Classic Ground Beef Hardshell Tacos
These classic hardshell Ground Beef Tacos are a great way to do away with mystery taco seasoning packets.
Prep Time15 minutes mins
Cook Time15 minutes mins
Total Time25 minutes mins
Servings: 2
Calories: 731kcal
Author: Patrick Calhoun | Mexican Please
- 1/2 lb . ground beef
- 6-8 corn tortillas
- 1/2 onion
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 chipotle in adobo
- 1 Tablespoon adobo sauce
- 1-2 teaspoons chili powder (I used crushed New Mexican)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
- dash cumin (optional)
- dash oregano (optional)
- dash black pepper
- 2 tomatoes
- fresh lettuce
- Monterey Jack cheese (or Mozzarella)
- guacamole (optional)
Roughly chop 1/2 onion. Saute the onion in a dollop of oil over medium-high heat for a few minutes.
Add the ground beef and cook until browned. Drain any fat if you want. Add 1 clove minced garlic and saute briefly. Add 1 minced chipotle, 1 Tablespoon adobo sauce, and 1-2 teaspoons chili powder. You can optionally add dashes of cumin, oregano and black pepper.
Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt and a couple Tablespoons of water. Let simmer over medium heat. By the time you gather all the taco fixings the meat will be ready. Take a final taste for seasoning (I added another generous pinch of salt to this batch).
If you want to bake the taco shells, start by warming up the corn tortillas in the oven or microwave. Lightly brush them with a neutral oil (or cooking spray) and drape over two oven rungs for 10-12 minutes at 375F.
Serve the tacos with diced tomatoes, chopped lettuce, shredded cheese and guacamole (optional). You can also serve them with a freshly made Salsa.
Most taco seasoning packets are heavy on the cumin and oregano. I tend to shy away from using too much of these to avoid Tex-Mex overload. As photographed I added a dash of cumin and black pepper, but no oregano.
I usually pull the taco shells out of the oven before they are fully browned. This will leave them still slightly pliable.
Calories: 731kcal