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My whole family loves when I make Mini Tacos. The ingredients are minimal and we love to serve for a quick dinner or a game day appetizer.

Mini Tacos topped with melted cheese and fresh cilantro on a platter with a small bowl of salsa with fresh lime on the side
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Mexican Food makes dinnertime a breeze because everyone loves it! These mini tacos are made with a crispy mini shell with a delicious taco meat filling. Add your favorite toppings for a meal that everyone will love with full of flavor.

If you love these mini tacos then you will love Chicken Street Tacos, 3 Ingredient Chorizo Street Tacos and Easy Keto Street Tacos Recipe.

Why This Recipe Works

We love these mini tacos because we can serve them as a main dish recipe or as an appetizer. You can even prepare ahead of time and store in the freezer for a quick after school snack.

Because of their mini size, they are perfect to dip into salsa, guacamole and sour cream. If you need the perfect meal to serve to a crowd, make these Easy Mini Beef Tacos.

Ingredients

Ingredients, small corn tortillas, ground beef, water and taco seasoning
  • Street Taco-Sized Corn Tortillas – Feel free to use any type of tortillas
  • Ground Beef – We recommend to use lean ground beef for less grease
  • Taco Seasoning – Use spice packet or make Taco Seasoning Recipe
  • Shredded Cheddar Cheese – Colby Monterrey Jack is another family favorite
  • Cooking Spray – Olive oil or Vegetable Oil will also work
  • Toppings – These are optional but we suggest Diced Tomatoes, Salsa, Shredded lettuce, Sour Cream

Scroll to the bottom for the full recipe in the recipe card.

Substitutions Ideas

  • Change Meat – Feel free to change the taco beef with ground turkey, shredded chicken or pork.
  • Spices – Feel free to add in your favorite spices instead of the taco seasoning. If all you have is cumin, oregano and chili powder, your taco meat will still be delicious. We like to add in a 1 tsp of garlic salt or garlic powder and onion powder when we cook the ground beef.

How to Make Mini Tacos

  • Step 1 – Preheat oven to 375°F.
  • Step 2 – In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef, breaking it up as it cooks.
  • Step 3 – Once the beef is fully cooked, drain any excess fat. Stir the taco seasoning and water. Simmer for 3-5 minutes until the water is absorbed and the meat is well-coated with seasoning.
Cooked ground beef topped with taco seasoning in a skillet with a wooden spoon
  • Step 4 – Lightly spray both sides of each tortilla with cooking spray.
  • Step 5 – Microwave the tortillas based on the package instructions so that they are pliable. Drape each tortilla over two bars of an oven rack to create a taco shell shape or place the taco shells in between the bottom of a muffin tin.
Mini corn tortillas topped on a upside down muffin pan
  • Step 6 – Bake for 7-9 minutes until the mini taco shells are crispy and holding their shape. Keep an eye on them to prevent burning.
  • Step 7 – Remove the taco shells from the oven and let them cool for a minute until they’re safe to handle.
  • Step 8 – Fill each taco shell with about 1 tablespoon of the seasoned beef and sprinkle with shredded cheese.
  • Step 9 – Return the filled tacos to the oven for 2-3 minutes, just until the cheese is melted.
  • Step 10 – Serve immediately with optional toppings on the side. Enjoy!

Expert Tips

  • Pan to Use – If you don’t want to use the oven rack method, you can drape the tortillas over an upside-down muffin pan instead.
  • Flour Tortillas – Corn tortillas are traditional and tend to crisp up well, but flour tortillas can be used if preferred. Just watch them closely in the oven as they may cook faster.
  • Regular Tortillas – If you can’t find 4-inch street taco-sized tortillas, you can use regular tortillas and cut them down with a round cookie cutter to achieve the mini size.
  • Heat Tortilla – To make the corn tortilla more pliable we recommend to heat them in the microwave in a damp paper towels for about 30 seconds.
Mini Tacos topped with slice black olives, diced tomatoes, melted cheese and drizzle of sour cream

What to Serve with Mini Tacos

Mini Tacos are great served with your favorite taco toppings and side dish recipes. We like to set up a taco bar with all of our favorite toppings so everyone can add their own.

  • Chopped Onions
  • Fresh Cilantro
  • Guacamole Recipe
  • Sour Cream
  • Slice Black Olives
  • Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles

Make sure to add a side of Easy Crockpot Refried Beans Recipe, Slow Cooker Black Beans, Mexican Rice and Queso Fundido with Tortilla chips to complete your meal.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Best Tortilla to Use?

Mini Tacos are made with street taco size tortillas. We used corn tortilla but you can also make these mini tacos with flour tortillas.

How to Store Leftover Mini Tacos

Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat them in the oven at 375 degrees F until they are heated through and crispy again. You can also make Taco Salad with your leftover meat.

Can I Freeze Mini Tacos?

Yes, these mini tacos freeze great and perfect to meal prep to stock your freezer. Prepare the mini tacos and allow them to cool. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and place in the freezer. Freeze the mini tacos for about an hour and then place in a freezer safe bag and freeze for up to 3 months. This way you can take out the amount you need to reheat.

Mini Tacos on a platter topped with melted cheese, fresh cilantro and a drizzle of sour cream with a small bowl of salsa in the center

More Easy Taco Recipes

If you make this Mini Tacos, please leave us a comment or a star review. We love to hear from you.

