Mexican Style Ground Beef

Today I’m sharing one of my favorite quick and easy recipes– Mexican Style Ground Beef. It’s the recipe I reach for most often when we’re making ground beef tacos or burritos. It’s full of flavor, saucy, and not much harder than reaching for the taco seasoning. 

Mexican Style Ground Beef

If you’re tired of reaching for the Costco-sized container of taco seasoning everytime you want Mexican ground beef for tacos, enchiladas, or nachos, you have to try this recipe!

I know I’m guilty of going the easy route, too, but this recipe is really not that much harder than stirring in premade seasoning. It is perfect for a myriad of Mexican ground beef recipes and tastes so much better than anything you can shake out of a canister.

How to Season Mexican Ground Beef

My Mexican style ground beef recipe uses green enchilada sauce, paprika, chili powder, cumin, and dried onion. If you like it on the spicy side, feel free to add a bit of cayenne or ground chipotle chili powder.

Cooking Tips for Restaurant Style Taco Meat

Ever wonder why some taco meat found at restaurants or in chili is ground SUPER fine and how they get it that way? That is the result of actually boiling the hamburger first. This method of cooking brings the temperature of the meat up slowly and prevents it from clumping, keeping it finely ground.

If you’d like to try this method with this recipe, place the beef in a deep pan and add enough cold water to cover the meat. Slowly bring the pan to a boil, stirring often to separate the meat into small crumbles. Once it’s to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook until the meat is brown and fully cooked.

At this point, you’ll drain off the water and add the remaining ingredients to the meat, following the recipe card below.

Want recipes to use Mexican Ground Beef in?

• Navajo Tacos
• Baked Crunchy Taco Casserole
• Easy Beef Enchilada Skillet

Tools Used In Making This Mexican Style Ground Beef

• Lodge 10″ Cast Iron Skillet: Cast Iron Skillets are your BEST friend and are totally underrated. Cast iron retains heat really well and allows you to get that irresistible sear on steaks and other meats you can usually only get at a restaurant. Pair this with the fact that they are CHEAP it’s a no-brainer.
• Chop Stir:  This strange little tool makes short work of browning ground meat with its odd shape that allows it to crumble the meat quickly as it cooks.

 Watch Me Make this Ground Beef Taco Recipe

Mexican Style Ground Beef

Today I'm sharing one of my favorite quick and easy recipes-- Mexican Style Ground Beef. It's the recipe I reach for most often when we're making ground beef tacos or burritos. It's full of flavor, saucy, and not much harder than reaching for the taco seasoning. 

By Heather Cheney

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 169kcal

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef 
• 10 ounces green enchilada sauce
• 2 tablespoons minced dried onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• Salt to taste

Instructions

• Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and brown and crumble ground beef until no longer pink. Drain excess fat.
• Return meat to pan and add remaining ingredients, stirring to combine.  Let simmer for 5-6 minutes over medium-high heat or until most of the liquid is absorbed and it’s the consistency you like—for instance, I like my taco meat a bit drier than I do for making nachos or enchiladas with.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 169kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 468mg | Potassium: 276mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 11.6% | Vitamin C: 1.1% | Calcium: 1.4% | Iron: 14%

Nutrition and Food Safety Disclosure