A home baked version of crispy beef taco’s with a cilantro greek yogurt ranch sauce on the side – a healthy and super versatile make-ahead meal.
Tonight is game 6 of the Bruins vs. Islanders in the Stanley Cup playoffs (GO B’s!!). It’s also baseball playoffs for one of our kids, among other sports practices. This means it’s a make ahead night. Enter, another recipe inspired by Half Baked Harvest – she made a baked taco with ground chicken, and I updated it here with ground beef and pretty much doubled the recipe. These have become a favorite in our house as they are super easy, make-ahead, and keep great for leftovers, though there usually aren’t any. You can use any meat or even chopped vegetables. I have done this with black beans and oven roasted sweet potatoes and it was delicious! If you have varying preferences in your home, make 1/2 with chicken and 1/2 with beef, etc. Since the filling is pre-cooked, everything can be assembled and baked as desired. The best accompaniment is the cilantro greek yogurt ranch. Another genius Tieghan move – taco’s with ranch. THE BEST.
This is a dip to make time and time again – I posted a very similar version of Chive Ranch with the BBQ chicken recently, and this one has the cilantro twist. Other than that, it’s the same easy recipe. Make extra – you will be glad you did.
The taco’s are formed on a sheet pan using soft corn tortillas that are filled with the beef and cheese, coated in olive oil, folded and baked. If you have a hard time keeping them folded before baking, compress them with a wire cooling rack while cooking – I have to do this with mine.
The crispy baked taco’s are great on their own, but served with the ranch and a few drops of taco sauce are even better. These are great warm, cold – however you find them. They make a great lunch for packing up the next day!
Oven Baked Taco's with Cilantro Ranch
Equipment
- baking sheet with a wire rack
Ingredients
For the Taco's
- 2 lbs ground beef, turkey, chicken, or even beans and veggies
- 1 small white onion, chopped
- 4-6 tsp Taco Seasoning - recipe below
- 8 oz grated sharp cheddar or pepperjack
- EVOO for the pan and taco assembly
- 12 soft corn or flour tortilla's - 6 or 8 inch size
Taco Seasoning
- 4 tsp chili powder
- 4 tsp smoked paprika
- 3 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
- 2 tsp kosher salt
Cilantro Ranch Sauce
- 1 cup greek yogurt
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp fresh lime juice
- 1 Tbsp chopped cilantro leaves
- 1 Tbsp chopped chives
- 2 tsp dried parsley flakes
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
Taco Meat (or veggies)
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and saute the chopped onion until just soft. Add the ground beef, chicken, turkey, or veggies, and saute until cooked through. Add a few teaspons of the taco seasoning to a small bowl with some hot water and mix until no dry powder exists. Stir the seasoning into the beef or veggies, and taste to make sure you have enough spice. Add more as needed. This taco seasoning will keep well in a sealed jar for weeks.
Make the Taco's
- Preheat an oven to 425 degrees. Use two sheet pans and cover both with olive oil in a thin coat on the pan. Lay the soft corn tortilla's open faced (6 on each 1/2 sheet pan) slightly overlapping. Add a touch more olive oil on this side of the tortilla's. They will be overlapping, but spread some of the grated cheese on each tortilla, then spoon a few tablespoons of the meat or veggies, a touch more cheese and then fold in half. If your taco's won't stay folded down, you can use a wire baking rack (for cooling cookies) to hold them into their folded position.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the outsides of the tortilla's are somewhat crisp. Set aside to eat at room temperature or fresh off the pan. Serve with the Cilantro Ranch Sauce.
Cilantro Ranch Sauce
- Stir all ingredients together, and taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper, or more lime juice as needed. Keep cool for up to a week - we use this on everything, but mostly it's a great dip for taco's, and veggies!
Notes
