Name: Tacos Dorados: Crispy Fried Ground Beef Tacos
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 20 min
Cuisine: Tacos
Ingredients: 10 corn tortillas; 2 tablespoons cooking oil; 1 jalapeno, diced; ½ sweet onion, diced; 1 pound ground beef; ¼ cup tomato sauce; 2 tablespoons Sedona Sand All-Purpose Rub; 2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, etc.)

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

Ditch the deep fryer for these crispy Tacos Dorados. Simple to prepare, these shallow fried ground beef tacos are loaded with fresh toppings. Cooking them on the griddle promises all the crunch without the mess and guilt. One bite of these golden crispy tacos and they are likely to become your new weeknight favorite.

Tacos dorados, or “golden tacos,” are popular Mexican tacos filled with various meats or potatoes and fried to a crisp. Typically they are deep fried, cooked in a deep pot of oil on the stove. This style of taco has influenced many restaurants and fast-food joints across America.

Grab a hold of these crispy ground beef tacos.

Table of Contents

Why This Recipe Works

Once you try this method for shallow frying, it’s hard to go back!

Less mess. Let’s face it, deep frying in the kitchen is pretty messy. Using a griddle or skillet, you can accomplish the same results with less oil and cleanup.
Quick cooking process. This last-minute meal can save you, coming together within 20 minutes. The hardest part is dicing an onion.
Super crispy ground beef tacos. That’s what you’re here for, a crispy bite of delicious meat topped with salsa. This method gives you crispy tacos without all of the excess grease.

Filling ingredients for the tacos dorados include ground beef, jalapenos, onions, and tomato sauce.

Ingredients for Crispy Tacos

There are very few ingredients for the seasoned ground beef, which can be used for any style of ground beef taco you’d like to make! The fun part of building tacos is choosing the right toppings, and I’ll leave that up to you. Of course, we have some suggestions too.

Ground Beef – This recipe gives you flexibility with the fat content, so use what you prefer. Even a 95/5 works well here if you want to stick with lean.
Onions – Sweet, white, or red onions will work. This recipe uses sweet onion to counter the spicy jalapeno.
Jalapenos – Dice them small, and choose whether or not to include the seeds for additional heat.
Tomato Sauce – Using a little bit of canned tomato sauce promotes browning, deeper savory flavors, and keeps the ground beef very moist.
Sedona Sand All-Purpose Seasoning – Our blend of chiles, herbs, and aromatics is ideal for ground beef tacos. You can find it available online HERE.
Corn Tortillas – Use white or yellow corn, it’s up to you. This recipe works with small flour tortillas as well, but the fried corn tastes so amazing.
Shredded Cheese – Our favorites for these tacos would be cheddar, Monterrey jack, pepper jack, or queso Oaxaca. Make sure you shred plenty of cheese!

Toast the corn tortillas briefly on the griddle before preparing the ground beef.

How to Cook Tacos Dorados

Have everything ready to go, because the cooking process happens very quickly. Pictured above is a griddle, which is very ideal for cooking up a batch of tacos.

Can you fry on a griddle?

It’s possible to fry corn tortillas on the griddle using an even coat of oil with medium heat. As long as there is a combination of oil on the surface of the tortilla and enough heat, the tortillas will fry crispy. Less oil, less mess, it’s an ideal situation for most people!

This recipe can be prepared using a skillet indoors but will limit the number of tacos that can be prepared. Trust me, you want to use a griddle. No one wants to put a limit on tacos!

Prepare the griddle for medium heat. Once heated, brush a little oil over the surface. Toss the tortillas onto the hot griddle and toast them for about 30 seconds on each side. Hold them in a paper towel to keep them warm and pliable while the beef is cooking.

Season the ground beef, peppers, and onions while cooking on the griddle.

Cook the ground beef filling. Toss those diced jalapenos and onions onto the griddle and cook for a few minutes until they soften. Now, add in the ground beef. Press it down to form a mouthwatering crust on the bottom, then sprinkle on some of that Sedona Sand All-Purpose Rub for an extra kick of flavor.

