You don’t have to wait for that “Taco Tuesday” to make this homemade Mexican taco recipe. Ditch the kits and make these from scratch and your family will devour them. My husband and kids cheered the other day when I made this authentic ground beef taco recipe and I’m sure yours will too!

Best Mexican Taco Recipe

I find that the best tacos taste better when they’re fresher. This Mexican tacos recipe takes the items from your spice rack and fresh ingredients to create delicious authentic tacos. They’ll be the best ground beef tacos you ever had, better than that preservative-filled taco seasoning they give you in those taco kits!

Homemade Mexican Taco Ingredients

• Ground beef – When making ground beef tacos, go for lean ground beef for this taco meat recipe.
• Tomato sauce – You’ll divide an 8-ounce can.
• White corn tortillas and taco shells – The best of both worlds!
• Beef taco seasoning – You’ll need salt and pepper to taste plus garlic powder, chili powder, oregano, smoked paprika, cumin, and onion powder. These make the ideal blend for the best tacos.
• Garnishes – Prepare what you like with jalapenos, sour cream, shredded cheddar, avocado, diced tomato, diced red onion, shredded lettuce, and lime wedges.

Easy Mexican Taco Recipe

This delicious Mexican taco recipe only takes a few minutes to prepare and will be on your table delighting your family in just 35 minutes. It’s an easy taco recipe that is perfect for any night of the week, for just your family, or even for serving guests! Plus it makes great leftovers.

Live everyday like its taco Tuesday!
Megan

How do you Make Mexican Tacos from Scratch?

To make authentic tacos, start by adding vegetable oil to your nonstick skillet over medium to medium-high heat. When it’s hot, put in the ground beef and cook until it’s browned with no pink left. Add half the tomato sauce and stir. Then add the spices and the rest of the tomato sauce and cook for 5 to 7 minutes. Fry the corn tortillas for a few seconds per side and then serve your homemade tacos with your favorite toppings.

Expert Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Tacos Every Time

• Fry the corn tortillas and warm the tacos shells. This is essential for having the best taco vessels around.
• Don’t skip the tomato sauce. The best taco recipe includes a little acidity that will kick that flavor up and give it a saucy texture.
• Have a bounty of toppings. You don’t have to use all the topping I’ve used here. Pick your favorites and put them out party-style so everyone at the table can top them the way they like.

How do you make good tacos?

Authentic Mexican tacos start with quality taco ingredients. Buy good ground beef and fresh ingredients for your toppings and you’ll have the kind of tacos you get from the best taco places around.

How to make taco meat?

Making a taco meat recipe is easy. You just need ground beef, tomato sauce, and the right seasonings to bring it all together.

How to you cook ground beef for tacos?

You’ll heat vegetable oil in a nonstick skillet and brown the beef. Then add tomato sauce and seasonings, cooking for about 5 to 7 more minutes until it’s ready to serve.

What is in a traditional Mexican taco?

Traditional tacos can vary with fillings to include beef, chicken, pork, seafood, veggies, or beans. This recipe includes ground beef.

What do you put in a taco?

You can put whatever you like in a taco. In this authentic taco recipe, you’ll put seasoned ground beef, cheese, and toppings like sour cream, avocado, jalapenos, lettuce, and more.

What toppings should I put on my taco?

Tacos are best when they have what you like on them. Some suggestions are jalapenos, sour cream, shredded cheddar, avocado, diced tomatoes, diced red onions, and shredded lettuce. They taste even better with a squeeze of lime from a lime wedge.

What goes well with Tacos for dinner?

If you want to make your taco dinner more complete, serve a taco salad, chips and salsa, guacamole, refried beans, Mexican rice, black beans and rice, elote, or Mexican coleslaw.

How to Store Tacos

Tacos need to go in the fridge. Wrap everything separate to keep it tasting its best.

How Long Do Tacos Last?

Your leftover taco meat will last 3 to 4 days in the fridge.

Can You Freeze Tacos?

So many people don’t realize that you CAN freeze tacos! But you should keep the items separated. So, bag up the meat, then bag up the tortillas, and then the cheese. And then you can put them in one big freezer bag to make a frozen taco meal kit.

How to Reheat Tacos?

