Cheesy Baked Tacos
These Oven Baked Cheesy Tacos are always a favorite for dinner or when feeding a crowd! Crisp taco shells filled with our favourite seasoned ground taco meat, black beans & loaded with shredded cheddar cheese. Whether you’re having a party or simply looking for a family friendly dinner, these oven baked tacos are definitely the way to go! The combination of the black beans, seasoned meat, melted cheese, fresh lettuce or cabbage, tomatoes and fresh salsa is unbeatable.These Oven Baked Beef Tacos are so simple to make and if you have a large crowd to feed they are simple to toss in the oven and have made for guests.
Why you are going to love these baked tacos:
- They are so cheesy and delicious
- They are easy, quick and fun to make
- Your family will love them hot out the oven melty cheese and all - no need for them to assemble them, just grab them right out of the baking dish top with their favourite toppings and enjoy
- They are great for feeding a crowd - for parties, game day or game nights
Baked taco Ingredients:
These oven baked beef tacos are filled with beans, meat and melted cheese, then topped off with shredded lettuce and fresh salsa or whatever toppings you like. The best way to make tacos for a crowd! Here is what you will need (full details and amounts in recipe below):
- Taco shells - I always make these with hard shell corn tortillas (hard tacos) I used regular or standard ones here but feel free to use stand and fill taco shells if you would like - they make filling them easier and they stay in place in the baking dish better.
- Ground meat - I used lean ground beef in this recipe but feel free to use ground chicken or ground turkey in its place, even cooked shredded chicken like leftover rotisserie chicken or baked or poached chicken will work here too. Of course if its cooked already there is no need brown it as its already cooked.
- Onion & garlic- I used a shallot but a yellow onion works here too. Use as little or as much garlic as you like. You don’t have to add these into your taco meat but I love the extra flavour they add to the taco meat filling
- Taco seasoning - I used my own blend of seasoning but feel free to use store-bought taco seasoning. Use as little or as much of the seasoning as you like adjusting according to preference
- Canned tomatoes & chilies - I used 1 small 284ml or 10 oz can of Ro-tel finely chopped tomatoes and green chilies but I understand you may not be able to get these everywhere so feel free to substitute with a can of plain finely chopped tomatoes.
- Black Beans - we love black beans in our family but feel free to use pinto beans instead or if you prefer a creamier bean’y add in swap the black beans for refried beans
- Cheese - I used a TexMex cheese blend for mine but feel free to use any shredded cheese blend you like.
Baked Taco Variations
There are so many different ways to make baked tacos! While this beef version is a family favorite, I often switch things up a bit with different ingredients.
- Chicken: Substitute cooked shredded chicken for the ground beef
- Spicy: Use pepper jack cheese and add hot sauce or some extra chili powder or chili flakes to the beef mixture to taste.
- Avocado Lovers: Add 1 tablespoon of guacamole to each taco along with the salsa.
Baked Taco Topping Options:
- Shredded lettuce
- Sliced green onions
- Fresh cilantro
- Sour cream
- Pico de gallo
- Diced jalapeños
- Salsa or taco sauce
- Black olives
- Avocado or fresh guacamole
- Queso
How to make this baked tacos recipe:
For these baked tacos, you’ll start with taco shells, ground beef, black beans or refried beans and loads of shredded cheddar cheese. I like to use the hard taco shells. I typically use a 9″x13″ pan. The taco shells are layered with the beans, meat and cheese, then baked to hot and melty perfection. Here is a quick step by step overview of how to make them:
- Start by preheating your oven to 400°F. Prepare a casserole dish by lightly spraying cooking spray and then placing taco shells standing up into the dish.
- Next crumble/cook ground beef onion and garlic in a skillet. Once it’s fully cooked drain the fat if needed and then add your tomatoes and chilies, and taco seasoning. Mix together well and simmer a couple of minutes until most of the liquid has reduced.
- Once your filling is prepared go ahead and sprinkle some of the shredded cheese into the base of the tacos followed by the black beans. Top each taco with meat and finish off with shredded cheese and bake for 7-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and taco shells cooked.
