The Best Ground Beef or Turkey Tacos {20-Minute Meal}
Made with a from-scratch taco seasoning that will revolutionize your family taco night, these simple skillet ground beef tacos are perfect!
Tacos are a family favorite around here.
But, much to my family’s dismay, good ol’ classic ground beef tacos don’t appear as often as they would like.

I can always tell when I’ve been experimenting with too many new recipes. My family will turn their long, sad faces toward me and ask: “can we please have tacos…or spaghetti tonight??”
Ugh. Fine.
I can take the hint that we need to go back to the basics every once in a while.
And to be honest, I’m usually happier for it, too, even though I grumble just to make a point.
Homemade Taco Seasoning
How can you complain about a simple weeknight meal, like these perfect ground beef tacos (can totally use ground turkey, too!) that are made from scratch and still on the table in less than 30 minutes.
These homemade tacos really are the best-ever.
They are the only ground beef tacos I’ve made over the last, probably, ten years, because…well, why change a good thing?
You can even feel good about ditching the prepackaged taco seasoning, because a) you can always come back to it later, and b) these tacos are just as fast and easy (and dare I say, more delicious).
As we all know, the great thing about ground beef tacos is that the sky’s the limit as far as how you serve them and what you serve them with.
We are in the camp of crunchy taco shells all the way.
When I feel like it (and think my family won’t revolt), I change up this already simple taco meal and use the meat over a giant taco salad (similar to this chopped taco salad – that homemade dressing is so delicious, it makes me weep).
And one of our favorite rebellious taco moves is to make taco quesadillas instead of the so-last-summer tacos my kids love.
It’s as simple as it sounds – slap a tortilla on a griddle or in a hot skillet, cover it with taco meat, cheese, and another tortilla, and cook until golden and that cheese is all melty.
Once the taco quesadilla is cut into slices, we pile all adornments (lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, avocados…you know) right on top and dig in with a fork.
Super yummy.
So clearly, the options are endless with this classic ground beef taco recipe! It’s a favorite, favorite. Hope you love it, too!
What to Serve With This
- Fresh fruit, or this Honey Lime Fruit Salad
- Mexican Rice
The Best Ground Beef (or Ground Turkey) Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
- ½ to ¾ cup chopped white or yellow onion
- 1 to 3 garlic cloves, finely minced, or 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely minced (optional)
- Taco shells
- Taco toppings of choice
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat, add the ground beef or turkey, onion, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often and breaking the meat into small pieces, until the meat is cooked through, 5-7 minutes.
- Off the heat, drain any excess grease, if needed.
- Return the skillet to the heat and stir in the garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper. Cook for about 30 seconds until the mixture smells fragrant.
- Add the tomato sauce and minced jalapeños, if using. Simmer the mixture for about 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper, if needed.
- Serve in taco shells with your choice of toppings (makes great taco salad, too!).
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Recipe Source: adapted from the Joy of Cooking
Recipe originally published April 2008; updated with new photos, commentary and recipe notes.
Mel, I am a friend of your Aunt Laurie’s. I am just wondering if you know what was hurting the tummies out of the Taco Seasoning Packet? It would be helpful to know! Thanks.
Hi Cami – to be honest, I’m not entirely sure. It’s been so long since we’ve used the taco seasoning packets that I haven’t really analyzed the ingredients. I don’t know if it was the combination of spices or something else. Sorry I’m not more helpful!
My husband doesn’t like the MSG’s in store bought taco seasoning packets. They also often contain wheat, which some people are sensitive to! We absolutely adore Mel’s homemade seasoning. And it tastes so much better!
this was very good – thank you 🙂
I used a serrano pepper (wow).
I use this recipe all. the. time. It is wonderfull! I made it for my mom (who has cooked for years but has always used seasoning packets for tacos) and she couldn’t believe the flavor! My husband loves it too. This is a serious winner! Thanks so much!!!
Will never go back to pre-packaged seasoning after this! I have been making this recipie for my family for about six months now and it never fails to impress. Kids love it and so does my husband. I love it because the flavor is all there without pre-packaged ingredients.
I tried these on a whim a few months back, but made burritos out of the mixture instead of tacos.
My roommates keep demanding I make them and it’s been a 2-3 times a month type of deal since then.
I find it’s also quite good with a bit of curtido to use as filling as well.
Cheers for the recipe.
Hi Mel, I’m making these tonight for dinner using ground turkey. Quick question – the recipe says serves 4-6. What do you count as a serving? Enough meat for 2 tacos? Thank you!
I don’t know how many tacos specifically – but this recipe feeds my family of 7 (five kids and two adults). It kind of depends on how much meat goes in each taco shell but there’s probably enough for 12 average-sized tacos.
