Do you love taco night but hate being the last one to sit down with a cold taco on hand? Wait until you learn how I manage to pull together the easiest taco night ever.
You should know, that I like simple meals. I’ve turned down a few cooking demonstrations (where they hire you to be a professional chef) because the menu includes gourmet food or ingredients. I don’t cook like that. I’m a mom of 3, an entrepreneur, and a home cook. I like simple and delicious meals that can be put together quickly with easy to find real food ingredients.
That’s actually the entire philosophy of my company, MOMables. My purpose is to help parents make fresh school lunches and foods their kids will love. What kid doesn’t like tacos? Ok, I can think of a couple…. but for the rest of us, there is this incredibly easy method.
How to Make Baked Tacos
Today’s post is not about giving you a precise recipe… It’s more like “this is how I do it so I don’t sit at the table and eat cold tacos.” Let’s call it a process, yes?
Don’t get me wrong, I eat cold food all the time. I am a lunch aficionado (the word expert sounds funny to me still). In case you don’t believe me, check out this last post with 75+ healthy office lunch ideas. See? I have a thing (or two) about lunch.
But today, I am here to talk dinner. If you’ve ever popped on your phone to google “Dinner Ideas for Tonight” looking for a little inspiration, this one is for you. I am not a fan of dinner.
Mostly, I’m not a fan of the pre-dinner rush and the bewitching hour that seems to happen simultaneously every night between 5:30 and 7:30. Coincidentally, it tends to end shortly after dad walks in the door most nights–although he often walks in at the peak of chaos and that’s never a good thing.
Here are some ideas to help you make this the best taco night ever!
Best Taco Sides
You have the tacos covered, but what else are you having? Here are a couple of my favorite sides that can help you make this the best taco night ever.
- Homemade Guacamole
- Fresh Pico de Gallo
- Corn & Black Bean Salsa
- Corn, Tomato and Avocado Salad with Shrimp
- Southwest Quinoa Salad
- Easy Baked Nachos
Since writing this post six years ago, my taco obsession has only grown! In fact, I released the Taco Tuesday Cookbook in 2018.
This book is 52 tasty taco recipes ranging from chicken to beef, shrimp and even vegetarian! There’s lots of recipes for salsa, toppings and drizzles too. Grab your copy here.
If you want a sneak peek of all these taco recipes check out the Taco Tuesday playlist on my YouTube Chanel.
But…back to the easiest taco night ever. This is how I do it.
The Easiest Taco Night Ever
You’ll never be the last one to sit at the table to eat your cold tacos ever again!
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 12 mins
- Total Time: 22 mins
- Yield: 4–6 1x
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef, chicken, or black beans, seasoned and cooked
- 1 1/2 cups cheese
- 1 cup fresh salsa
- 1 cup guacamole
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- shredded lettuce
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375F and position your oven rack in the middle of the oven (if it’s too high your tacos could get too toasty).
- Cook your meat or beans with homemade taco seasoning on a skillet over medium heat. Once cooked, turn off heat and set aside.
- On an oven safe baking dish, line up 12-14 hard taco shells. Stand the taco shells up so they are easier to fill. I can usually fit 14 tacos in one 9×13 inch pan. Fill with cooked meat and top with cheese.
- Place your taco platter in the oven for 10-12 minutes.
- This is where I gather the kids, get them to wash their hands, and get everything else ready for the table.
- After 10 minutes, the taco shells should be crispy and ready to be removed from the oven. Begin stuffing your tacos with the remaining ingredients assembly line style: add shredded lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, guacamole, more cheese, and sour cream. Once you stuff the remaining tacos with the toppings your family likes, take the entire platter to the table (use pot holders). Distribute tacos and enjoy your hot tacos together!
You are a genius! This is one of those, “Duh, why didn’t I think of that!?” things lol. Thank you for opening my eyes to a more efficient way of doing taco night. 🙂
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I thought the same thing… Enjoy eating warm tacos from now on!
Since having my 3rd, dinnertime has become my least favorite time of day 🙁 it’s so stressful and there is just not enough of me!
We’ve been doing lots of taco nights since it’s easy and everyone likes tacos “enough” 😉
Love this method!! I’m going to try it next time!
It’s the easiest method for me to eat warm food!! the 3rd kid did me in too..
Great!
Never cry about the third child… I’ve got six and do all the cooking!
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Quick and easy! Love it!
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Just curious what brand of crispy taco shells you use? Thanks!
I typically buy Garden of Eatin’ taco shells (these).
My Mama always makes her tacos this way. I forget to do this method most of the time, then I sit down to the cold tacos you mention. Nothing worse than a tired, hungry mama eating cold tacos! Thank you for this great post. I love you blogs and both books; you’ve made my life more colorful, less stressful and more delicious! Yippee!!
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What a great method! What kind of taco seasoning do you use?
Love it!
Wow, that really is easy!
I love your blog. These are the things I can never think of myself but help so much! Thank you, Laura!
This is so much more efficient than how I used to prepare tacos. Thanks Laura!
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Wow, this really makes it a lot easier!
Taco night is my favorite! Something my entire can enjoy together without cooking different versions.
Thanks for the great tip!
I tried this method yesterday and it was great! I could finally sit down at the same time and eat with my family. Thanks!
To really make sure everyone gets hot food, I recommend a somewhat different method. Prepare all the toppings and lay them out on the table. Serve the tacos with meat and/or beans, and let everyone stuff the toppings in as they eat.