Baked Taco Cups

Baked taco cups are crispy, warm brown cups of dough full of savory seasoned lean ground beef and beans, then topped with cheese and tomatoes for your favorite toppings for a delicious gooey bite. This quick and easy taco bite is perfect as a fun appetizer or for dinner.

 

Why We Love Baked Taco Cups

• Great As An Appetizer Or Dinner – These fun little taco cups are yummy, and are the perfect appetizer for tailgating, birthday parties, and game night.
• Easy Semi-Homemade Recipe – You can use crescent roll dough, pizza dough or even puff pastry. Using dough from the grocery store makes this recipe come together faster but homemade pizza dough (just skip the Italian herbs) is also delicious for these mini muffin cups.
• Family Friendly – Taco bites are tasty for kids and adults both, are a crowd favorite and are a fun twist for Taco Tuesday.

Ingredients For Baked Taco Cups

• crescent dough usually one can, you can use the sheets or the regular kind.
• ground beef
• taco seasoning – If you prefer a little kick, you can add a little extra chili powder too
• water
• black beans drained well
• shredded cheddar cheese – can also use a mexican style blend, colby or Monterery Jack cheese
• diced tomatoes
• Cilantro Optional- for garnishing

How To Make Baked Taco Cups

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin or two 6- cup muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray. Pull the crescent dough at of the refrigerator and set on the counter.
2. In a large skillet, brown the ground beef over medium-high heat until fully cooked. Drain the grease from the beef.

3. Add the taco seasoning and the water. Mix until well combined. Turn the heat to high and bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes. Add black beans to the meat mixture and cook for two minutes, then set to the side.

4. Roll out the crescent roll dough. Cut the dough into 12 even squares.

5. Gently stretch out each dough square and place in the bottom of the muffin tin with the corners laying outside the edge of the muffin tin to form the little cups.

6. Divide the beef and bean mixture evenly into each piece of dough. Top each with cheese.

7. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Top the melted cheese with diced tomatoes and cilantro (optional), then enjoy!

Taco Topping Variation Ideas For Taco Cups

You can place these topping ideas directly on the taco cups, or serve them on side for everyone to add their own. Here are a few ideas.

Skip or swap the beans– If you don’t like beans you can skip them entirely. You can also swap the black beans for kidney beans or pinto beans. I recommend serving refried beans as a side. They can make the taco cups a little too gooey.

Try Ground Turkey– You can easily swap ground turkey or even ground chicken for ground beef when you are making the taco meat.

Add Salsa– You can add pico de gallo or your favorite salsa to these taco cups. You can serve these with salsa that is more liquid than chunky, but I recommend adding it right before eating so the taco cups don’t get soggy.

Serve With Guacamole – Another great addition! Guacamole or simple slices of avocado are delicious.

Try With Corn– Corn or corn salsa is super tasty on these taco cups. Corn can also be swapped for beans in this recipe if you prefer. I prefer using frozen corn, just make sure to heat all the way through.

Use Diced Onion– You can use red or white onion diced small.

Add Shredded Lettuce– While these taco cups are a two or three-bite type appetizer, if you dry lettuce well and shred or chop it, a little lettuce is delicious on top!

Try With Queso – A drizzle of warm queso is really delicious on top of these taco cups, yum.

Swap The Cup– Some people use mini taco cups (if you prefer corn tortillas) or wonton cups to make this style of easy appetizer, which are also delicious for taco night. Mini taco cups will need less cooking time, only a few minutes to warm after preparing the ingredients. Wonton wrappers will need a similar amount of time to bake to become crispy. Try this yummy shrimp taco bites appetizer that makes wonton taco cups.

Add Sour Cream– A dollop of sour cream is another crowd pleaser, or for a little more flavor try this Cilantro Lime Aioli on top.

Skip the Cilantro– If you’re not a cilantro fan, try diced green onions or just skip it entirely.

You can also kick up the spice a little bit adding chili powder to your own taste. You can also use a Spicy Taco Seasoning in place of regular taco seasoning. When it’s warmer outside, it can be fun to fire up the grill and make Grilled Flatbread Taco Pizza which is also similar.

How Long Do Taco Cups Last?

Taco cups will last about three days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

If making these taco cups ahead of time I recommend browning the meat and chopping the ingredients, and then baking them right before you are ready to eat. While leftovers are still yummy when warmed up, I think they taste best when fresh.