Mini Tacos

4.96 from 22 votes
My whole family loves when I make Mini Tacos. The ingredients are minimal and we love to serve for a quick dinner or a game day appetizer.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 24 mini tacos
Cuisine Mexican
Course Appetizer, Main Course
Calories 124

Ingredients

Optional ingredients for Serving:

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Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375°F.
  • In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef, breaking it up as it cooks.
  • Once the beef is fully cooked, drain any excess fat. Add the taco seasoning and water. Simmer for 3-5 minutes until the water is absorbed and the meat is well-coated with seasoning.
  • Lightly spray both sides of each tortilla with cooking spray.
  • Drape each tortilla over two bars of an oven rack to create a taco shell shape. You may need to do this in batches depending on your oven size.
  • Bake for 7-9 minutes until the tortillas are crispy and holding their shape. Keep an eye on them to prevent burning.
  • Remove the taco shells from the oven and let them cool for a minute until they’re safe to handle.
  • Fill each taco shell with about 1 tablespoon of the seasoned beef and sprinkle with shredded cheese.
  • Return the filled tacos to the oven for 2-3 minutes, just until the cheese is melted.
  • Serve immediately with optional toppings on the side. Enjoy!

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

If you don’t want to use the oven rack method, you can drape the tortillas over an upside-down muffin pan instead. Corn tortillas are traditional and tend to crisp up well, but flour tortillas can be used if preferred. Just watch them closely in the oven as they may cook faster.
If you can’t find 4-inch street taco-sized tortillas, you can use regular tortillas and cut them down with a round cookie cutter to achieve the mini size.
Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat them in the oven at 375 degrees F until they are heated through and crispy again.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 124kcal, Carbohydrates 12g, Protein 6g, Fat 6g, Saturated Fat 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat 1g, Monounsaturated Fat 2g, Trans Fat 0.2g, Cholesterol 18mg, Sodium 55mg, Potassium 104mg, Fiber 2g, Sugar 0.2g, Vitamin A 48IU, Vitamin C 0.001mg, Calcium 58mg, Iron 1mg

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About the Author

Hi, Iโ€™m Carrie Barnard โ€” a professional food blogger with over 14 years of experience helping busy families make dinner fast, easy, and affordable.

At Eating on a Dime, I share simple, budget-friendly recipes that are tested in my own kitchen and approved by my 8 kids. With millions of readers each month, I’m here to help you cook real food for real families โ€” without the stress.

4.96 from 22 votes

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Comments

  1. Shirley Ingles says:

    Grandkids are fussy but will love this.

    1. Carrie Barnard says:

      Woohoo! I love hearing that Shirley.

  2. Leslie Shields says:

    5 stars
    Love the idea on how to keep the shape. Definitely going to do this more often. Hopefully I don’t burn them.

  3. Jackie Nesselroad says:

    5 stars
    When I saw the recipe title, I was like โ€œduh, I know how to make tacos for goodness sakeโ€โ€ฆwell then I read the recipe and holy cow, I learned a very cool taco shell jack! Geniius using backside of muffin pan to shape the shells!
    Just goes to show that you can learn something new every day!

    1. Carrie Barnard says:

      Woohoo! I hope you try it out! Thanks Jackie.

  4. Cecilia says:

    Yum yum yum for my grandkids

  5. Kim McCool says:

    Love these! So easy!!

  6. Robin Laske says:

    5 stars
    I made these for dinner tonight so yummy! Thank you ?

  7. Tammy Rivera says:

    5 stars
    I made these and they are absolutely delicious and just the right size!

  8. Stephanie Pittman says:

    These are a โ€œhave to makeโ€ !!

    1. Carrie Barnard says:

      I hope you enjoy them Stephanie.

  9. Jane Whiteaker says:

    Mini tacos sound delicious

  10. Kristina McCormick says:

    Wow! I cant wait to add this to my meal list. Tacos are always a must have on my monthly meal plan so this seems like a perfect addition.

  11. Mary Bethel says:

    5 stars
    I will have to try these mini tacos

    1. Carrie Barnard says:

      Thank you Mary! I hope you try them out and that you enjoy them.

  12. Ellie Berberich says:

    5 stars
    This receipe looks really good. I will be trying this very soon. Thanks for sharing.

  13. Jenni McJunkin says:

    I have enjoyed many of your recipes.

    This one I found heating the taco shells in the oven interesting . I will try it.
    Thank you.

    1. Carrie Barnard says:

      Thanks Jenni! I hope you enjoy this recipe.

  14. M. says:

    Ohhh. Getting them to eat something other than a chicken nugget is a win. These look yummy for the adults as well…

    1. Carrie Barnard says:

      Yes – I agree 100% and yes, this recipe is for adults and for kids. So good and so easy to make too!

  15. Linda Corbat says:

    5 stars
    My four year old grandson loved these. He talks about ” Taco Tuesday” all week long. Quick and easy.

    1. Carrie Barnard says:

      I love hearing that Linda! Thank you so much for sharing and thank you for the positive review.

  16. Kathy Mohr says:

    These are awesome. My grandson is going to love them, just his size!

  17. Tracy Vandeberghe says:

    5 stars
    These were amazing and soooo yummy! They might just have to be a weekly recipe at our house.

  18. Kelly Sturek says:

    These would be fun to do with the grandkids!!!! Easy peasy!!

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