Once that beef is nice and crusty, chop it up and mix it in with the peppers and onions. Pour in the splash of tomato sauce and mix everything up, allowing the flavors to mingle. Keep the heat on low and let it simmer until the meat is no longer pink and perfection is achieved.

Assemble and fry the tacos. Get ready, because this step happens pretty quickly. Clear off the griddle and give it a wipe down, then brush on the remaining oil evenly. Place those tortillas onto the hot surface and sprinkle on a generous helping of shredded cheese.

Scoop some of that ground beef filling onto one side of each tortilla, then fold them closed. Flip those tacos and fry until they’re golden brown and crispy on both sides. Once the crispy ground beef tacos are done, place them on a paper towel to drain and soak up any excess oil.

The crispy ground beef tacos fry up easily on a griddle.

These crispy tacos dorados are frying up on a hot griddle, loaded with cheese.

Important Tips

Have everything ready and within arms reach when cooking. It takes mere minutes to fry up the tacos dorados, so you don’t want to run off and burn anything.
Taste the ground beef filling. Make sure it has enough seasoning, keeping in mind that the cheese will add a little saltiness.
Don’t overcrowd the griddle when frying the tacos. Give ’em plenty of space to sizzle and crisp up to perfection.
Keep an eye on the heat. You want it hot enough to fry the tacos to crispy perfection, but not so hot that they burn.
Don’t skimp on the toppings! Load up those tacos with all your favorite fixings for a flavor explosion that’ll knock your socks off.

Drain the tacos on paper towels after they are fried.

Toppings for Tacos Dorados

Now that your tacos are hot and crispy, it’s time to load up with all your favorite toppings. The sky’s the limit when it comes to topping these bad boys. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Serve a plate of crispy tacos dorados with plenty of toppings.

Variations With Fillings

Even the authentic recipes for tacos dorados vary with fillings from shredded beef to mashed potatoes. Fill it with anything that you think will taste good. Here are a few suggestions:

Thank You For Trying Our Recipe!

We’re here to bring people together with bold flavors, using spice and flames to ignite the food and friendships.

If you try this recipe, please consider leaving an honest review below. You can also find more content by following Chiles and Smoke on Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.

This recipe features crispy ground beef tacos, known as tacos dorados.

Tacos Dorados: Crispy Fried Ground Beef Tacos

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star

No reviews

Print Recipe

Ditch the deep fryer for these crispy Tacos Dorados. Simple to prepare, these shallow fried ground beef tacos are loaded with fresh toppings. Cooking them on the griddle promises all the crunch without the mess and guilt.

Total Time: 20 minutes
Yield: About 3-5 1x

Ingredients

Scale

10 corn tortillas
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 jalapeno, diced
½ sweet onion, diced
1 pound ground beef
¼ cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoons Sedona Sand All-Purpose Rub
2 cups shredded cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, etc.)

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Prepare the griddle for medium heat. Once heated, brush 1 tablespoon of the oil over the surface. Lightly toast the tortillas for about 30 seconds on each side. Remove and wrap them in a paper towel to keep them warm.
Cook the ground beef filling. Add the diced jalapenos and onions to the griddle, stirring to soften them slightly. Add the ground beef to the side and press down to sear, forming a crust on the bottom. Season the top with the Sedona Sand All-Purpose Rub. Once a crust has formed on the bottom, chop up the beef and stir in the peppers and onions. Pour the tomato sauce on top and mix everything together. Turn the heat down to low and continue to cook until the meat is no longer visible pink.
Assemble and fry the tacos. Remove the ground beef and wipe down the surface. Brush on the remaining oil evenly, and place the corn tortillas on the hot surface. Moving quickly, sprinkle the shredded cheese onto each tortilla. Scoop some beef onto one side of a taco, and fold the taco closed. Continue to assemble each one and fold them closed. Flip the tacos after they are all assembled and fry each side until desired. Remove and place them on a paper towel to drain.
Serve with toppings. Carefully open the tacos and fill them with salsa, shredded lettuce, and crema. Serve immediately while they are crispy.

Author: Brad Prose
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Category: Beef
Method: Griddle
Cuisine: Tacos, Appetizers, Dinner