Is there anything better than Taco Night? I’d say Taco Tuesday but I try not to limit myself to enjoying tacos to one single night. You only live once right?

So my family is pretty traditional with tacos. Growing up it was all about ground beef tacos made with a packet of seasoning and topped with lettuce, tomatoes, plenty of cheese and sour cream. Once I got married, J and I branched out a bit and the Easiest Taco Meat EVER from the slow cooker became a mainstay in our fiesta-loving home.






But we are evolving. It’s fun to mix it up a bit and thus I give you: Baked Tacos. All the great beefy taco goodness that you love in a crispy shell baked up hot with refried beans and perfectly melted cheese. Ugh, they are SO good.

I decided to kick it up a notch for the filling in this taco bake recipe by throwing some onions and bell peppers into the mix. I diced them pretty fine because #pickyhusbandlife but he honestly, didn’t seem to mind them. Honestly, this dish got rave reviews from the whole family and with good reason!






A few tips to help make your Ground Beef Oven Baked Tacos a success

Get the hard taco shells that stand up on their own. I’ve done it with both but as always, I say work smarter, not harder. Trust me.

If you have a small, thin rubber spatula, use that to spread the refried beans on the shell- during the testing phase of this recipe, I had a much easier time spreading it with that instead of a regular spoon. 

Also, do this before you place them in the pan.

These are best served right away. They’re still flavorful later but the shell tend to soften over time.

Once they’re out of the oven, get crazy with your toppings. The world is your oyster. Lettuce, tomato, sour cream, cilantro, lime, rice, avocado. You can and should have it all!


PREPARATION


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Spray a saute pan with cooking spray and add the onions and peppers to the pan.
Saute stirring frequently for 3-4 minutes or until they've softened.
Add the ground beef to the pan and use a wooden spoon to break it up.
Saute the beef until brown stirring often, about 3-4 minutes.
Drain the extra oil from the pan.
Return the pan to the heat, add the taco seasoning to the pan with the water and cook as per the packet directions.
While this cooks, spread two Tablespoons of refried beans across the bottom of each taco shell (or more if you'd prefer).
Place the shells into a 9" x 13" baking pan.
Divide the meat between the shells.
Top the tacos with the shredded cheese
Bake for 12-15 minutes and serve immediately.






INGREDIENTS


Cooking spray
3/4 cup finely diced onions
3/4 cup finely diced bell peppers
1 pound ground beef
1 taco seasoning packet + the water that the packet requires
1 package of 10 stand-up hard taco shells
1/2 can refried beans
2 cups shredded colby jack cheese
The toppings of your choice (lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, etc)




NUTRITION INFORMATION

Serving Size: 1 (177 g)     Servings Per Recipe: 12


Calories 304.9    Calories from Fat 128 42%    Total Fat 14.3 g 21%    Saturated Fat 5.2 g 25%    Cholesterol 51.4 mg 17%    Sodium 586.5 mg 24%    Total Carbohydrate 23.9 g 7%    Dietary Fiber 3.7 g 14%    Sugars 1.5 g 6%    Protein 19.4 g 38%



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