When it’s Taco Tuesday and you’re short on time these skillet beef tacos come together in a flash. This cheesy taco recipe is easy and full of flavor in every bite.
Check out the video to see how this recipe is made:
It might not be the typical taco recipe you’d find in the Taco Tuesday Cookbook but it’s meaty and cheesy, and my family absolutely loves it. If you aren’t following along already, go ahead and do yourself a major favor and subscribe to my Youtube channel as we celebrate Taco Tuesday all year long! Yes, that means 52 taco recipes.
How are Skillet Beef Tacos Different Than Regular Beef Tacos?
With this version of beef tacos, the flavors get a chance to mingle and the cheese melts through making this meal an instant favorite. It also has a secret ingredient, spinach! By cooking your spinach into the meat and covering with cheese, it adds a little “extra” nutrition to an otherwise normal meal.
It’s also a lifesaver when you plan on Taco Tuesday but forgot the tortillas… how do you think I came up with this meal the first time?
Best Cut of Beef to Use for Tacos
Ground beef is by far the easiest cut of meat to use for taco night, it’s easy and fast to cook plus leftovers are open for nachos, burrito bowls, or taco pasta salad.
Why These Beef Tacos Make a Quicker Weeknight Meal
Since it comes together in a single skillet, I typically serve it straight from the skillet at the table. Everyone loves to dig in right from the pan –family style.
For me, as a busy mom, the biggest winner of the dish isn’t just that my family loves it, but the simplicity and how quickly it comes together. And dishes? Well, it’s just a skillet and whatever we eat on. Easiest clean up ever!
Best Ground Beef Taco Recipe
Easy, simple, meaty, cheesy, do I dare to call it the best ground beef taco recipe?
I’ll leave it up to you but all I know is I love having a versatile meal that everyone in the family loves. It’s the best part of a taco, the filling, in one skillet! You can serve it on a bed of tortilla chips or for a lighter version, salad greens just make sure to pile on the toppings!
Favorite Toppings for Skillet Beef Tacos
I’m a sucker for the classic Beef Taco toppings like:
- Cheddar cheese
- Sour cream
- Guacamole
- Salsa
- Black olives
Other Beef Taco Recipes I Love
I’ve got taco recipes for the whole year waiting for you in the Taco Tuesday Cookbook and while each are easy and delicious I do have my favorites.
Korean Beef Tacos and Quick Carne Asada are both made in the one skillet and always a crowd pleaser but the Mexican Short Rib Tacos, these babies are killer! Cooked in the slow cooker, the meat just falls off the bone and melts my heart.
Which Beef taco recipe are you trying next?
PrintCheesy Beef Tacos in a Skillet
When it’s Taco Tuesday and you’re short on time these skillet beef tacos come together in a flash! They’re easy to make and full of flavor in every bite.
- Yield: 6 servings
- Category: Family Meals
- Method: Skillet Cooking
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 lb ground beef or turkey
- 2 bell peppers, any color, diced
- 3 tablespoons taco seasoning (here is my homemade recipe)
- 1 ½ cups fresh salsa
- 3 cups baby spinach, pre-washed and coarsely chopped
- 1 ½ cup shredded cheese, like Mexican blend, Cheddar or Monterrey Jack
- ½ cup sliced black olives
- Avocado, sour cream, and additional salsa for serving
- Shredded romaine lettuce
- Corn chips for serving, optional
Instructions
- On a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm up oil. Add chopped onion and sauté for about 3 minutes until it begins to soften. Add meat, diced bell peppers, and taco seasoning. Continue to cook, breaking up the meat as it cooks, for about 5-7 minutes until it’s cooked through.
- Add fresh salsa and spinach, stir to combine and heat through. Turn off heat, sprinkle shredded cheese and black olives over meat mixture. Cover, and gather remaining garnishing ingredients.
- Create a bed of shredded Romaine lettuce on a plate, scoop a serving of the mixture, top with desired toppings and serve.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 plate
- Calories: 418
- Sugar: 9.5g
- Sodium: 929.5mg
- Fat: 25.3g
- Saturated Fat: 10g
- Trans Fat: 0.6g
- Carbohydrates: 21.4g
- Fiber: 9g
- Protein: 28.4g
- Cholesterol: 84.2mg
Keywords: beef tacos, skillet tacos,
LL
Came out with a pool of grease on the bottom so I had to drain it. I’m happy with the amount of veggies in this!
★★★★
Manisha
Can I make this ahead of time ? Would I leave the cheese until it is time to eat?
Laura Fuentes
yes. if you make it ahead of time you can just simply make it all the way through and then just heat it up. Or, you can leave out the cheese and put it in the end.
Erin
My family’s favorite skillet meal is your skillet lasagna! 3 out of my 4 daughters have even learned to make it themselves. Can’t wait to try this to see if we have another winner for dinner
Laura Fuentes
OH>MY! That’s great amazing! This made me so happy to read Erin. Thank you for sharing!
Caroline R.
So good..and cheesy!
Julia
How convenient! Love the addition of spinach in it.
Katie
Made these the other day and my family loved it!
Megan
Made this tonight for dinner… So delicious and finally a 30 minute meal that actually only took me 30 minutes to make! Even better – I have leftovers for the rest of the week. Love that there are peppers and spinach in there to get some extra veggies in too 🙂 Thanks for sharing Laura!
★★★★★
Laura Fuentes
thank you so much for letting others know that you enjoyed this recipe Megan! and thanks for Snapping me pictures of the delicious meal! 🙂
Claire
Love it! I’ll try and sneak the spinach in the tacos and hope my kids won’t notice.
Debora
Sorry, but I’m soooo bad at cooking! What would I use to make: 3 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning?
Laura Fuentes
here is my recipe Debora: http://www.momables.com/make-your-own-taco-seasoning/ I use it for every dish that calls for taco seasoning. It’s easy to make and so so so good!
Michelle
I use this taco seasoning recipe
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp salt
Use 2 1/2 tsp per lb of meat
Lisa F
My favorite one-skillet recipe is rosemary-seasoned boneless/skinless chicken thighs with drained/rinsed canned white beans, diced tomatoes and black olives. Super-easy and lots of flavor! THIS recipe looks great- all my favorite flavors! Looks more like nachos than tacos to me, but it all sorta tastes similar whether it’s on tostadas, taco shells, or tortilla chips.
★★★★★
Laura Fuentes
I know, you can use chips and call it “nachos” or use tacos and call it tacos, tostadas… at the end of the day this is the filling for some delicious stuff! 😉
Meredith
Perfect! I was just thinking of making tacos tonight.
Dana
This is great! Never would have thought to add spinach!
Miranda
I love the spinach addition to it!
Lisa
Wow, this looks amazing!