Baked tacos are always a favourite at family dinner time, or to feed a crowd at a party. Crispy taco shells are filled with cheese and our favourite taco meat, seasoned ground beef, then cooked in the shells; the cheese is melted.
It’s one of our favourite taco recipes! Cooking these shells with meat and cheese helps keep it all together – which means more delicious food in your mouth and less in your lap! Add your favourite toppings and serve!
The difference between these cooked tacos and typical tacos is that the meat and a little cheese are added to the shells and cooked for a few minutes.
Not only do they look so delicious packed together and standing upright in a pan, but they’re also easy to prepare, and even easier to sear and enjoy. You can also prepare them with pork or chicken. It only takes three simple steps to make this delicious dish everyone will love :
Brown the ground beef and onion. Add taco seasoning, or (use homemade taco seasoning), and diced tomatoes.
Stack the taco shells side by side in a saucepan and fill with the meat and cheese mixture.
Cover with shredded cheese and cook until the shells are crispy and the cheese is melted.
To keep the cooked tacos crispy
These tacos are naturally a little soft on the bottom because of the moisture in the meat. Here are a few tips to keep them as crispy as possible.
Start with a thin layer of cheese on the bottom to create a barrier between the shell and the meat.
Make sure the meat is cooked until all the liquid has evaporated.
Fill and bake just before serving. Once cooked, serve immediately.
Can I use soft tortillas? Although you can use soft tortillas for regular ground beef tacos, these baked tacos need a crispy taco. I find the crispy taco shells that stand on their own are the easiest to use.
INGREDIENTS
2 pounds of ground beef
1 can of fried beans
1 can of tomato sauce
1 packet of taco seasoning
1 oz grated cheese
12 tortillas/tobacco shells
MANAGEMENT
Start with taco shells, buy them at the store or make them yourself. If you make them yourself, I don’t think you will ever buy taco shells again. All you need are tortillas and cooking sprays. We used small, soft “taco” tortillas. We used flour, but the corn is also very good.
You want to steam them first? Wet paper towels and wring them out well. Arrange the tortillas with the wet paper towels on a plate and cook them in the microwave (we made 6 at a time). Watch them, it takes about 30 seconds before they are steamed. Then lightly spray each side with cooking spray and drape each tortilla onto two bars of the oven rack. It’s a good idea to put a baking tray underneath to catch the oil from the cooking spray. Bake at 350-375 degrees for 7-10 minutes. You will notice that they will brown and become crispy. Take them out and set them aside!
All you need is ground beef (2 pounds), 1 can of fried beans, 1 can of tomato sauce, 1 package of taco seasoning, grated cheese and your favourite taco filling.
Brown ground beef in a large skillet. Drain all the fat completely and return it to the pan. Over low heat, add the fried beans, taco seasoning and about half or two-thirds of the tomato sauce (you can look at this to see what’s best, you don’t want the filling to be too runny or your tacos to get soggy on the bottom). Mix well and add the tacos (which should be “standing” in a lightly greased casserole-like dish). Sprinkle the cheese on top and bake in the oven. I think I’ve been baking at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes.
