Oven-baked tacos are a great meal for a crowd and allow everyone to top with their choice of condiments. Baking tacos in the oven is a great way to make and serve tacos in bulk. The taco shells stay intact when you bite into them when they have been heated with the filling inside. 
Time needed
You'll need about 15 minutes of prep time if you don't already have cooked ground beef in the freezer. The tacos will bake for 10-12 minutes, so this quick dinner is ready to eat in under 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- ground beef
- onion
- diced green chilies
- homemade taco seasoning mix
- tomato sauce
- shredded Colby-jack or Mexican blend cheese
- hard taco shells
- optional condiments (lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, avocados or guacamole, sour cream, sliced olives, hot sauce, taco sauce, cilantro, green onions)
Adaptations for dietary restrictions
Gluten-free. Store-bought hard taco shells are usually made with corn and are gluten-free, but check the labels to be sure. If you want to make your own, be sure to use corn tortillas, not flour tortillas.
Vegetarian. Try our lentil taco filling for a vegetarian version, or substitute your favorite plant-based crumbles for the ground beef. I'm partial to Beyond Ground (if you sign up for Beyond's mailing list, they send out coupons frequently).
How to make oven-baked tacos
While the oven is preheating, brown the ground beef and onion over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Drain off any fat and/or liquid. Return beef and onions to the skillet and add green chilies, refried beans, tomato sauce, and taco seasoning. Mix well and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Spoon the taco beef mixture into the taco shells and place into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. This is easiest if you prop shells against one another or use a taco rack (affiliate link) to keep shells upright. Sprinkle taco meat with cheese in each shell.
Bake at 400ºF for 10-12 minutes (or until the cheese has melted and tacos are hot). Serve with optional condiments of your choice.
Side dishes
Tacos are even better when paired with sides like these:
- Restaurant-style Mexican Rice
- Refried Beans
- Mexican-style Green Salad
More recipes using Homemade Taco Seasoning
Recipe
Oven-Baked Beef Tacos (30 Minute Recipe)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 4 ounces can diced green chilies, drained
- 4 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning mix
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- 8 ounces Colby-jack or Mexican blend cheese, shredded
- 12 hard taco shells
Optional Condiments
- Shredded lettuce
- Diced tomatoes
- Salsa
- homemade guacamole
- Sour cream
- Sliced olives
- Hot sauce, Chilula is our favorite
- Taco sauce
- Fresh cilantro
- Green onions
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- Brown ground beef and onion over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Drain off any fat and/or liquid.
- Return to skillet and add green chilies, refried beans, tomato sauce, and taco seasoning.
- Mix well and simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Spoon the taco beef mixture into the taco shells and place into a 9x13-inch baking dish, propping shells against one another or using a taco rack (affiliate link) to keep shells upright.
- Sprinkle taco meat with cheese in each shell.
- Bake at 400ºF for 10-12 minutes (or until the cheese has melted and tacos are hot).
- Serve with optional condiments of your choice.
Notes
- Substitute taco-seasoned shredded chicken to make oven-baked chicken tacos, or shredded leftover roast beef to make oven-baked shredded beef tacos.
- Add a can of refried beans to the tacos.
- Use your favorite salsa or enchilada sauce instead of tomato sauce.
- Add a can of drained fire-roasted tomatoes to the meat mixture.
- Add cojita cheese after baking.
- Switch up your cheeses and try quesadilla cheese, cheddar cheese, or pepper jack.
- Serve with chipotle sour cream (add 2 tablespoons chipotle sauce to ½ cup sour cream).
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