If there’s one thing that everyone can agree on, it’s that taco Tuesday is the best day of the week. It’s hard to beat those easy, cheap, and delicious ground beef tacos, and even picky kids eat them up fast (just no lettuce, please).
Classics can get boring week after week, though. So next time you’re hankering for taco night but want to cook up something different with that pound of ground beef in the freezer, try one of these Mexican-inspired ground beef recipes instead.
Mexican Ground Beef Casserole
How do you make comfort food even more comforting? Turn it into a casserole, of course. Taco-seasoned beef and two kinds of beans are layered with tortillas for a Tex-Mex lasagna-type dish that’ll feed a crowd.
Recipe: The Cooking Jar
Chipotle Burgers
Smoky, chipotle-seasoned beef burgers are topped with melty pepperjack cheese in this riff on plain, boring cheeseburgers. A simple creamy sauce is quick to mix up with more chipotle and smoked paprika.
Recipe: Two Peas and Their Pod
Taco Salad
Everyone seems to have their own favorite way of making taco salad. This version, on top of heaps of vegetables and seasoned beef, has a tangy sour cream-based dressing, but you can use Catalina or ranch dressing if you prefer.
Recipe: Budget Bytes
Albondigas
Albondigas are Mexican meatballs, which are a great way to change up taco night. Interestingly, this recipe calls for mint in the meatballs, which are then cooked in a simple sauce made with roasted tomatoes, onion, and garlic. Serve them on pasta, over rice, or in a sandwich.
Recipe: Mexican Please
Mexican Ground Beef Skillet
You can’t go wrong with a one-pot recipe, especially when you melt cheese all over the top. Rice, beef, beans, and lots of bell peppers cook together for an all-in-one meal. Canned green chiles amp up the flavor beyond taco seasoning.
Recipe: Fit Foodie Finds
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Freezer Burritos
Making your own frozen burritos is the ultimate dinner hack for those weeknights when there’s no time to cook. These are a classic combo of beef, bean, cheese, and rice all wrapped up, frozen, and ready to be microwaved for a quick meal.
Recipe: Easy Weeknight Recipes
Easy Beef Empanadas
Refrigerated pie crust makes these empanadas way easier than you’d think. Stuff them with a cumin- and chili powder-seasoned filling of ground beef, jarred chiles, and cheese. Like burritos, these freeze well. Just bake from frozen for a few extra minutes.
Recipe: Creme de la Crumb
Beef Taco Pasta
If your family members are fans of Hamburger Helper, this is a homemade version, Mexican-style. It’s a one-pot dish, complete with canned tomatoes, pasta, beef, and cheese. It’s simple and great the way it is, but you can customize it with any additions and toppings you like.
Recipe: Budget Bytes
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Ground Beef Tostadas with Salsa de Aguacate
Crunchy tostada shells are spread with refried beans and ground beef with a homemade seasoning. The simple avocado-based green salsa is a creamy addition. If you don’t have time to make the tostadas yourself, you can always buy a package in most grocery stores.
Recipe: Mexican Please
Chipotle Beef and Bean Enchilada Casserole
Enchiladas are great, but they can be time-consuming to roll. This recipe layers them into a casserole instead, with all the same flavors. Sour cream adds creamy layers, and while it calls for homemade enchilada sauce, you can use your favorite canned sauce or even salsa as an alternative.
Recipe: Hola Jalapeño
Mexican Picadillo
Think of picadillo as an upgraded ground beef taco filling. It’s got diced potatoes throughout it, so it’s also a great way of stretching a pound of beef. Garlic, cumin, coriander, and tomato sauce bring everything together.
Recipe: House of Yumm
Albondigas Soup
Those albondigas? Turning them into soup is a popular Mexican meal. Once you make the meatballs, it’s a piece of cake to put the soup together with chicken broth and tomatoes. Potatoes, carrots, and squash are traditional vegetable additions.
Recipe: Yellow Bliss Road
Easy Skillet Tamale Pie with Cornbread Crust
Tamale pie is like a Tex-Mex shepherd’s pie, with chili on the bottom and cornbread on the top. There are black beans, corn, and tomatoes in this filling, and a delicious browned butter cornbread. But we won’t judge if you just use a couple of boxes of Jiffy mix instead — we do sometimes.
Recipe: Serious Eats
Beef Tatchos
Sure, nachos are a fantastic treat, but have you heard of totchos? It’s just all the same goodies on top of a bed of tater tots instead of chips. Cook up a whole bag of tots, top with taco meat and cheese, then let everyone go crazy with their own toppings.
Recipe: Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts
Easy Air Fryer Taquitos
We love coming up with new ways to use our air fryer, and these taquitos fit the bill. They’re filled with a seasoned ground beef and cheese blend, then air fried until they’re crisp. Definitely have plenty of salsas and guacamole ready for dipping.
Recipe: A Peachy Plate
Walking Tacos
No one can resist walking tacos, the Midwestern answer to Frito pie. Take taco-seasoned ground beef, scoop it onto Doritos or Fritos, add your favorite toppings, and consume straight from the bag. Bonus points if you include some kind of cheese sauce.
Recipe: Eating on a Dime
Beef Enchiladas
Classic Tex-Mex enchiladas are filled with ground beef, beans, and cheese, and coated in a smoky red sauce. This version includes a recipe for easy homemade enchilada sauce that takes no time at all, but you can use canned if you have some on hand.
Recipe: Gimme Some Oven
More Meal-Time Inspiration From Cheapism
- 17 Easy Ground Beef Casserole Recipes for a Quick Weeknight Dinner — Stretching a pound of ground beef to feed your family on a budget is practically an art form. Countless recipes fit the bill, but none are as hearty, comforting, and beloved as casseroles.
- 50 Easy and Delicious Sunday Dinner Ideas — From classics to creative spins, these Sunday dinner recipes are easy and satisfying.
- Here’s the Secret To Making the Most Delicious Ground Beef — This simple hack will take your ground beef recipes to the next level.
