Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Oven Baked Beef Tacos Recipe
Warm taco shells hold seasoned beef and melted cheddar, ready for cool lettuce, tomato and sour cream. The hot filling and crisp toppings make a satisfying bite, with a little cheese tucked around the beef in every shell.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 20 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Original yield
- Serves 5
- Ingredients
- 8 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course
- Primary protein
- Beef
- Cuisine
- Mexican
- Cooking method
- Baking · Baked & roasted
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: 30 minutes or less
- Dish type
- Tacos
A few quick notes
1. Break up the beef
Stir and break apart the ground beef while cooking until no pink remains before adding the seasoning mixture.
2. Reduce the liquid
Whisk taco seasoning with water before adding it to the beef, then cook until the liquid mostly reduces.
3. Stand shells together
Arrange the taco shells upright against one another in the baking dish before spooning in beef and cheese.
Get to know the ingredients
Beef
Brown the ground beef before adding the taco seasoning and water so the spice mixture coats the cooked meat.
Cheddar
Sprinkle shredded cheddar over the beef filling in each shell before the tacos go into the oven.
Lettuce
Save the shredded lettuce for after baking so it stays cool over the warm beef and melted cheese.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 5. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 6 steps completeMake room for Oven Baked Beef Tacos Recipe
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Add cool toppings
Remove the baked tacos from the oven before adding shredded lettuce, diced tomato and sour cream to serve.
A little more help as you go
Preheat while browning
Bring the oven to 400 degrees while you brown the beef and prepare the shells for filling.
Fill before baking
Spoon the reduced beef mixture into the shells, add cheddar and bake the filled tacos for ten minutes.
A few questions you might have
When do I add the taco seasoning?
Whisk it with water and add after the beef is browned, then cook until the liquid mostly reduces.
How do I keep the shells upright?
Stand them against each other in a baking dish before filling them with the beef and cheddar.
Do lettuce and tomato bake with the tacos?
Add lettuce, diced tomato and sour cream only after the filled tacos come out of the oven.
How long do the filled tacos bake?
Bake the beef and cheddar filled shells for ten minutes in the preheated 400 degree oven.
Should the beef still have liquid when filling?
Let the seasoning liquid mostly reduce for two to three minutes before spooning the beef into the shells.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: dinnerthendessert.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
