This healthy taco meat is a weeknight staple in our house. It’s lean ground beef, a simple blend of spices you probably already have, and a splash of tomato sauce to keep it juicy… and it’s ready in about 20 minutes.
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Classic Taco Meat
- Ready In: 20 minutes
- Serves: 12 servings
- Calories: 155 cal
- Protein: 24.7g
- Fat: 4.4g
- Carbs: 1.3g
- Why You'll Love It: This Classic Taco Meat recipe is a weeknight staple that never goes out of style. Made with ground beef, a simple blend of spices, and a splash of tomato sauce for moisture, it’s flavorful, juicy, and ready in under 20 minutes.
It’s always a go-to here because it’s SO versatile. We load up crispy taco shells, make burrito bowls, or I meal prep a big batch for the week. My whole family loves it, which is basically the dream. It’s the meat I use for sheet pan tacos and quick taco spaghetti squash boats too.
And you don’t even have to grab a packet of taco seasoning! A few spices from your cabinet do the job.
Which Taco Meat Is the Healthiest?
The leaner the meat, the lighter your tacos. I use 96/4 lean ground beef, so every 4 ounce serving has 155 calories, 24.7 grams of protein, and only 4.4 grams of fat. It’s also naturally gluten-free and dairy-free. Ground turkey is another great lean option. Try my simply seasoned turkey taco meat or mushroom turkey taco meat.
What Seasoning Is Used on Taco Meat?
I keep it classic with chili powder, cumin, dried oregano, garlic powder, kosher salt, and black pepper. That’s it! No packet, no mystery ingredients, and you can adjust it to your family’s taste.
Do You Season Taco Meat Before or After Cooking?
I add the dry seasonings right after the beef hits the hot pan, while it sizzles and browns on the bottom. Then I break it all up as it cooks. The tomato sauce and water go in at the end, once the meat is almost cooked through.
Important Ingredients and Substitutions
- 96/4 lean ground beef: I grab mine at Trader Joe’s or Sprouts. If you can’t find it, use 93/7. A 112g serving with 93/7 is 177 calories, 8g fat, 1.3g carbs, and 23g protein.
- Tomato sauce: One cup gives the taco meat that tangy, tomato-rich flavor and keeps lean beef from drying out.
Before You Start Cooking
- Grab your biggest skillet. This recipe uses 3 pounds of beef, so a large heavy-bottomed skillet gives it room to brown instead of steam.
- Measure your spices first. They go in right after the beef hits the pan, so have them ready in a little bowl.
- Plan for about 20 minutes. That’s 5 minutes of prep and 15 minutes of cooking.
- Weigh your cooked meat if you track macros. Then you can split it into exact servings. Here’s how I add a recipe to MyFitnessPal.
How to Make Healthy Taco Meat
- Brown the beef. Heat the skillet over high heat with a spritz of oil. Add the beef and let it sizzle and sit to get a nice brown on the bottom.
- Season and break it up. Add the dry seasonings, then break up the meat with a meat masher or wooden spoon as it cooks.
- Add the sauce. When the meat is almost cooked through, add the tomato sauce and water and stir well. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
- Simmer. Turn it down to a simmer and keep it warm until dinner!
What to Serve with Taco Meat
I’m telling you, this taco meat is one of my favorite things to have on hand. Throw it in taco shells, pile it on a fresh and healthy taco salad or light Mexican caesar salad, or stuff it into Mexican spaghetti squash bowls. Rice bowls, stuffed sweet potatoes, and nachos work too.
Top it with pineapple radish salsa or Mexican street corn salsa. For sides, I love corn avocado salad, cilantro lime slaw, or Mexican chopped kale salad. I promise you can’t go wrong!
How to Freeze Taco Meat
Taco meat is one of the easiest things to keep in the freezer, and it’s on my list of macro-friendly freezer meals.
- Let the taco meat cool completely, then portion it into freezer bags (one serving is 112g or 4 oz).
- Press the bags flat before freezing so they thaw quickly.
- Thaw overnight in the fridge, or toss it straight into a hot skillet with a splash of water and break it up as it warms.
- Having a bag ready makes my skillet Mexican potatoes even faster!
- Keeps up to 3 months.
More Mexican-inspired proteins for the freezer: my healthy slow cooker carnitas, red enchilada shredded pork, and stacked Mexican chicken thighs.
If you want the whole week planned, my macro-friendly meal plans give you a new plan every Thursday with a categorized grocery list and meal prep tips, and it adjusts to your household size.
Taco Meat Calories and Macros
One 112g (4 oz) serving of this healthy taco meat has 155 calories, 24.7g protein, 4.4g fat, and 1.3g carbs. The recipe makes 12 servings. You can also search Lillie Eats and Tells Classic Taco Meat in MyFitnessPal.
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Classic Taco Meat
Ingredients
- 3 lb 96% ground beef
- 2 Tbsp chili powder
- 1 Tbsp cumin
- 1 Tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 cup tomato sauce 240g
- ½ cup water 120g
Instructions
- Heat a large heavy-bottomed skillet over high heat with a spritz of oil. Add beef and let it sizzle and sit while you add seasonings (to let it get a nice brown on the bottom.)
- Add dry seasonings, then using a meat-masher, or wooden spoon, break up the meat while it cooks. When it’s almost totally cooked through, add tomato sauce and water, combining well. Let it cook for another 2-3 minutes before turning down to a simmer. Keep warm until dinner!
- Enjoy this meat in tacos, rice bowls, taco salads, stuffed sweet potatoes, nachos… etc!
Notes
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?
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Our favorite taco meat recipe!
This is so tasty. Idk why it has less than 5 stars because it tastes so good in everything and is so easy to make.
I cannot even count how many times I have made this! It is so delicious to me!! I’ll absolutely never use a pre packaged taco seasoning or another recipe for taco beef again! This is so good and SO versatile. I like to always have some prepped in my freezer too! One of my fav recipes from Lillie – and the competition is fierce lol!