Sweet and Spicy Tacos are the best ground beef taco recipe you’ll ever make! The flavors are ample and robust with a sweet taco seasoning and a spicy taco kick. Top it all with the lime sour cream sauce perfect for tacos!
Best Ground Beef Tacos Recipe
It’s easy to throw a packet of taco seasoning mix on ground beef and call it taco night. However, if you want to enjoy some freakin’ extraordinary tacos on your next Taco Tuesday, spend a few extra minutes making this sweet and spicy taco seasoning sauce.
Intense flavor from sweet and spicy beef recipe comes from ample spices and the added twist of baking it at the end. Use the 30 minute baking time to make the easy lime sour cream and get all the taco fixings ready.
If you love uniquely flavored taco recipes, also try Buffalo Chicken Tacos!
Sweet and Spicy Taco Sauce
Sweet and Spicy Tacos recipe calls for ancho chile powder, which is made from ground dried ancho chile peppers with a sweet hot flavor. Ancho chile powder is spicier than the regular chili powder traditionally used in ground beef taco recipes.
Look for it in the international section of your grocery store or at a mexican food market.
If you don’t love a spicy taco sauce, omit the ancho chile powder and use all regular chili powder instead. For more spice, add more ancho chile powder and less chili powder.
The sweet taco sauce is a similar to the sweet taco seasoning of sloppy joe tacos. Heinz chili sauce and brown sugar adds a sweet taco flavoring to balance out the heat.
What is the best ground beef to use for tacos?
The best, most flavorful ground beef tacos use ground chuck, which is 80 to 85 percent lean. This has enough fat to avoid dry, bland tasting tacos.
Generally the higher amount of fat means more flavor. Other types of ground beef may be substituted based on price and nutrition preference.
Ground sirloin is 90 to 92 percent lean, but offers less flavor and costs more. Ground beef is the most affordable, but is made from a mixture of leftover meat trimmings and less popular cuts of meat.
How Much Ground Beef per person for tacos
Figure on about 1/4 cup (2 ounces) or less filling per taco shell. Therefore, every pound of taco meat yields about 8 – 10 tacos.
Stretch your ground beef taco meat further by adding beans or fillings, such as rice, to the meat mixture.
How to Make Lime Sour Cream Sauce for Tacos
The cilantro lime sour cream tames the heat and offers a great fresh flavor next to the robust sweet, spiciness of the tacos.
A flavored sour cream for tacos is as simple as mixing together sour cream, fresh cilantro, lime zest, and lime juice in a small bowl.
How to Make Sweet and Spicy Tacos
- In a skillet over medium heat brown the beef. Drain off grease and transfer to a bowl.
- Add a splash of olive oil to the skillet and sauté the onion with garlic. Pour in stewed tomatoes and simmer until slightly thickened.
- Return the ground beef back to the skillet, along with chili sauce and taco seasonings. Stir and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
- Transfer the meat mixture to a 9X13 baking pan.
- Bake for 30-40 minutes to intensify and meld flavors. Serve with Lime Cilantro Sour Cream (recipe included) and taco fixings.
Tips for Making the Best Sweet and Spicy Ground Beef Tacos
- The lime sour cream for the tacos can be made up to two days ahead of time. Refrigerate in an airtight container.
- This is the perfect make-ahead meal because it tastes even better after the seasoned beef sits and melds. Make it the day before or earlier in the day and bake right before serving.
- Baking the ground beef taco meat helps develop the flavors even more. I find this taco recipe even better when reheated the next day.
- Sweet and Spicy Tacos are perfect for entertaining. Make a day or two beforehand and save the baking step for right before guests arrive.
- Since this recipe uses 2 pounds of ground beef, we usually have leftovers. Freeze the rest for another dinner or use in quesadillas, taco salads, taco pasta casserole, or throw on these Quick and Easy Taco Dogs.
- To tone down the spice, use less or no ancho chile powder and make up the difference with regular chili powder.
- Make homemade ancho chile powder by removing seeds of dried ancho chiles and grinding into a powder.
- Make healthier ground beef tacos by substituting ground turkey or ground sirloin.
Click here to see the
step-by-step web story instructions for this recipe!
More Mexican Favorite Recipes
- Fresh Avocado Shrimp Salsa
- Mexican Chicken Casserole
- Tamale Pie
- Mexican Fish
- Gluten-Free Blackened Fish Tacos
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Sweet and Spicy Tacos with Cilantro Lime Sour Cream
Ingredients
Filling:
- 2 pounds ground chuck
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 14 ounce can stewed tomatoes, undrained
- 12 ounce bottle chili sauce, such as Heinz
- 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon ancho chile powder*
- 2 tablespoons chili powder*
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- For serving: taco shells, cheddar cheese, lettuce, cilantro, and lime wedges
Cilantro Lime Sour Cream:
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ tablespoon finely grated lime zest, from 1 lime
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
- salt to taste
Instructions
Sweet and Spicy Ground Beef Taco Meat:
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. In a large nonstick skillet, cook ground beef over medium-high heat until cooked through and no longer pink. Drain off grease and transfer cooked beef to a bowl.
