Quick Ground Beef Tacos for a Busy Family Night

You know that moment when everyone is hungry and you need to answer the question, “What’s for supper?”

Around here, the answer is often tacos.

In the video below, I started with five pounds of our grass-fed ground beef that I had cooked from frozen. I set about two-thirds of the cooked beef aside for meals later in the week. Then I turned the portion left in my skillet into a quick taco supper.

That’s the part I love most. I cooked the beef once, and now I have a head start on more than one meal. Check out my Reel Here.

The quick answer

For easy ground beef tacos, brown ground beef until fully cooked, set aside any plain beef you want for later meals, then season the portion you need for tacos. Add a little water, stir until the seasoning coats the beef, and spoon it into tortillas with your favorite fresh toppings.

I like to keep the batch I’m saving unseasoned. That way, the same cooked beef can become a completely different supper later.

What you need

For the taco meat

● About 1½ to 2 pounds fully cooked ground beef, taken from a larger batch of five pounds

● Your favorite taco seasoning, to taste

● A splash of water, adding more only if needed to distribute the seasoning

For serving

● Tortillas

● Fresh greens or chopped bok choy

● Whatever toppings your family likes, such as cheese, salsa, tomatoes, avocado, or sour cream

The video shows me filling a tortilla with bok choy from one of my favorite farmers before adding the beef. You can use lettuce or another fresh green you already have, too.

RanchMama note: The video doesn’t specify measured amounts for the seasoning or water. Start with the directions on your seasoning package for the amount of beef you’re using, then adjust to your family’s taste.

How I make these easy beef tacos

1. Cook the beef. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet, breaking it into crumbles as it cooks. In my video, I began with a five-pound batch cooked from frozen. Keep cooking and breaking it apart until every part is fully cooked. Ground beef should reach 160°F on a food thermometer.

2. Save the plain beef first. Remove about two-thirds of the cooked beef from the skillet for other meals. Put it into shallow containers and refrigerate promptly.

3. Season tonight’s portion. Sprinkle taco seasoning over the beef that remains in the skillet. Add a splash of water and stir until the seasoning is evenly mixed through. Let it sizzle briefly so the flavors come together.

4. Build the tacos. Add greens to a tortilla, spoon on the warm taco beef, and finish with the toppings your family enjoys.

The skillet portion is supper tonight. The plain cooked beef waiting in the refrigerator is a favor you just did for your future self.

Why I season only part of the beef

If I season the entire five-pound batch for tacos, I’ve made a lot of taco meat. That can be useful, but sometimes I want options.

By saving most of the beef plain, I can make tonight’s tacos and decide later whether the rest becomes spaghetti sauce, a beef-and-rice skillet, or another simple family supper. It’s my cook once, eat three times rhythm without eating the same dinner three nights in a row.

Can you cook ground beef from frozen?

Yes. You can cook ground beef from frozen on the stovetop, as I did for this batch. It takes longer than thawed beef. Start with a skillet that is large enough, separate and break up the meat as it softens, and make sure the entire batch reaches 160°F. Never stop at partially cooked beef and save it to finish another day.

If you’d rather thaw it first, that works too. The taco method is the same once the beef is cooked.

How long can I keep the cooked beef for later meals?

Refrigerate the cooked beef in shallow containers within two hours of cooking, or within one hour if the temperature is above 90°F. Use refrigerated cooked ground beef within three to four days, or freeze it for later. Reheat leftovers to 165°F.

This is why I divide my batch as soon as I’m done cooking. Tomorrow’s supper is already a little closer.

More quick taco questions

How much ground beef do I need for family tacos?

For this video, I used roughly one-third of a five-pound cooked batch for tonight’s tacos. You can make a smaller batch with one pound of beef or use more for a crowd. How far it goes depends on tortilla size, appetites, and toppings.

Do I have to use bok choy in tacos?

No. It’s what I had from a favorite farmer, and I liked the fresh crunch. Lettuce or another green works just as well.

Should I season the beef before storing the rest?

I prefer to keep the portion for later meals plain. It gives me more choices during the week. If you already know you want tacos again, you can season and store more of it.

What kind of ground beef does RanchMama use?

I use the grass-fed and grass-finished beef our family raises at Ebersole Cattle Co. in Southern Iowa. In our 25-pound Premium SteakBurger Ground Beef bundle, the beef comes in individually wrapped one-pound packages, so you can pull out only what you need or cook several pounds at once.

Make supper easier before the week gets busy

If ground beef is already in your freezer, tacos are never too far away. And if you cook a few extra pounds, you have a head start on the next couple of suppers, too.

See our 25-pound Premium SteakBurger Ground Beef bundle and fill your freezer with beef raised by our family for yours.

Thank you for letting our family feed your family.

RanchMama Shanen ~ Mama to the MommaCows at the ECC Ranch