Best Easy Taco Meat Recipe

Here’s a taco meat recipe that has all the right spices you would love in a perfect homemade taco. There’s no need to buy one of those $1.25 packs of taco seasoning at the grocery store.

It’s made with a taco seasoning mix of spices you probably already have in your pantry. Let’s all get ready for Taco Tuesday!

Why This Recipe Works

Besides having a great blend of simple ingredients to season the meat, there is an additional step to making these tacos Restaurant Style. That’s what I’m calling it anyway.

After the meat is browned in your skillet, you are left with inconsistent chunks of meat no matter how hard you try to break it up.

If you leave them this way, the chunks have a tendency to fall out of your tortilla shell because they don’t stay together properly.

So the Pro Tip is to throw the meat into a food processor and pulse it 5 or 6 times to break the ground meat into small, consistent pieces that hold together once they are prepared.

This technique is a total game-changer. It makes the tacos easier to eat for one.

And the smoother texture makes for a superior mouthfeel. The difference is remarkable.

Another way to make the ground meat break up into a more consistent blend is to cook it in a saucepan and add about one-half cups of water per pound of meat.

Break up the meat with a wooden spoon to start separating the pieces. Keep your stove on medium-high heat to simmer the water. Give the meat a stir every few minutes and cook until the water has mostly evaporated and the meat is browned.

Once the meat has browned, you can add in the spices and a little more water and continue with the directions in the recipe card.

This method will take more cook time but will generally give you excellent results. And it is also a way to make a big batch of perfect taco meat.

What Ground Meat To Use

The meat you use is totally up to you as any ground meat can be seasoned for tacos. I tend to prefer ground beef or ground pork.

The meat I used for this recipe was a 50/50 blend of pork and beef. The beef was ground chuck which was an 80/20 lean-to-fat blend.

The rendered fat gets skimmed off once the meat is browned.

You can use lean ground beef too, but I think that the added fat gives the meat more flavor and that’s why I use it in this recipe.

Also, ground chicken or ground turkey could be used.

Spice Ingredients

The spices for your own homemade taco seasoning are ingredients you probably have on hand.

• Chili powder
• Ground cumin
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Kosher salt
• Dried oregano
• Cayenne pepper
• Tomato paste
• Water

Here’s another Hot Tip. Tomato paste comes in those little 5 or 6-ounce sizes and a lot of the time the whole can doesn’t get used.

When that is the case, I use a small scoop and place balls of paste onto a baking sheet.

Then put the sheet into the freezer to harden the paste. Once the tomato paste is frozen, it goes into a freezer bag.

Stored in the freezer, it is easy to take out the amount needed for your next recipe.

Preparing the Taco Meat

Use a large skillet on medium heat to brown the meat you are using. This will take 5 to 7 minutes.

Tilt the skillet slightly and push the meat to one side and the rendered fat will run to the bottom.

Use a spoon to scoop out and dispose of the excess fat.

Then, carefully place the browned meat into a food processor and pulse the meat 5 or 6 times to break it into small pieces. 

Put the ground meat back into the skillet on medium-low heat and add the tomato paste and the spices. 

In the photo below you can see the frozen tomato paste that has been added to the ground meat.

The spices were measured using totally level amounts. No rounding of the ingredients.

This will ensure that this spice mixture in the meat can be duplicated exactly. 

Once the spices are added, pour in one cup of water and fold the meat with a spatula to combine.

Keep the heat on low and simmer until most of the water has evaporated.

This will result in saucy taco meat that is totally combined with the spices and with the addition of the water will hold the meat together well when added to a taco shell.

Before you serve this taco meat recipe be sure to give it a taste test. You may want to add your own seasoning or more salt, chili powder, or cayenne pepper.

Or you may say that this is absolutely perfect.

Putting It All Together

Now that the taco meat is cooked and seasoned there is only one thing to do…and that is Make Tacos!

There are lots of toppings for tacos and you probably already have your favorites. I keep the toppings pretty simple and generally have shredded cheese, chopped iceberg lettuce, onion, tomatoes, black olives, chopped cilantro, taco sauce, and sour cream.

Other ideas: Hot sauce, lime juice, guacamole, salsa verde, refried beans, jalapenos, pico de Gallo, and chopped scallions.

Finally…your choice of hard taco shells, corn tortillas, or soft flour tortillas. This is totally a personal preference. The best tacos are the ones with your favorite toppings

I use flour tortillas that have been browned on a griddle.  You may like the hard-shell corn ones or even a combination of flour and corn. 

However you make your tacos, I hope that you enjoy this easy recipe for making the best taco meat. Leave a comment below telling me how it went for you.

Here are some more South-of-the Border recipe ideas:

• Mexican Rice
• Mexican Street Corn Salad
• Homemade Jalapeno Taco Sauce
• Wicked Good Fish Taco Recipe
• Spicy Grilled Shrimp Tacos