Excellent recipe. My husband and I really loved it. When I was making it, it seemed like a lot of seasoning and I was worried it would be too strong tasting, but it wasn’t at all. It’s a keeper. Thank you!
I just made this recipe for dinner last night. Best tacos to ever come out of my kitchen. Definitely my go-to taco recipe!
This “seasoned” beef recipe instead of a salty mess of a packet is just want I wanted due to low sodium restrictions. Thanks for the great recipe, Mel!
I’ve been making tacos for years and always wonder why they’re never as tasty as I think they should be. Then I tried this recipe – and it was a hit! Even my picky 3 and 5 yr old couldn’t get enough. That is the best kind of success. Wish I had tried this recipe sooner but it’s definitely in the regular round-up now. Thanks for all the fantastic recipes!
This taco meat is amazing! Thank you for the recipe!
Mel, Do you sell T shirts ?
Nope, sorry. 🙂
You should! I would totally buy one.
I tried this recipe out last week and it was an absolute hit! The beef mixture was so flavorful 🙂 I did tacos for dinner and used the filling to make a salad for work! I added black beans to the mixture which made it even more filling. Thanks for a great recipe! 🙂
This is a great recipe, I make it all of the time. It takes 15-20 minutes, great for a week night. Thanks for a recipe that’s become one of my favorites!
We have been trying your cookie recipes (lemon bars tomorrow) and now I want to make your tacos. My favorite recipe is: http://love2cooksweets.blogspot.com/2010/04/whole-grains-for-busy-people-tacos.html
Thanks so much for having such a wonderful site. It is so fun to share recipes with a kindred cook.
These were awesome! And so easy. My daughter doesn’t do tacos so I had her help me make a quesadilla with the meat. Thanks for another great meal!
So I know you posted this like 6 or 7 years ago but I don’t care about leaving comments on old posts. This recipe is new to me so whateves. I was on a long taco strike because sooooo many taco recipes are gross. I tried this one on whim. “The best you say? Ok I’ll try it”…and it changed our dinners forever. We now eat tacos all the time. I made them for my sister last Friday and she called me yesterday while at the grocery store requesting the recipe because she said “Those tacos where life changing”. You weren’t kidding, they are the BEST ground beef tacos. Thanks for a stellar recipe!
Hello Mel!
I stumbled upon your site when searching ‘best taco recipe’ on the web, so glad I did! I am a newbie in the kitchen and this was amazingly delicious and easy. I am beyond excited to start making all of your recipes! I want to thank you for such a great website and user friendly recipes. You make it easy to follow from start to finish, not to mention how great the kitchen tips page is for a new cook!
Thanks again 🙂
Thanks, Aubree! I hope you love any other recipes you try!
Hey Mel thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I am a vegetarian and I used to use the packaged sauce mix (the wet kind and dry) and I hated all of the weird ingredients and one even had anchovies in it. I love that it is made with stuff I always have on hand and is so easy and cheap to make! I just used some Morningstar Farms crumbs in place of the meat. My husband loves how spicy it is too. Thanks again.
I think ground beef tacos are an awesome thing..its a nyc thing to start your day with..doing breakfast..you can check this out for a good recipe..Ground Beef Tacos
You MUST buy the cumin and coriander as whole seeds and toast and grind yourself. This makes a world of difference.
This is a pretty good recipe, definitely one of the best I’ve come across. Changes I made:
-6oz of tomato paste (standard can size) instead of 8oz. Made it with both amounts and tasted pretty much the same regardless
-Paleo friendly: coconut oil instead of canola oil, and in place of corn/flour shells, create wraps out of bibb lettuce or another large leafed green.
-I ground the cumin/coriander from whole seeds. Much more flavor over pre-ground
-1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes, if you like spicy tacos.
Just FYI, the recipe calls for 8 oz tomato SAUCE not paste. That is the size of a small can. That would be a weird amount for paste though!
i use this recipe every time. i used to buy the package stuff; not any more. i was never completely satisfied with their taste. not so with this recipe. sooo glad i found it. thx
Hi!
Wow this was a hit! Wow now I love tacos more! My bf enjoyed it we couldn’t stop eating hahah!
Kudos to you!
S
Googled taco recipe ground beef and this came up. Noticed its 6 years to the day. You’re obviously doing something right. Thanks for the recipe. Melanese
First ever comment, but had to do this. Made this last night for tacos with a few modifications (salsa instead of tomato sauce, bit of extra spices, and it was great. We had a fair bit of left-overs, so this morning I threw in a cup of salsa, the left-over tomatoes & sliced mushrooms, a cup of beef broth & 2 cups of cooked rice. Slow cooker on low for 6 hours and voila! a wonderful chili needing only a good buttermilk cornbread for a quick, delicious dinner. Thank you for the great recipe!!