- Remove from oven and top shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes or your favorite taco toppings.
Top Tips - Keeping the Taco Shell Crunchy
- To avoid the taco shells from getting soggy, it’s important to pre-bake the shells prior to filling them for 5 minutes.
- To separate tor create a barrier for the taco shells from the juicy beef mixture, I add shredded cheese and black beans at the base. This will help your taco shells stay crispy.
- To make filling your tacos easier feel free to use hard tacos with a flat bottom. This will allow them to stand when filling. Usually these stand and stuff taco shells are a bit larger and need more filling so the recipe will probably make less tacos then if you are using the regular hard shell tacos, just something to keep in mind.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
- To Make Ahead: The taco meat filling can be made 2-3 days in advance (depending on the freshness of your ingredients), stored in the fridge. When ready to use, fill tacos and bake as instructed. Assembled tacos, in the shells, will keep for a few hours stored in covered in the refrigerator (the taco shells will start to soften too much if assembled for longer than a few hours before baking). If they have been chilled I like to reheat them in the oven until warmed through and edges crisp up again.
- To Freeze: You can freeze taco meat filling in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, fill tacos and bake as directed.
- Storage: These are best if served immediately for a nice crunchy taco. If you do have leftovers, wrap each leftover taco shell with foil and store in the fridge. Bake in a 350° oven for about 8 minutes to reheat.
For more recipes like this check these out:
Recipe
Servings: 15-20 hard tacos
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 25-30 mins
Ingredients
For the Beef Tacos
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 1 shallot or small onion, peeled and finely chopped
- 500 g / 1 lb lean ground beef (could use ground chicken or ground Turkey too)
- 1 can Rotel canned chopped tomatoes and green chiles (or can of finely chopped tomatoes), approx 10 oz/ 284 ml
The taco seasoning
- 1 Tablespoon chili powder ( I always use chipotle chili powder)
- 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon salt or more to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For assembling
- 15 oz can of black beans rinsed and drained
- 14-18 taco shells
- 2-3 cups shredded TexMex cheese or Monterey Jack
Toppings (optional)
- Shredded cheese
- Shredded lettuce or cabbage
- Chopped tomatoes, or pico de gallo
- Red onion chopped
- Sour cream
- Taco sauce
- Salsa
- coriander/cilantro
- jalapenos
- hot sauce / chilli sauce,
- pickled chillies
- Gaucamole
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat then add ground beef, onion and garlic and cook until browned, breaking into small pieces as it browns, approx 7-10 min
- Add the cumin, chili powder, paprika, oregano, salt, and black pepper and cook for another 1-2 minutes, stirring often.
- Stir in the tomatoes and simmer for 7-10 minutes or until the juice has cooked down.
- In the meantime line taco shells along a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish or baking dish and bake for 5 minutes if using a light colored dish, 3 minutes if using a dark dish. Carefully remove from oven.
- Sprinkle some of the shredded cheese onto the bottom of each taco shell, followed by the black beans, then top with ground beef mixture.
- Top with remaining cheese and bake, uncovered, for 7-10 minutes or until cheese is melted.
- Remove from heat and add desired toppings. Serve tacos hot, straight out of the oven. Lay out toppings and sauces of choice on the table and let everyone assemble their own!
Recipe Notes
- Storage: These are best if served immediately for a nice crunchy taco. If you do have leftovers, wrap each leftover taco shell with foil and store in the fridge. Bake in a 350°F oven for about 8 minutes to reheat.
- Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions: To Make Ahead: The taco meat filling can be made 2-3 days in advance (depending on the freshness of your ingredients), stored in the fridge. When ready to use, fill tacos and bake as instructed. Assembled tacos, in the shells, will keep for a few hours stored in covered in the refrigerator (the taco shells will start to soften too much if assembled for longer than a few hours before baking). If they have been chilled I like to reheat them in the oven until warmed through and edges crisp up again.
- To Freeze: You can freeze taco meat filling in a freezer safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, fill tacos and bake as directed.
