I secretly wish it was Taco Tuesday every night and once you taste these Ground Beef Oven Baked Tacos you'll understand why!
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Is there anything better than Taco Night? I'd say Taco Tuesday but I try not to limit myself to enjoying tacos to one single night. You only live once right?
So my family is pretty traditional with tacos. Growing up it was all about ground beef tacos made with a packet of seasoning and topped with lettuce, tomatoes, plenty of cheese and sour cream. Once I got married, J and I branched out a bit and the Easiest Taco Meat EVER from the slow cooker became a mainstay in our fiesta-loving home.
But we are evolving. It's fun to mix it up a bit and thus I give you: Baked Tacos. All the great beefy taco goodness that you love in a crispy shell baked up hot with refried beans and perfectly melted cheese. Ugh, they are SO good.
I decided to kick it up a notch for the filling in this taco bake recipe by throwing some onions and bell peppers into the mix. I diced them pretty fine because #pickyhusbandlife but he honestly, didn't seem to mind them. Honestly, this dish got rave reviews from the whole family and with good reason!
A few tips to help make your Ground Beef Oven Baked Tacos a success:
- Get the hard taco shells that stand up on their own. I've done it with both but as always, I say work smarter, not harder. Trust me.
- If you have a small, thin rubber spatula, use that to spread the refried beans on the shell- during the testing phase of this recipe, I had a much easier time spreading it with that instead of a regular spoon. Also, do this before you place them in the pan.
- These are best served right away. They're still flavorful later but the shell tend to soften over time.
- Once they're out of the oven, get crazy with your toppings. The world is your oyster. Lettuce, tomato, sour cream, cilantro, lime, rice, avocado. You can and should have it all!
Beef Baked Tacos
Equipment
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- ¾ cup finely diced onions
- ¾ cup finely diced bell peppers
- 1 pound ground beef 90/10
- 1 taco seasoning packet + the water that the packet requires
- 10 stand-up hard taco shells
- 8 ounces refried beans ½ can
- 2 cups shredded colby jack cheese
- thet oppings of your choice lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Spray a sauté pan with cooking spray and add the onions and peppers to the pan.
- Saute stirring frequently for 3-4 minutes or until they've softened.
- Add the ground beef to the pan and use a wooden spoon to break it up.
- Sauté the beef until brown stirring often, about 3-4 minutes. Once browned drain the extra oil from the pan.
- Return the pan to the heat, add the taco seasoning to the pan with the water and cook as per the packet directions.
- While this cooks, spread two Tablespoons of refried beans across the bottom of each taco shell (or more if you'd prefer).
- Place the shells into a 9" x 13" baking pan.
- Divide the meat between the shells.
- Top the tacos with the shredded cheese
- Bake for 12-15 minutes and serve immediately with your favorite toppings.
Notes
- Use stand-up hard shells rather than the ones that need propping up, since they're much easier to fill and bake evenly.
- Dice the onions and peppers finely if you want them to blend seamlessly into the filling.
- Drain the excess oil from the beef before adding the seasoning, so the filling doesn't turn greasy.
- Serve immediately after baking for the crispiest shells, since they soften the longer they sit.
- Set out all your toppings so everyone can build their own tacos exactly how they like them.
- Ingredients to prep ahead- Dice the onions and peppers up to a day in advance and store in the fridge.
- Leftovers and storage- Store the taco filling separately from the toppings, then reheat in the oven at 350 degrees F until hot.
Nutrition
Helpful tools:
Another favorite taco recipe is this one:
The Easiest Slow Cooker Taco Meat Ever!
I also love this taco themed recipe:
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