Let the meat thaw in the fridge overnight, then gently warm it on the stovetop until it’s hot. Serve with all your favorite toppings!

Watch How To Make Tacos (Video)

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Classic Mexican Taco Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 8 servings

Calories 141

Ready for a super easy and delicious homemade ground beef taco recipe? This is my families favorite that the kids absolutely love and can be easily customized with their desired toppings. Its the perfect taco recipe that makes excellent weekday leftovers.

Equipment

• 10 inch non stick saute pan
• Kitchen tongs
• Taco holders

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 8oz can tomato sauce (divided)
• salt and pepper (to taste)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 1/4 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• taco shells
• 8 white corn tortillas
• jalapeños (for garnish)
• sour cream (for garnish)
• shredded cheddar cheese (for garnish)
• avocado (for garnish)
• diced tomato (for garnish)
• diced red onion (for garnish)
• shredded lettuce (for garnish)
• lime wedges

Instructions 

• Add oil to nonstick skillet on medium to medium-high heat. Once the skillet is hot, add in the ground beef, cooking until fully browned without any pink showing. Add the tomato sauce and spice blend. Cook the mixture for 5-7 minutes. Serve with fried corn tortillas and desired toppings.

Calories: 141kcal

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Nutrition

Calories: 141kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 71mg | Potassium: 286mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 502IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 2mg

More taco recipes:

• Tom’s Taco Recipe
• Chili Lime Tacos
• Spicy Turkey Tacos
• Mushroom Beef Tacos

Craving Mexican quesadillas? In less than 20 minutes, you can whip up a batch of these for a fun family snack for movie night or a festive dinner without a fuss. My kids gobble these right up, even when I sneak other veggies in them. So simple and delicious, you’ll wonder why you didn’t try to make your own quesadilla recipe before!

Best Quesadilla Recipe

The best quesadillas come from fresh ingredients that you pick. What’s in the quesadillas at those fast food places? Do we even WANT to know? I don’t think so. Quesadillas are one of the easiest and tastiest things you can ever cook that will make everyone happy.

Homemade Quesadilla Ingredients

• Flour tortillas – Choose the large kind. If you’re gluten-free, they make options for you too so you won’t have FOMO!
• Shredded cheddar cheese – You can’t have a quesadilla without the cheese!
• Toppings – I’ve listed diced white onion, chopped cilantro, and sliced jalapenos to throw into your quesadillas but you can add whatever things you like including spinach, mushrooms, and bell peppers. You can also add meats like chicken or steak but they need to be fully-cooked first.
• Accompaniments – These are the things you’ll serve with your quesadillas that everyone can top their way like sour cream, avocado slices (or even guac!), pico de gallo, and lime slices.

Easy Quesadilla Recipe

Quesadillas are so easy to make and take no time at all to prep. From start to finish, it takes a grand total of 17 minutes. That’s faster than trying to get the kids in the car to go get a quesadilla!

Go make yourself a dang quesadilla.
Napoleon Dynamite

How do you Make Quesadillas from Scratch?

You’ll grab a large skillet and heat over medium high heat with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Toast a tortilla on both side, then add half a cup of the shredded cheddar, spreading it evenly. Toss on your toppings and then put the lid on your skillet to steam the cheese into melting. With your spatula, fold the quesadilla in half. Repeat to make more quesadillas and serve them with the accompaniments you’ve chosen like sour cream, pico de gallo, and avocado!

Expert Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Mexican Quesadilla Every Time

• Don’t fold the quesadilla first. Everything gets meltier and more delicious if you cook it flat first and then fold it in half.
• Use up leftovers. Got leftover rotisserie chicken or some steak from last night? These things are amazing in quesadillas!
• Measure your oil. Too much of it and you’ll get greasy, soggy quesadillas.
• Use flour tortillas. Corn tortillas will fall apart during this process. And again, if you’re gluten-free, they make tortillas that use safe flours for you to consume that will work for quesadillas.

How to Cook a Quesadilla

Quesadillas are made on the stove top. They cook in one pan and are super easy to make!

How do I make good quesadillas?

If you follow this recipe, you will become a quesadilla master. Once you make a few, you’ll start whipping up your own creations all the time. They’re excellent for when the big game is on or when you’re having a family game night.

