Oven Baked Crispy Chili Tacos with Ground Beef
These Oven Baked Crispy Chili Tacos with Ground Beef are my new workhorse, weeknight, busy-night, stressed-out-night, no-time-for-anything-night meal. They are ready in 30 minutes start to finish, flavorful enough that they are not boring, but simple enough that picky eaters love them.
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 1030kcal
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs ground beef
- 12 small 5-inch corn tortillas
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 ¼ teaspoons cumin
- ¾ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 cup water
- 12 cheddar cheese slices
- 2-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F.
- Bring a large sauté pan to medium heat. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring and breaking up the meat until all the meat has browned, about 7-10 minutes. Drain the fat and discard.
- Stir in the tomato paste, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, chili powder, and water. Simmer gently for 2 minutes or more as needed, stirring occasionally until the water has been absorbed and there is no excess liquid in the pan. Remove from the heat.
- Place 6-8 tortillas on a baking sheet and brush each tortilla with olive oil. Flip the tortillas upside down and layer each one with a slice of cheddar cheese. Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes.The olive oil helps the outside of the taco get crispy, and melting the cheese helps to seal the tacos after adding the filling.Note: You can set up two baking sheets with 6-8 tortillas each and place both on separate racks in the oven at the same time.
- Remove the tortillas from the oven and add a couple of spoonfuls of the meat to one side of each taco. Using tongs or a spatula (be careful not to burn yourself), fold the tacos in half, pressing to close (the melty cheese helps with this). Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes, until crispy and lightly golden brown.Note: If using two baking sheets at the same time, keep an eye on them. If one pan looks like it's getting crispier faster than the other, rotate them halfway through baking.
Notes
- Corn Tortillas: Use good quality corn tortillas. This will impact the flavor and texture of the crunchy tacos.
- Water: When cooking the ground beef with the spices and tomato paste, monitor the amount of water or liquid in the pan. There shouldn't be excess liquid in the pan when the meat is done, which would cause the tacos to be soggy. The filling also shouldn't be dry. If too liquidy, simmer the meat in the sauce longer. If the filling is too dry, add more water.
- Cheddar Cheese Slices: Using slices instead of grated cheese just makes life (or cooking this dinner) easier. Each taco will be covered in melty cheese with little effort, which also helps to seal the tacos when folded over.
- DOUBLE THIS RECIPE: Consider doubling the recipe. It's super easy to double and assemble some extra tacos. The leftover tacos can easily be reheated another night during the week or for lunch if you're at home. It is well worth it. Even if you don't have time to make all the tacos at once, make double the amount of meat and then assemble and bake the tacos right before eating. Doubling this recipe saves so much time in your week.
Nutrition
Calories: 1030kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 54g | Fat: 72g | Saturated Fat: 31g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 27g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 206mg | Sodium: 1136mg | Potassium: 861mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1223IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 711mg | Iron: 5mg
