Looking to change up taco night? This Taco Skillet is easily made in one pan and is on the table in 30 minutes. It’s a dinner the whole family will love.
Wondering what to serve alongside this Taco Skillet? Try this Mexican Grilled Corn on the Cob or this Refried Beans recipe.
There are times when you want to challenge yourself in the kitchen – cooking with techniques and ingredients that you’ve never used before. But then there are times when you just want something familiar and comforting.
This recipe is for those kind of nights.
Familiar flavors that combine together to make something easy, fast and delicious for dinner! And bonus – it’s all made in one skillet, and is done in 30 minutes!
Taco Skillet Ingredients
- Olive Oil
- Onion
- Poblano Chile
- Chili Powder
- Smoked Paprika
- Salt
- Ground Beef
- Tomato
- Tortilla Chips
- Shredded Cheese
How to Make It
VEGGIES – saute the onion and pepper in some olive oil until soft.
SPICES – add in the spices and cook until they are fragrant. This will bring out their flavor.
BEEF – add your ground beef and cook until no longer pink.
CHIPS AND CHEESE – Stir in a tomato, then your crushed chips. Top with cheese and let it all melt.
TOP IT – Serve with your favorite taco toppings. I like avocados, sour cream and cilantro. You could also add hot sauce, tomatoes, lime wedges, or guacamole.
Tips and Substitutions
- Sub in vegetable oil or butter for the olive oil.
- I love the poblano in this recipe because it gives flavor without a lot of heat (great for the kids) but you could also add in a jalapeno if you want more heat. Or for an even more mellow flavor, use a bell pepper.
- Swap in ground turkey to make it a little healthier.
- No need to make an exact measurement for the tortilla chips. I just use a few handfuls and roughly crush them as I add them in.
- If this Taco Skillet sits, the chips will get a bit soggy. If you aren’t serving this right away, you can skip adding the tortilla chips and let each person just add the meat mixture on top of chips.
- I always suggest using freshly grated cheese so that it melts well. Pre-grated cheese is coated with a powder to keep it from clumping together, and this makes it so it doesn’t melt as well, either.
More Ways to Change Up Taco Night
If you love breakfast for dinner, this Migas recipe is my favorite 1 skillet Mexican breakfast recipe.
So these Beef Tostadas are practically tacos, but so much better!
If you’ve never had Tamale Pie, you definitely need to try it! There’s also a delicious Chicken Tamale Pie.
There is also this family favorite Taco Casserole that is always a hit!
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Taco Skillet
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
Looking to change up taco night? This Taco Skillet is easily made in one pan and is on the table in 30 minutes. It’s a dinner the whole family will love.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 1 poblano chile, seeded and diced
- 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 2 cups roughly crushed tortilla chips
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- Toppings, such as diced tomatoes, lime wedges, cilantro, sour cream, etc (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat.
- Add the onion and pepper and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the Chile powder, smoked paprika and salt and pepper to taste. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, stirring the whole time.
- Add the ground beef and continue to cook, breaking up the ground beef as it cooks. Cook until cooked through and no longer pink.
- Stir in the tomato and cook for an additional minute. Stir the tortilla chips into the mixture.
- Turn the heat off and top with the cheese. Immediately place a lid on the skillet and let it sit for a minute or two until the cheese is melted.
- Serve topped with your favorite taco toppings.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition information provided as an estimate only. Various brands and products can change the counts. Any nutritional information should be used as a general guide. Nutrition information does not include toppings.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe
- Calories: 469
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 497 mg
- Fat: 32 g
- Saturated Fat: 12 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 15 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 33 g
- Cholesterol: 104 mg
Keywords: taco skillet, 30 minute meal, easy dinner
Kaitlyn says
This sounds really good! If you wanted to add the Asian flair, you could probably cook up some wonton wrappers, and use those as your chips!
Deborah says
Great idea!!
Kevin says
More texmex flavoured goodness!
♥Rosie♥ says
We love Tex-Mex in our house so this would go down a storm -mmmm
Cathy - wheresmydamnanswer says
YUM!! what a great dish and this will be a big hit with the hubby!! Thanks again for making me look so good!!
Sophie says
I could go for a lunch like this, I'm so hungry! Stir frys always remind me of summer, I think it's the fun festive colors. Awesome picture :).
Chris says
OK. So I read your blog but never comment… I'm definately trying this one.
Grace says
nothing wrong with the easy stand-bys, particularly the ones like this. this is a great, filling comfort food, deborah!
Ingrid says
Oh, hey, thanks! That definitely looks like something ALL three of my children would enjoy!
~ingrid
kat says
Oh, I know my hubs would totally love this one
Stacy says
YUMMY!!!! This looks like dinner tonight! Thanks for sharing!!
Cookie baker Lynn says
Easy, fast, delicious – 3 of my favorite words for dinner! This looks like a keeper recipe.
Abby says
Colorful and tasty. And easy. Can't forget that.
Marisa says
Yum! I totally agree that sometimes you just need to keep it simple and have a "go to" recipe. This sounds yummy!
Lisa Michelle says
All kinds of Tex-Mex skillets blow me away, and as Katerina mentioned above, it would also be great as a Taco salad, which just happens to be one of my fav things to order when at places like TGI Fridays etc, but yours would trump any I've ordered, and no doubt taste 10 times better! Beautifully done. Oh, and those Buffalo chicken bites below are calling to me too! They look awesome and I love the presentation in the paper cup!
VintageMixer says
a taste of home for me! My mom recently gave me a cookbook from her work that basically had 50 versions of the same Tex Mex meal- super funny!
Liz Brooks says
How funny-I'm writing about Mexican over on my spot:) Looks delish, can't wait to try it…
Rosa's Yummy Yums says
A great summer dish!
Cheers,
Rosa
Katerina says
I love taco salad and I bet this would be good on a bed of lettuce too. Total comfort food, yum.