Homemade, delicious beef taco meat is added into crunchy taco shells in an oven-safe dish and baked with cheese, allowing for multiple tacos to be assembled at once. Just add lettuce, tomato, and avocado after baking to make for the easiest Baked Beef Tacos everyone in the family will love.
Busy parents know that serving dinner family-style is often easier than plating individual servings, and that’s exactly what this recipe is all about. Tacos are generally simple to make, but the time adds up when you’re setting out all the toppings, heating the shells, and helping the kids assemble theirs. I used to find taco night more stressful than it should be—until I started baking them all together in the oven. The first time I made them, when my kids were really young, it felt like a lightbulb moment.
Baking them in the oven means I don’t have to individually heat the taco shells, portion out the filling, or set up all the toppings. Everything is done at once. Plus, while the tacos are baking, I can prep the toppings since it’s hands-off. It just feels easier, and if you’re juggling young kids and taco nights (which everyone loves, by the way!), I hope you give this method a try.
This recipe starts with a simple homemade beef taco filling (though you can swap it with another filling you like, or my beef and refried bean taco filling), cooked up and added to taco shells with cheese, then baked in the oven.
Garnish all the tacos at once and serve family-style for an easy weeknight dinner everyone will love. It even got my kids to eat tacos with a variety of toppings they wouldn’t normally add on their own. Of course, it’s easy to leave the toppings off for picky eaters too!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Here is a brief overview of the ingredients needed for this recipe. The full recipe with quantities is listed below this text in the recipe card. If substitutions are available for this recipe, they'll be listed here. If you don't see a substitution you are looking for, please leave a comment below.
- lean ground beef (feel free to swap this out with ground chicken or turkey)
- red onion
- tomato paste
- salt + pepper
- spices (this recipe uses a homemade taco seasoning, but you can also substitute it with store-bought taco seasoning)
- cornstarch (this thickens up the taco mixture, but if you are using store-bought taco seasoning with cornstarch already in it, you can omit this)
- beef broth
- crunchy taco shells
- shredded cheese
- taco toppings (the recipe suggests tomato, lettuce and avocado, but swap in your favorites)
A Word on the Taco Shells
Sometimes it can be a little annoying to arrange the taco shells in the dish, depending on the brand of tacos. If the crunchy shells are irregular in shape, it can be tricky to get them to stand up. To avoid this, look for the flat-bottomed taco shells (like "stand and stuff" tacos) many grocery stores have. If you can't find those and are struggling to get your taco shells to stand up, you can use bunched-up aluminum foil to stabilize any that are slipping down.
Step 1: Cook the beef taco meat in a skillet.
Step 2: Arrance the taco shells in a baking dish, sprinkly a tablespoon of cheese in each, then divide in the meat.
Step 3: Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the beef.
Step 4: Bake, until the cheese is melty and the shells are crisp.
Step 5: Immediately garnish the tacos.
Step 6: Serve right away!
How to Customize Oven Tacos
Don't want to make beef oven tacos? Use this recipe as a template to make your own style of tacos! Simply swap out the beef taco recipe for any type of taco filling you want (here is a similar, but slightly different beef and bean taco filling), and bake as the recipe suggests. However, a word on the cheese: melty cheese on a taco is a very helpful component though if you are serving kids. The cheese helps keep the taco filling in for kids who have a tough time eating tacos. So keep that in mind when you are customizing it.
Watch It: Oven Baked Tacos
More Hands-off Dinner Recipes
Making this Baked Beef Taco recipe? Be sure to leave a comment with a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review on your experience! Have a question? Leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you as quickly as I can!
PrintFull Recipe
Baked Beef Tacos
- Prep Time: 00:10
- Cook Time: 00:40
- Total Time: 00:40
- Yield: Serves 4-6 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
Description
Homemade beef taco meat is added into crunchy taco shells in an oven safe dish, and baked up along with cheese before adding on lettuce, tomato and avocado to make for the easiest Baked Beef Tacos everyone in the family will love.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 small red onion, finely minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt (see note)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup beef broth
- 1 cup shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, more as needed
- 12 crunchy taco shells
- 2 cups shredded lettuce
- 2 avocados, diced
- 1 cup diced tomato
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the oil and beef. Cook, stirring and breaking up the meat, until the beef is no longer pink, about 8 minutes. If a lot of fat has been rendered, drain off nearly all of it.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, add the onions, and cook until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.
- Add the tomato paste, cornstarch, spices, salt, and pepper and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the broth and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the mixture has thickened up and the broth has reduced, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Arrange the taco shells in a large baking dish (a 9x13-inch glass baking dish works well here) so they are standing up.
- Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of cheese into the bottom of the shells (this help keeps the shells from getting soggy). Divide the cooked beef filling evenly between the taco shells. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top and bake in the preheated oven until the cheese is melty and the shells are crisp, about 25 minutes.
- Remove the baking dish from the oven and transfer to a wire rack. Sprinkle with the shredded lettuce, diced avocado, and chopped tomato (and/or other desired taco toppings) and serve.
Notes
Look for the flat-bottomed taco shells in the store for easy assembly. If you can't find those you can nestle them close together in the baking dish or use bunched up aluminum foil to keep them upright.
A 9x13-inch baking dish typically fits about 10-12 tacos snugly, which helps keep them upright during baking.
This dish needs to be served immediately!
Originally published in 2022 date, this baked taco recipe has been regularly re-tested and updated to ensure it remains perfect.
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