- Reduce heat to medium and add oil to the pan, if necessary. Add onion and garlic and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add stewed tomatoes, with juice, to the skillet. Break up tomatoes with wooden spoon. Simmer, uncovered, until liquid mostly evaporates and sauce slightly thickens, about 8 minutes.
- Add cooked ground beef, chili sauce, Worcestershire, ancho chile powder, chili powder, brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, and cumin to the pan. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally for about 5-10 minutes.
- Spread taco meat into a grease 9X13" pan. Bake until an almost black crust forms around edges, about 30-40 minutes. (I know this sounds unconventional, but it develops the flavor more. This step can be skipped if you are in a time crunch.)
Cilantro Lime Sour Cream:
- For the sour cream, mix together all the ingredients in a small bowl. Add salt to taste. Serve with taco meat and fixings.
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Recipe Notes
More Tips for Making Sweet and Spicy Ground Beef Tacos
- The lime sour cream for the tacos can be made up to two days ahead of time. Refrigerate in an airtight container.
- This is the perfect make-ahead meal because it tastes even better after the seasoned beef sits and melds. Make it the day before or earlier in the day and bake right before serving.
- Baking the ground beef taco meat helps develop the flavors even more. I find this taco recipe even better when reheated the next day.
- Sweet and Spicy Tacos are perfect for entertaining. Make a day or two beforehand and save the baking step for right before guests arrive.
- Since this recipe uses 2 pounds of ground beef, we usually have leftovers. Freeze the rest for another dinner or use in quesadillas, taco salads, taco pasta casserole, or throw on these Quick and Easy Taco Dogs.
- Make homemade ancho chile powder by removing seeds of dried ancho chiles and grinding into a powder.
- Make healthier ground beef tacos by substituting ground turkey or ground sirloin.
Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit
Nutrition
❊SHOP THE RECIPE❊
Items used to make this recipe*:
NonStick Skillet 9X13 baking pan FryWall
*affiliate links
Anonymous says
Wow. My new go to Taco recipe!!
Melissa says
yay! So glad 🙂
Scarlet says
These spicy and sweet tacos look fantastic and that cilantro lime sour cream sounds so good! can’t wait to try the recipe!
Melissa says
We love american tacos around here for a quick easy everyone’s happy meal (except the Mexican hubby) but I love this twist because it sounds so much more flavorful and I love the baked part of it! I can’t wait to try it out this week.
Melissa says
I hope you love it. Tacos are always a guaranteed family hit, but it’s great to switch up the flavors and make it more exciting for everyone!
Debbie says
Absolutely delicious exactly what I was looking for ….thank you
Melissa says
Your welcome! We just had these for dinner the other night. It’s one of our favorites!
Becca says
Made this tonight and really enjoyed it! However, it reminded my husband and myself both of sloppy joes! No problem since we both love them, just a surprise lol Loved the lime sour cream as well…didn’t use cilantro though due to detesting the flavor of it! Thanks for He great flavorful dish!
Melissa says
Hi Becca, I’m so glad you liked it! I just read Ina Garten also detests the taste of cilantro, so you are in good company!
Jamie says
I didn’t have enough ground beef so I added a can of black beans. YUM!
Melissa says
Fantastic idea and makes it a whole lot healthier!
Anonymous says
The ingredients didn’t list tomatoes but the recipe does?? Are we shooosed to be baking the meat mixture for 30-40min??
Melissa says
Hello! The tomatoes are listed in the ingredients as 14 oz.can of stewed tomatoes. As far as baking…I know it sounds unconventional, but it develops the flavor more and gives bits a nice crispy texture, similar to carnitas. This step can be skipped if you are in a time crunch. (I added this note in the recipe now, because it throws lots of people off.) Thanks for writing!
Anonymous says
I am a little confused. What are you supposed to bake for 30 to 40 minutes?!
Melissa says
Yep, I know…a little unconventional. You can definitely skip the baking part, but it develops the flavors more and makes a crust on top, similar to carnitas. Hope that helps!
Melissa says
Made this tonight and it was delicious! I didn’t have any chili sauce, so I just used some salsa. I also added a little salt. I loved the flavor that the Worcestershire sauce gave it! Super yummy!
Melissa says
Hi Melissa, you can also sub ketchup for the chili sauce, but great to know you can use salsa in a pinch too. So glad you enjoyed it😊
Molly says
This is the type of recipe I love for entertaining – all prep ahead so I can fully enjoy the party and my guests! Made it for a game day and everyone raved about it. It will be a repeater!
Melissa says
Hi Molly, This is the perfect entertaining recipe. You’re right, would be great for game days…
Patricia Almond says
These sound delish! Can this recipe be halved?
Melissa says
It certainly can, and I would probably recommend doing that if you are making it just for your family. Otherwise, I have made the whole recipe and just froze the other half to have on hand for a quick dinner.
MaryEllen Windsor says
I made these tonight for my family and they were absolutely delicious!!! Thank you so much for the amazing recipe!!!
I am following you on Pinterest too 🙂
Melissa says
Hey MaryEllen, thanks so much for letting me know! I make them all the time for my family and for parties because it makes so much. I am never disappointed about having the leftovers, though.