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Taco Dorados are flavorful tacos made with a crispy taco shell. Crispy, chewy tacos shells that are a family favorite and easy to make.
Ground Beef Taco Dorados is a twist on your classic taco recipe. These favorite tacos are made with chewy, delicious taco shells that are a crowd favorite. They are easy to make with very little ingredients.
When I make these or our fried tacos, we never have any leftovers. The tacos are loaded with ground beef and then fried in a little oil. This makes the perfect crispy, chewy taco that your family will prefer.
If you are looking for a new way to make tacos, make these Taco Dorados. We love the way they are simply made and we never buy the hard taco shells again.
What are Taco Dorados?
These tacos dorados beef recipe is made with corn tortillas. The corn tortilla are warm first in the microwave and folded in half then filled with ground beef. Once filled then, the tortillas are pan fried and placed on a baking sheet.
Once the tortilla are fried to perfection, the results are a chewy, yet crispy taco shells. The great thing about these tacos is that when you take a bite, all the filling doesn’t come out.
All the taco flavors in every bite.
Ingredients:
For the Tacos:
- Ground Beef
- Minced Garlic
- White Onion, finely diced
- Taco Seasoning Mix
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese, divided
- Corn Tortillas
- Vegetable Oil for frying the tortillas
Toppings:
- Shredded Lettuce
- Tomatoes, diced
How to Make Taco Dorados:
- Brown the ground beef with the diced onions until cooked through. Drain off any excess grease. Then add in the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until the garlic is aromatic.
- Then stir in the taco seasoning and 1 cup of the shredded cheese. Stir and cook on low for a few minutes until the cheese is melted.
- Heat the corn tortillas in the microwave for 60-90 seconds until the tortillas are pliable and easy to work with without breaking.
- Then fill each tortilla with approximately 1 ½ tablespoon of the beef mixture. Fold each tortilla in half to form a moon shape and press down to evenly distribute the meat filling throughout the tortillas.
- Continue this process until all the tortillas have been prepared.
- Heat approximately 1 inch Vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Then gently place the prepared tacos in the oil.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes until the one side of the tortillas is golden browned and crispy. Then gently flip the taco and cook the opposite for 2-3 minutes until browned. You will likely need to work in batches depending on the size of your skillet.
- Once the tacos are browned, move them to a paper towel lined baking sheet to soak up the excess oil.
- Continue this process until all the tacos are fried.
- Then serve the tacos topped with the shredded lettuce, tomatoes and remaining cheddar cheese. Serve warm and enjoy!
What is the Meaning of Taco Dorados?
Taco Dorados de papa are referred to as golden fried tacos. You may even seen them called flautas. But we still call them tacos as they are open. But in Mexico they are called flautas because the corn tortilla is deep fried and rolled with meat.
Tips for Making Taco Dorados:
- Storing Leftovers – These are best served fresh as they are still crispy and delicious but you can refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Heat Tortilla – Make sure to heat the corn tortillas in the microwave before preparing the tacos so that they do not break when forming the tacos.
- Oil – I used vegetable oil for the frying, but you can use your favorite type of cooking oil (canola oil, coconut oil or peanut oil would work as well).
- Smaller Batch – If you are making smaller batches, you can just heat the tortilla in the frying pan, then add the meat and fold over.
- Filling the Tacos – When adding the meat the warm corn tortilla make sure to not press the meat to the edges. This keeps the meat in the tortilla and doesn’t fall out when you are frying the tortilla.
Crispy Taco Dorados Topping Ideas:
- Salsa
- Lettuce
- Shredded Cheese
- Sour Cream
- Guacamole
- Pico de Gallo
Variations:
- Change the Meat – You can use shredded chicken or shredded cheese instead of ground beef.
- Cheese – We used cheddar cheese, but feel free to use what you like. Colby Monterrey Jack Cheese or Pepper Jack Cheese is always a family favorite.
- Flour Tortilla – You can use flour tortilla instead of corn tortilla if you prefer.
How to Freeze Dorados Tacos:
Dorados Tacos can be frozen and will last about 3 months if stored properly. Place the tacos with the meat and corn tortilla only in a freeze safe container. We recommend wrapping the tacos in saran wrap individually.
This allows you to take out what you need.
Print Recipe here for Taco Dorados:
Taco Dorados
Ingredients
For the Tacos:
- 1 lb Ground Beef
- 2 tsp Minced Garlic
- 1/2 White Onion finely diced
- 2 Tbsp Taco Seasoning Mix
- 2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese divided
- 12 Corn Tortillas
- Vegetable Oil for frying the tortillas
Toppings:
- 1 cup Shredded Lettuce
- 2 Tomatoes diced
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef with the diced onions until cooked through. Drain off any excess grease. Then add in the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute until the garlic is aromatic.
- Then stir in the taco seasoning and 1 cup of the shredded cheese. Stir and cook on low for a few minutes until the cheese is melted.
- Heat the corn tortillas in the microwave for 60-90 seconds until the tortillas are pliable and easy to work with without breaking.
- Then fill each tortilla with approximately 1 ½ tablespoon of the beef mixture. Fold each tortilla in half to form a moon shape and press down to evenly distribute the meat mixture throughout the tortillas.
- Continue this process until all the tortillas have been prepared.
- Heat approximately 1 inch Vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Then gently place the prepared tacos in the oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the one side of the tortillas is browned and crispy. Then gently flip the taco and cook the opposite for 2-3 minutes until browned. You will likely need to work in batches depending on the size of your skillet.
- Once the tacos are browned, move them to a paper towel lined plate to soak up the excess oil.
- Continue this process until all the tacos are fried.
- Then serve the tacos topped with the shredded lettuce, tomatoes and remaining cheddar cheese. Serve warm and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Facts
More Taco Recipes:
While yummy, my meat tried to escape in places and these definitely have a splatter range so be careful. We made tacos our usual way and can’t add cheese bc we are DF.