Taco meat is a great basic ingredient to use in all kinds of appetizers. From mini tacos to taco logs to taco calzones, you are off to a good start with this made from scratch taco meat recipe.
And hey, taco salad anyone?
Made from Scratch Taco Meat
Do you have a packet of taco seasoning in your pantry? Did you ever read the back of a taco seasoning mix that you buy in the store?
Dextrose, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, Caramel color, disodium inosinate. Doesn't sound very yummy to me. Throw out the store-bought taco mix.
Let's dice some onion and green peppers instead and get the rest of the flavor from your spice rack.
- heavy skillet
- wooden spoon or heavy spatula
- 2 TBS olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced green bell pepper
- 1/2 cup diced spanish onion (or other yellow onion)
- 1 lb ground beef (80/20 is good for this recipe)
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 cup water
- 2 tsp tomato paste (I buy my tomato paste in the tube instead of a can. Much easier when you only need a small amount)
Heat olive oil in a heavy skillet on medium high
Add diced onions and green pepper. Sauté on medium high, stirring for about 3 minutes.
Add ground beef. Break up ground beef in the skillet with a wooden spoon or heavy spatula until you have very small chunks of meat.
Keep cooking and stirring the ground beef until it is no longer pink anywhere.
Turn off the heat and drain the grease.
Put heat back up to medium and stir in the spices
Whisk water and tomato paste together in a cup and pour over meat mixture.
Stir the meat till the liquid starts to boil
Turn heat down to medium low and cook till most of the liquid is gone, stirring occasionally. This should take about 20 minutes.
Remove from heat.
There are many uses for taco meat. My favorite ways to use it is in a taco shell with your favorite toppings or over a baked potato with some sour cream, or as a base for taco salad. See my appetizer section for more ideas.