For nights where the family expects Taco Tuesday to happen, but you want it all to come together in a single skillet, this cheesy taco skillet recipe will become your new family’s favorite.
This is the kind of meal that brings the family back to the kitchen for comfort food. What’s not to love about enjoying a little flavorful, cheesy goodness in every bite?
It’s meaty and cheesy, and my kids absolutely love it. So what makes this taco dish so different than all my other taco meals? By making this in the skillet, all the flavors 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.
Although it comes together in a single skillet, I typically serve it family style at the table. Everyone loves to dig in right from the pan –family style.
For me, as a busy cook, the biggest winner of the dish isn’t that my family loves it, but the simplicity and how quickly it comes together. Check out this video to see how this recipe made.
Feel free to add extra toppings on top, like salsa, guacamole, and sour cream to up the ante. You are welcome.
What would be your favorite meal to make in a skillet?
Cheesy Taco Skillet
- Yield: 6 servings
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 1/2 cups fresh salsa
- 3 cups baby spinach, pre-washed and coarsely chopped
- 1 1⁄2 cup shredded cheese, like Mexican blend, Cheddar or Monterrey Jack
- 1/2 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
pate , scoop a serving of the mixture, top with desired toppings and serve.
Wow, this looks amazing!
I love the spinach addition to it!
This is great! Never would have thought to add spinach!
Perfect! I was just thinking of making tacos tonight.
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.
★★★★★
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! 😉
Sorry, but I’m soooo bad at cooking! What would I use to make: 3 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning?
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!
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
Love it! I’ll try and sneak the spinach in the tacos and hope my kids won’t notice.
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!
★★★★★
thank you so much for letting others know that you enjoyed this recipe Megan! and thanks for Snapping me pictures of the delicious meal! 🙂
Made these the other day and my family loved it!
How convenient! Love the addition of spinach in it.
So good..and cheesy!
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
OH>MY! That’s great amazing! This made me so happy to read Erin. Thank you for sharing!
Can I make this ahead of time ? Would I leave the cheese until it is time to eat?
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.