Make your own crispy shell tacos in minutes thanks to an easy Pinterest hack! These tacos are stuffed with seasoned ground beef, refried beans, Mexican blend cheeses then baked to perfection. Never buy boxed taco shells again!
I’ve been perusing Pinterest quite often lately thanks to our upcoming remodel and stumbled upon an easy kitchen hack I’m excited to share with you!
Sometimes Pinterest can be inspiring but much less… applicable or recreatable in real life. But not this hack for crispy taco shells!! I’m happy to report this trick couldn’t be easier.
All you’ll do is drape your cooking sprayed tortillas — any kind! — over 1-2 grates of your oven and bake them for 10 minutes. Voila!
FOR PERFECT OVEN BAKED CRISPY TACO SHELLS…
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Spray your tortillas on both sides with cooking spray.
- Drape tortillas over 1 grate for skinnier tacos, 2 grates for wider tacos that self-stand.
- Bake for 10 minutes then carefully remove!
Now that we have this easy trick down, you’ll never buy boxed taco shells again! Fresh and crispy and ready for stuffing.
These particular oven baked tacos are stuffed with seasoned beef, onions, refried beans and cheese before being baked to perfection. You can top them however you wish — we love a little fresh greenness from lettuce and tanginess from quick pickled onions.
I love this recipe because you can make as many or as little tacos as you’d like! Feed a crowd, small group or just the two of you with of yummy leftovers. The 1 lb. ground beef will fill about 8 tacos generously!
Can I swap the ground beef for something else?!
YES! I love this recipe with ground turkey, ground chicken, even shredded chicken would taste delicious baked in a crispy shell! You could even skip the meat entirely for a savory bean and cheese taco instead.
Here’s how you’ll make these Oven Baked Crispy Beef Tacos:
- Bake crispy taco shells, then leave oven on at 375 degrees.
- In a skillet, heat olive oil then sauté diced onion.
- Stir in ground beef and minced garlic and cook until meat is no longer pink.
- Drain fat, sprinkle in taco seasoning and add water. Bring to a simmer.
- Stir in refried beans.
- Divide the filling between each taco shell, adding a generous amount.
- Sprinkle with cheese then bake for 10 minutes.
- Top with lettuce and pickled red onions if using.
As easy as that! I hope you love these as much as we did!
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Crispy Baked Chipotle Beef Tacos
Ingredients
- 8 taco-sized tortillas I liked low carb whole wheat flour for this recipe
- 1 lb. lean ground beef organic if possible
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 can chipotle peppers in adobe sauce chipotle peppers chopped finely
- 1 packet taco seasoning gluten free if desired
- 1 cup Mexican blend shredded cheese
optional toppings
- shredded lettuce, sliced jalapeño, quick pickled red onions (recipe in notes below)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Spray tortillas one side with cooking spray.
- Drape tortillas sprayed-side down over 1 oven grate for skinnier tacos, 2 grates for wider tacos that self-stand and bake for 10 minutes. Remove carefully from oven with tongs.
- Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a skillet with deeper sides then add in diced onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes then add minced garlic and ground beef, breaking up with spoon.
- Cook ground beef until almost no longer pink. Take pan off heat and carefully drain fat, then add in chopped chipotle peppers and the adobo sauce.
- Back on medium heat, sprinkle in packet of taco seasoning with 1/2 cup water. Stir to combine and bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer.
- Spray or line a baking dish with aluminum foil. Take one baked taco shell and stuff generously with chipotle beef. Place into dish then continue with the rest of the shells. Top with about 2 tbsp. shredded cheese for each taco.
- Bake tacos for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and gooey! Top with desired toppings and serve warm!