Classic ground beef tacos
Tuesday-night hard-shell tacos with saucy beef in a homemade taco seasoning, loaded with lettuce, tomato, cheddar and sour cream.
- Prep
- 5 min
- Cook
- 13 min
- Serves
- 4
- Per serve
- 620 kcal
Ingredients
Method
Heat the oven to 350°F. Mix the chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, cornstarch and salt in a small bowl. That's your taco seasoning.
Cook the beef and onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking the beef up with a spoon, until browned with no pink left and the onion is soft. Spoon off excess fat if there's a lot.
Meanwhile, shred the lettuce, dice the tomatoes and shred the cheese.
Stir the seasoning into the beef for 30 seconds, then add the water. Simmer, stirring now and then, until thick and saucy.
While the beef simmers, stand the taco shells on a baking sheet and warm them in the oven until crisp and fragrant.
Fill each shell with beef, then top with lettuce, tomato, cheddar and a spoonful of sour cream.
Tips
- Make a big jar of the seasoning: each batch equals one store-bought packet, and it keeps for months.
- Add cheese straight onto the hot beef so it melts a little, then lettuce and tomato on top.
- For gluten-free, check that the chili powder and taco shells are labeled gluten-free; most US hard shells are, but some spice blends add wheat-based anti-caking agents.