We just had these tacos for dinner tonight. Everyone loved them, they were the perfect spice combo. The only changes I made was to skip the oil and onion, I just tossed dehydrated onions into my hamburger as it browned and I swapped out the jalapenos for a pinch of red pepper flakes to add a bit of heat. YUM
I made this with guacamole and layered it with sour cream and it was delish! Could not have enough. Is it okay if I link this page and post the recipe on my blog?
Thuy – Sure, as long as you include a full, clearly viewable link back to the recipe, which it sounds like you are doing. Thank you for asking permission. I am glad you liked it.
This is really really tasty and so so simple! I normally swear by Lawry’s but I think I’m officially done! Great recipe 🙂
This is the best beef taco recipe I’ve ever made. Thank you Mel! I use at least one of your recipes every week!
I made this last night and my kids gobbled it up! I’ve been avoiding the packets of seasoning in favor of making my own however mine lacked the ground coriander which in my opinion really makes this recipe shine. I’ve already made up a batch of the dry ingredients to keep on hand for different uses. I made up a marinade of the spice mix with oil and lime juice, rubbed over chicken to grill. I intend to use it on the chopped taco salad in place of ground meat.
great simple recipe. if the flavor is a bit flat, try addind a teaspoon or two soft brown sugar to add body. let it cook out for another 5min after adding. you wont be dissapointed
Great recipe. Instant hit with my hubby. Definitely a new favorite for us!
To make chicken faihtas used all your spices except for the tomato sauce. And it turned out awesome.
Yum. i always try to avoid processed foods and packets of anything. I know people have been making tacos for years before everything went convenience, I’ve been trying to perfect my own formula. Luckily for me, you have already done it. Delicious. I used ground chicken breast in my recipe.
This was so yummy!! I’ll never use taco seasoning again!!
Tonight will be my first attempt at this recipe. I’m very excited!! I have made tacos with and without packaged seasoning and I have to admit my family has not ever experienced any issues but I love the idea of just using what is already in my pantry and knowing exactly what is going in our food.
Have made these several times. Delicious!! This is a new favorite go-to recipe. Thanks, Mel!!
Yum! I began making my own taco seasoning years ago… the packaged mixes were making me sick in the middle of the night, fighting for air. Making this tonight, it is similar but much simpler. TY for posting it.
Mel,
I made this taco meat tonight, and loved it. I didn’t have a jalapeno on hand so I used some canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I also had to add a wee bit of water (like a scant tablespoon) to thin the meat mixture out a bit. I will be making it again for sure!
–Michelle Jones
Just browsing through and found your recipe sounds like a good one. I have one question what if i wanted to double the meat do i double the ingredients as well?
Levi – yes, double all the ingredients for double the meat.
AWESOME!! I cook these at least once a week! Thank you!!
I love this recipe! I always use it now when I make tacos. Thanks for posting.
I really love this taco recipe. This past week I made them yet again, using ground turkey, no jalapeno (my husband doesn’t do spicy and I just don’t like cutting them), and a cocoa chili powder. It was fabulous and I enjoyed the leftovers all week!
I’ll be honest. I love the taco seasoning packets! But I’ve loved all your recipes that I’ve tried so I want to try this really soon!
I am sitting here waiting for these 10 minutes to go by so my family and I can dig in! The whole house smells delicious…Can’t wait! 🙂
Love your website and these tacos are outrageously simple and good. Just wanted to suggest a can of rotel diced tomatoes with lime and cilantro as an alternative to tomato sauce and jalapeño. Thanks for another great recipe!!
This is a really good recipe, I also used the package taco mix, and your recipe is so good. thanks for your site 🙂
I made these last night after finding them on Pinterest and they really are amazing. Ya know that slightly “off” taste that the packaged taco seasonings have? Not here. Tastes like restaurant quality taco meat. I used ground turkey and an extra jalapeno (we like things spicy), but kept everything else the same. My husband was very impressed which is saying a lot for a guy who normally drowns everything he eats in hot sauce. This was tasty enough on it’s own and he went back for seconds (OK, I did too).
I tried this recipe tonight and it was a hit with my family!!! They loved it and asked me to make it again! I was looking for a recipe online and I went over several before I picked this one. This one was just what I was looking for…delicious and very easy to make. I put less chili powder since my son who is 11 years old doesn’t like anything that’s hot.
Thank you again for such a wonderful recipe!