Want to liven up Taco Tuesday? Why not consider these easy, mini taco cups? You can make this fun and easy appetizer with just 20 minutes in the oven and they are so delicious! There's no need to purchase special wrappers or fry them in hot oil. Your guests will be amazed that they were made by you.
With fresh ingredients, zesty spices, juicy ground meat and buttery guacamole, every bite is bursting with flavor. They are great for parties and make great, kid-friendly snacks.
I'm personally always on the lookout for something I can throw together with my everyday kitchen ingredients. With this recipe, you can customize it with what you have on hand, taco bar-style and fancy ingredients aren't required.
If you can't have your tacos without cheese, add shredded cheese or nacho cheese sauce. Like it spicy? Add some hot sauce. That is the beauty of tacos!
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🛒 Ingredients
- Mexican corn tortillas - These should range from 4" to 6". You can use flour tortillas if desired.
- ground meat - You can stick to the classic beef or go with something lower in calories like ground chicken or turkey. For a vegan option, go for veggie ground, which is easy to find these days.
- cumin powder - I love adding cumin to most of my Mexican recipes. It is great for enhancing the savory flavor of meat.
- taco seasoning - Or Mexican seasoning or chili powder.
- tomato - I like to use Roma tomatoes because they are meaty and less watery but you can also use beefsteak or tomatoes on the vine.
- fresh cilantro - Simply leave out if cilantro is a no-go for you.
*Check recipe card for ingredient amounts.
🌮 How to Make Taco Cups
Step 1. Prep tortillas. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Place the tortilla halves in the muffin tin cavities, creating mini taco cups.
Step 2. Bake. Bake the tortilla cups in the preheated oven until crispy, about 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them! Let cool.
Chef's Note: To make the cups with the tacos, you are basically just pushing them in and maneuvering them to fit. If you see them tearing in a couple of places, that is normal and perfectly fine.
Step 3. Cook onion. Meanwhile...heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and green onion, and cook for 5 minutes.
Step 4. Add meat. Add the ground meat and cook until fully cooked, about 5 minutes. Mix in the cumin powder and taco seasoning. Season and remove from heat.
Step 5. Mash avocado. In a bowl, mash the avocado and mix it with the lemon juice. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
Step 6. Fill the mini taco cups. Fill the tortilla cups with the ground meat, tomatoes, mashed avocado and fresh cilantro.
Step 7. Serve. Serve the mini tortilla cups!
⭐ You might also like my slow cooker Mexican soup.
👉 Joss' Top Tip
My trick to make the tortillas more flexible and to avoid tearing is to microwave them for 15 seconds or so. Then, immediately push them into the muffin tin cavities while they are still warm. For more details, check out how to heat corn tortillas so they don't break.
🔪 Make Ahead Prep
- The ground meat filling and the veggies can be prepped a day or two in advance but make sure to refrigerate everything in separate containers.
- The ground meat can be reheated when it's time to fill the tortilla cups.
- Do not make the guacamole until just before serving time to keep it fresh and bright green.
- You can bake the tortilla cups, let them cool fully and store in an airtight container at room temperature (in a cool, dark place like a cupboard or pantry) for up to 2-3 days.
❓ Mini Taco Cups FAQs
Taco seasoning usually consists of a mixture of paprika, onion and garlic powder, chili powder, oregano, cumin and salt.
This appetizer is best served on the day of preparation but you can store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 to 3 days without the avocado. The toppings should be stored separately.
You can reheat them in a 350ºF oven for about 5 to 10 minutes.
The mini taco cups with the meat can be reheated in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350°F to retain the crispiness.
This is possibly due to under-baking the cups. Bake until they are crispy all the way through before cooling. Also, make sure the meat filling isn't liquidy and allow it to cool slightly before adding to the cups. Another great tip is to add some shredded cheese to the bottom of the cups before adding the other filling ingredients.
❤️ More Mouth Watering Taco Recipes
Sometimes, nothing quite satisfies a craving like homemade Mexican food. If you tried this Mini Taco Cups Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. And please share the recipe!
📋Recipe
Mini Taco Cups
Ingredients
- 12 Mexican corn tortillas - cut in half
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup yellow onion - chopped
- 2 green onions - chopped
- 1 cup ground meat - lean ground beef, ground chicken, etc.
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning - or Mexican seasoning or chili powder
- 1 avocado
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice - or to taste
- 1 large tomato - chopped
- fresh cilantro - chopped
- salt and pepper - to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Place the tortilla halves in the muffin tin cavities, creating small baskets/cups. (You are basically just pushing them in and maneuvering them to fit. If you see them tearing in a couple places, that is normal. My trick is to microwave the tortillas for 15 seconds or so to make them more flexible.)
- Bake the tortilla cups in the preheated oven until crispy, about 20 minutes. Keep an eye on them! Let cool.
- Meanwhile...heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and green onion, and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the ground meat and cook until fully cooked, about 5 minutes. Mix in the cumin powder and taco seasoning. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and remove from heat.
- In a bowl, mash the avocado and mix it with the lemon juice. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
- Fill the tortilla cups with the ground meat, tomatoes, mashed avocado and fresh cilantro.
- Serve!
Equipment
Notes
- Leftover storage: These taco cups are best served on the day of preparation but you can store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 to 3 days without the avocado. The toppings should be stored separately.
- Reheating: The taco cups with the meat can be reheated in the oven for about 10 minutes at 350°F to retain the crispiness. For the taco cups only, you can reheat them in a 350ºF oven for about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Make ahead prep:
- The ground meat filling and the veggies can be prepped a day in advance but make sure to store everything separately. Don't make the guacamole until serving time to keep it nice and fresh.
- The ground meat can be reheated when it's time to fill the tortilla cups.
- You can bake the tortilla cups, let them cool fully and store in an airtight container at room temperature (in a cool, dark place like a cupboard or pantry) for up to 2-3 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information on In the Kitch is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It may not include toppings and/or sauces.
Joss says
These are so cute, fresh and delicious! I love how easy and customizable they are for parties.
Karly says
So cute!!
Joss D says
Aren't they?! Thanks Karly!