Once upon a time, I made homemade taco tortilla bowls. And I felt like a kitchen rockstar.

Fast forward to once upon another time and I decide to morph the idea of the homemade taco tortilla bowl into a one-shot mini taco cup (using inspiration from my college days when one of our favorite meals was BBQ cups…a recipe for another time) because in case you didn’t know, everything tastes better in miniature form.

The instant I pulled the mini taco cups out of the oven and served them for dinner, according to my kids, my kitchen rockstar status reached an all-time peak

. I mean, really, can you even stand the cuteness?

There are no complicated flavors here. Simple saucy taco meat and tortillas cut to size.

Slightly bigger than bite-size, these are perfectly proportioned for little eaters. And for adults? Well, they are so small, you don’t have to feel guilty if you pile up a mountain on your plate and go at it.

Sure, they are a bit messy to eat so if licking your fingers is out of the question, be respectable and use a fork.

We took the finger food stance and had a great time doing so.

Chips with salsa or this Ultimate 7-Layer Dip
Steamed veggie or this Fresh Green Bean Salad
Fresh, seasonal fruit

One Year Ago: Rustic Crusty Bread {A Simple How-To}
Two Years Ago: BBQ Chicken Salad with Creamy BBQ Cilantro Lime Dressing
Three Years Ago: Oatmeal Chocolate Caramel Bars

Mini Taco Cups

Yield: 16 taco cups

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

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Ingredients

• 4-5 large 10-inch flour tortillas, white or wheat
• 1 pound lean ground beef or turkey
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1-2 cups shredded cheddar or Monterey jack cheese (or a combination)
• Taco toppings like lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, olives, etc.

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Lightly grease two muffin tins. Cut 4-inch circles (using a cookie cutter or a round shape, like a lid, you can cut around with a knife or kitchen shears) from the tortillas. You'll need about 16. Microwave the cut tortillas for about 10-15 seconds until pliable. Nestle one tortilla in each muffin tin, pressing the tortilla into the bottom and corners of the tin. Set aside.
3. In a large nonstick skillet, cook the ground beef or turkey, salt and pepper over medium heat, breaking up the meat into small pieces, until cooked through 5-8 minutes. Drain any excess grease. Stir in the chili powder, cumin and tomato sauce. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 3-5 minutes.
4. Scoop a spoonful of meat and sauce into each tortilla cup. Top with a sprinkle of cheese. Bake for 10-12 minutes until the tortillas are lightly golden around the edge and the filling is hot and bubbly. Carefully remove the cups from the muffin tin and serve with any taco toppings of your choice.

Notes

Tortillas: if you can't get your hands on 10-inch tortillas, feel free to use smaller sized tortillas, just plan on needing more than 4-5 since you'll probably get fewer circles cut out of each tortilla.

Refried Beans: if you'd like to make the meal even heartier and stretch the meat mixture, try spooning in a teaspoon or so of refried beans into the bottom of each tortilla cup before adding the meat/sauce mixture.

Recommended Products

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• 
  Nonstick Muffin Tin {USA Brand}
• 
  Round Biscuit/Cookie Cutters
• 
  12-Inch Nonstick Skillet

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