What is the best cheese for quesadillas?

Shredded cheddar is the best cheese when making quesadillas. It gets so nice and melty and has that cheerful color. But if you’d like to use a different cheese or cheese blend, go ahead. It’s easiest if you use shredded varieties though.

What kind of white cheese is used in quesadillas?

While shredded cheddar is common in quesadillas in the US, Oaxaca cheese is often used in quesadillas made the authentic way. Other options include Manchego, asadero, and Chihuahua cheeses. As these are harder to find, I’ve listed cheddar on this recipe but mix it up as you see fit!

How do you spice up a cheese quesadilla?

Add some spices like chili powder if you like things hot. Jalapenos sprinkled inside add little bits of spice throughout. You can also make a spicy salsa to dunk it in so that everyone at the table can enjoy the quesadillas to their spice preference.

How do you make a cheese quesadilla better?

Quesadillas become better when you add extras inside. Think onions and jalapenos for contrast. Fresh cilantro also perks it up. But following the method in this recipe is how you’ll get the best quesadillas ever!

Do you use flour or corn tortillas for quesadillas?

Corn tortillas don’t always hold up well for quesadillas. Choose flour tortillas to make your quesadillas.

What sauce goes with quesadillas?

Pico de gallo, sour cream, and guacamole go great with quesadillas. You can also make a creamy avocado dip or a copycat sauce from Taco Bell if you’d like!

Can you put lettuce in a quesadilla?

Yes! You can put anything you dream up into a quesadilla. That’s the fun of it!

How do you make quesadillas crispy?

Avoid just dumping the oil into your skillet. Measure it out so you don’t ruin the texture of your quesadillas.

What goes good with Quesadillas?

If you’re serving quesadillas for dinner rather than a snack, you can make a big spread with refried beans or black beans, cilantro-lime rice, a Mexican slaw-style salad or the street corn salad, cheesy potatoes, or tortilla soup.

How to Store Quesadillas

The place for any leftover quesadillas is your fridge. You’ll want to wrap them in foil or stack them in an airtight container.

How Long Do Quesadillas Last?

In your fridge, quesadillas will last about 3 days. That should be plenty of time to eat them all up.

Can You Freeze Quesadillas?

Quesadillas freeze beautifully! If you freeze them on a flat surface like a baking sheet and then move them to an airtight container, you’ll save room and make it easier to reheat. You should use them up within 2 months.

How to Reheat Quesadillas?

You can either bake them at 350 for about 7 minutes or simply pull out your skillet and warm them up that way. I prefer the skillet since I can see when the cheese gets nice and melty again.

Watch How To Make Quesadillas (Video)

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Classic Quesadilla Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Prep Time 7 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 17 minutes

Servings 2 servings

Calories 542

This classic Quesadilla recipe is the perfect meal that you can customize with any of your favorite fillings and toppings. Choose from chicken, beef, or pork, and your favorite veggies and toppings.

Ingredients

• 2 large flour tortillas
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Optional Quesadilla Toppings

• 1/4 cup white onion (diced)
• 1/4 cup fresh jalapenos (sliced)
• 2 tbsp fresh cilantro (chopped)
• 2 tbsp sour cream
• 1/4 cup avocado slices
• 1/4 cup pico de gallo salsa
• 1/2 lime (slices)

Instructions 

• Heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Toast the large flour tortilla on both sides, then add about 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese to the tortilla, spreading in an even layer. Add additional toppings such as sliced jalapenos, diced white onion, etc. Place the lid on the skillet and allow the steam to melt the cheese for about 1 minute. Then, using a spatula, fold the quesadilla in half. Serve with your preferred toppings such as sour cream, avocado, chopped cilantro, lime slices and pico de gallo salsa.

Calories: 542kcal

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Nutrition

Calories: 542kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 66mg | Sodium: 770mg | Potassium: 338mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 974IU | Vitamin C: 24mg | Calcium: 468mg | Iron: 2mg

More quesadilla recipes:

• Vegetable Quesadillas
• Black Bean Quesadillas
• Black Bean Quesadilla
• Sweet and Tangy Chicken Quesadillas