This Taco Skillet Recipe makes dinner easy with seasoned meat, beans, and corn, loaded up with all your favorite taco toppings. Grab some chips and dig in!
author’s note
All the Taco Flavor, None of the Fuss!
I’ve shared a lot of taco recipes over the years, so it’s no surprise how much I love them. But sometimes I want that same taco flavor faster, without cooking tortillas or building individual tacos for my kids.
That’s where this taco skillet recipe comes in. It’s such a fun dinner! I set the skillet in the middle of the table with toppings all around. Everyone scoops some onto their plate, adds toppings, and uses chips to dip. My kids actually like it more than regular tacos!
If you’re not into sharing from the skillet, here are a few other easy ways to enjoy it:
How To Serve This Taco Skillet Recipe:
- Lettuce or taco wraps: Spoon the filling into lettuce leaves or warm tortillas. Add cheese, sour cream, onions, cilantro—whatever you like.
- Burrito bowls: Add the filling on top of cilantro-lime rice or cauliflower rice. Pile on your favorite toppings.
- Taco salad: Start with chopped romaine, then add the filling and toppings. Drizzle with a dressing like Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette or Creamy Cilantro Dressing. Add crushed chips or tortilla strips for crunch.
Taco Skillet Recipe Toppings
Once the meat and veggies are cooked in the skillet, all that’s left is picking a few of your favorite toppings.
- Chopped cherry tomatoes or pico de gallo
- Squeeze of fresh lime
- Large scoop of sour cream or Greek yogurt.
- Sliced avocado or guacamole
- Pickled red onions
Recipe Tips
- Go fire-roasted: Fire-roasted tomatoes, corn, and chiles add big flavor with no extra work on your end!
- Grate your own cheese: It melts better and keeps this taco skillet recipe from ending up greasy.
- Use a big skillet: A large pan gives everything space to cook evenly.
- Taste and adjust: Before serving, give it a quick taste and add more salt, spice, or fresh herbs if needed.
Storage
Store taco skillet recipe leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3–4 days. Keep toppings separate. Reheat in a skillet or microwave until warmed through.
More Ground Meat Dinners:
Taco Skillet Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup finely diced yellow onion 1 small onion
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic 2 cloves
- 1 batch taco seasoning or 1 packet; see note 1
- 1 pound lean ground beef or turkey (93/7)
- 1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 (4-ounce) can mild diced green chiles drained, optional
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1-1/2 cups freshly shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions optional
- 3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro optional
- Chips for serving, see note 2
- Toppings as desired see note 3
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and cook for 3–5 minutes, until soft. Stir in garlic and cook for 20–30 seconds.
- Push onions to the sides of the skillet. Add ground meat to the center. Let sear then break it up with a wooden spoon and cook for 5–8 minutes until no longer pink, but not all the way cooked through. Drain excess liquid if needed.
- Stir in taco seasoning. Cook until the meat is fully browned. Add the undrained fire-roasted tomatoes and scrape the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 2–3 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed.
- Add frozen corn, black beans, and drained green chiles. Stir to warm through.
- Reduce heat to low. Add the shredded cheese a handful at a time, stirring between each addition until melted and fully incorporated.
- Remove from heat. Sprinkle with green onions and cilantro if using. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve immediately with chips or your favorite toppings (see note 3).
Video
Recipe Notes
- Chips & Dip: Serve as a dip with tortilla chips.
- Lettuce or Tortilla Wraps: Spoon the mixture into lettuce leaves or warm tortillas and top with your favorite taco toppings.
- Burrito Bowl: Serve over cilantro-lime or cauliflower rice with toppings like avocado, sour cream, and lime.
- Salad: Add to chopped romaine, top with your favorite fixings, and drizzle with a cilantro dressing. Crumble chips on top for crunch.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
every single recipe I have tried of yours has been delish!! This one did not disappoint. Followed the recipe exactly (which is hard for me to do lol) except I added a couple spoonfuls of sour cream when I added the cheese just to make it a touch creamier. YUM!
I am SO thrilled to hear this! Thanks so much for your support Kara! 🙂
Oops, forgot to rate it. 5 stars!
Awe, so thrilled you guys enjoyed this!! Thank you so much for the comment and review 🙂
What an honor to be the first to review this fantastic recipe. We loved it!!! Bravo. We served it with chips — Delish! Only modifications based on what I had on hand – 2 jalapenos and 1 serrano in place of the green chilies, 3 roma tomatoes in place of the can and soy sauce in place of the beef powder. Thank you!!
As always, both my husband and I enjoyed this recipe for dinner. It did use a packet of taco seasoning in place of the seasoning mix due to some time constraints. Put it over mashed potatoes and it was delicious! Another winner from Chelsea!
Sounds delicious!! Thank you so much Eva, I so appreciate all your support! 🙂