lunch

Tacos are a great choice for a quick weeknight dinner. But eating plain tacos every week can get pretty boring! Why not change things up by preparing some taco cups, instead? These freezer-friendly individual taco pies are a simple meal idea that everyone in the family is sure to love!

These are great for kids’ lunches or snacks. They are so easy to make. I like to always have make ahead snacks in the freezer such as corn dog mini muffins, English muffin pizzas, or ham and cheese roll-ups.

How to Make Taco Cups:

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 2 Tablespoons taco seasoning
• ¼ cup water
• mini tart shells
• shredded cheddar cheese

Assembly Instructions:

1. Cook the mini tart shells according to the package instructions.
2. While the shells are cooking, brown the ground beef. When the beef is cooked through, stir in the taco seasoning and water. Continue to simmer until the sauce is thickened. Remove the pan from heat and allow to cool.
3. Fill each tart shell with taco meat and top with shredded cheese.
4. Return the shells to the oven to cook until the cheese is melted, around five minutes.
5. Allow the taco pies to cool completely, then transfer them to a freezer bag.
6. Remove excess air from the bag and seal, then place them in the freezer.

* Note: If you have any of the taco meat mixture leftover, place it in a medium size freezer bag, seal, and freeze. You can then use it to add to eggs or hash browns, on top of nachos, or for tacos.

Oven Cooking Instructions:

1. Allow the taco cups to thaw completely.
2. Place the cups in the oven to bake at 350° for 10 to 15 minutes, until the meat is warm and the cheese is melted.

Microwave Cooking Instructions:

1. Take as many cups as you want out of the freezer.
2. Remove the foil and reheat in the microwave.

I recently made these in a day of make ahead snacks to ensure my kids always had something to snack on or bring for lunches. You can check out all that I made in the video below:

Taco Pie Serving Ideas:

Once you have the basic taco cups prepared, you can dress them up according to your family’s tastes! There are a variety of fun ways to serve your mini taco cups. One simple way to change up the taste of this taco pie recipe is to use a different meat. Instead of ground beef, you could also try ground turkey or chicken. Shredded chicken or pork are more great options for creating different flavour taco cups.

But if you would prefer to stick to the recipe, you could also add more flavour to your taco cups with the help of fresh toppings. Try these topping ideas to give your family members a chance to prepare their own individual taco pies for dinner:

• diced tomatoes
• salsa
• chopped lettuce
• sliced avocado
• sour cream
• hot sauce
• jalapeño slices
• crushed tortilla chips or taco shells
• chopped green onion
• extra cheese
• guacamole
• pico de gallo
• chopped cilantro

In addition to sprinkling toppings over your baked taco pies, you could also make additions to the recipe itself. Simply mix any of these easy add-ins into your ground beef mixture to give your taco cups even more flavour:

• refried beans
• diced tomatoes with green chilies
• kidney or chili beans
• black beans
• Mexican rice
• quinoa
• salsa
• chopped onions
• diced tomatoes
• queso cheese
• chopped bell peppers
• chopped jalapeño peppers
• corn

These are such a fun food with so many variations possible. 

Print

Taco Cups

Course: Lunch, Snack

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: taco cups

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 2 Tbsp. taco seasoning
• ¼ cup water
• mini tart shells
• shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions

Assembly Instructions:

1. Cook the mini tart shells according to the package instructions.
2. While the shells are cooking, brown the ground beef. When the beef is cooked through, stir in the taco seasoning and water. Continue to simmer until the sauce is thickened. Remove the pan from heat and allow to cool.
3. Fill each tart shell with taco meat and top with shredded cheese.
4. Return the shells to the oven to cook until the cheese is melted, around five minutes.
5. Allow the taco pies to cool completely, then transfer them to a freezer bag.
6. Remove excess air from the bag and seal, then place them in the freezer.

Microwave Cooking Instructions:

1. Take as many as you want out of the freezer. Remove the foil and reheat in the microwave.

Oven Cooking Instructions:

1. Allow the taco cups to thaw completely.

2. Place the cups in the oven to bake at 350° for 10 to 15 minutes, until the meat is warm and the cheese is melted.

Recipe Notes

If there is any of the taco meat mixture leftover, place it in a medium size freezer bag, seal, and freeze. It can then be used to add to eggs or hash browns, on top of nachos, or for tacos.