A recipe for Mini Taco Bites! Taco-seasoned ground beef is arranged in small tortilla chips with a variety of toppings for a delicious snack.
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I first came across the idea for these Mini Taco Bites after my brother gave me The Athlete’s Palate Cookbook. They are quite the fun presentation and perfect for New Year celebrations and game day parties.
Ground beef (or turkey) is flavored with a taco seasoning mix, then arranged in scoops chips with desired toppings immediately before serving.
A Few Tips
Cook the ground meat until most of the water has evaporated and the mixture has thickened (but not completely dry). If too much liquid remains, it may soak through the chips.
I especially love how completely customizable the little appetizers are based on personal tastes. The kids generally stick to the meat, cheese, and tomatoes, while we try to pile as much as possible in the scoops.
I seasoned the ground beef with 2 2/3 tablespoons (26 grams) store-bought taco seasonings. If you want to try homemade, RecipeTin Eats has a single batch recipe for Taco Seasoning using only 8 ingredients.
To make the sour cream easier to add over the taco bites, I used a pastry bag (or a ziplock bag with a small corner snipped off) to pipe little dollops over the top.
These Mini Taco Bites are best immediately after assembling. If making ahead of time, keep all the components separate in the refrigerator for up to a day and reheat the meat before putting everything together.
Use whole chips for the little bites. I usually save the broken chips in the bag for leftovers to layer anything extra.
Looking for more taco-inspired recipes?
Try my:
This recipe was originally posted in October 2014 and updated in December 2022.
Mini Taco Bites Recipe
Adapted from The Athlete’s Palate Cookbook
Mini Taco Bites
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon (15 milliliters) vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion peeled and finely chopped
- 1 pound (450 grams) ground beef or ground turkey
- 2 2/3 tablespoons (26 grams) taco seasonings
- 1 cup (240 milliliters) water
- 1 bag (9 ounces, 255 grams) Tortilla Chips- Scoops
Optional Toppings:
- Shredded cheese
- Finely shredded lettuce
- Quartered cherry tomatoes
- Sour cream
- Salsa
- Guacamole
- Fresh cilantro leaves
- Chopped green onions
Instructions
- In a large skillet, drizzle the oil over medium heat.
- Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened.
- Crumble in the beef and cook, breaking apart the pieces, until browned.
- Stir in the taco seasonings until well coated.
- Pour in the water and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated and the mixture is thickened. Remove from heat.
- Fill each of the scoops tortilla chips with a spoonful of the ground beef.
- Arrange the top with desired accompaniments such as cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, cilantro, and/or green onions.
- Serve immediately.
lk529
I love doing this with leftover taco meat. Even better, pile on the meat and cheese and microwave it for a couple seconds. Then pile on the toppings! Mini individual nachos. 🙂