade Seasoned Taco Meat Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1.5 pounds lean ground beef or other ground meat
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup onion, finely diced
- 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 cup water
- 2 green onions, sliced
- Optional ingredients: cayenne or red pepper
Instructions:
- Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- When the oil is hot, add the ground beef and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until it is no longer pink.
- Add the tomatoes and onions, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the onions have started to soften.
- Add all of the seasonings and the garlic, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until fragrant.
- Add the water and bring to a simmer.
- Cover the pan and simmer for approximately 5 minutes.
- Uncover and continue to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, which will take approximately 5 more minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the green onions.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
Serve in flour tortillas, hard taco shells, or on tostadas.
Printable Recipe for Seasoned Taco Meat
Homemade Seasoned Taco Meat
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds lean ground beef
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 11/2 teaspoons cumin powder
- 11/2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 cup of water
- 2 green onions sliced
- pinch of cayenne or red pepper optional
Instructions
- Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- When the oil is hot, add the ground beef and cook for 4 to 5 minutes or until it is no longer pink.
- Add the tomatoes and onions, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until the onions have started to soften.
- Add all of the seasonings and the garlic, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until fragrant.
- Add the water, and bring to a simmer.
- Cover the pan, and simmer for approximately 5 minutes.
- Uncover and continue to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated which will take approximately 5 more minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the green onions.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
Janet says
I have been looking for taco meat that doesn’t taste like chili powder. I’m assuming with the small amount of chili powder this could be the recipe I’ve been looking for. Any comments would be appreciated.
Alma says
Do you not drain the meat?
Alea Milham says
No, I simmer the meat until the liquid cooks off.
Dan Mintana says
I made this recipe and added some diced green bell pepper and used Rotel diced tomatoes with cilantro and lime, ablnd also black beans. I like beans in my taco meat. It is excellent
Karen Strain says
This recipe is just what I was looking for. Most other recipes use 1 lb of beef and my family needs to have more than that. Instead of the diced tomatoes, I used diced tomatoes with green chilis and cut back on the water. This was a hit that I will make again. Thank you!