Sweet and Spicy Tacos are the best ground beef taco recipe you’ll ever make! The flavors are ample and robust with a hint of brown sugar, but easy enough to make for Taco Tuesday.

Sweet and Spicy Tacos are a Mamagourmand throwback post. The recipe is just as amazing, but I updated it with new pictures and a video. Scroll down to check it out! 

I had to remove all the old Sweet and Spicy Tacos pictures, but I couldn’t bear to delete this gem…

This is when 3 year old Finn helped with the original photo shoot. Finn really thought he captured the essence of the dish, and wasn’t at all thrown off by Captain America continually showing up in his viewfinder, instead of taco meat.

These amazing Sweet and Spicy Tacos are perfect for this time of year. With the kids going back to school, we are all getting back to our routines. For me, that means cooking up a lot of easy weeknight meals.

Sure, you could throw a packet of taco seasoning mix at some ground beef and call it taco night. I promise, though, this recipe requires the same minimum concentration, but there’s a way bigger payoff at the end with some freakin’ extraordinary tacos. 

Intense flavor comes from ample spices and the added twist of baking it at the end (which is the perfect time to get all the fixings ready and make the killer Cilantro Lime Sour Cream to go with it).

The original Sweet and Spicy Tacos recipe calls for ancho chile powder, but it does pack a punch. If your kids are prone to dinner-time-spice-dramatics, you may want to substitute regular chili powder.

How to Make Sweet and Spicy Tacos

1. Brown the ground beef, drain, and transfer to a bowl.
2. Sauté the onion and garlic in the same skillet. Add the stewed tomatoes, breaking up with a spoon, and simmer until slightly thickened.
3. Add the ground beef back to the skillet, along with chili sauce and seasonings. Stir and simmer for 5-10 minutes.
4. Transfer to a 9X13 pan.
5. Bake for 30-40 minutes to intensify and meld flavors. Serve with Lime Cilantro Sour Cream (recipe below) and taco fixings.

Tips and Trick for Making Sweet and Spicy Tacos

• 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.
• Not only is this a great weeknight dinner, but Sweet and Spicy Tacos are perfect for entertaining. Make a day or two beforehand and save the baking step for right before guests arrive.
• Ancho chile powder is spicier than the regular chili powder traditionally used in ground beef taco recipes. To tone down the spice, use 1 tablespoon ancho chile powder and 2 tablespoons regular chili powder.
• Since this recipe uses 2 pounds of ground beef, we usually have leftovers. Freeze the rest for another weeknight dinner or use the next night in quesadillas, taco salads, taco pasta casserole with cheese, or throw on these Quick and Easy Taco Dogs.

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Sweet and Spicy Tacos

Sweet and Spicy Tacos are the best ground beef taco recipe you'll every make! The flavors are ample and robust with a hint of brown sugar, but easy enough to make for Taco Tuesday.

4.75 from 20 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Servings: 9

Author: Melissa Erdelac

Ingredients

Filling:

• 2 pounds ground chuck
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 14 ounce can stewed tomatoes
• 12 ounce bottle chili sauce, such as Heinz
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 3 tablespoons ancho chile powder or chili powder*
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• taco shells cheddar cheese, lettuce, cilantro, and lime wedges for serving

Lime Sour Cream:

• ½ cup sour cream
• ½ tablespoon finely grated lime zest, about 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• salt to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Filling:

• In a large nonstick skillet, cook beef over medium-high heat until cooked through. Drain grease and transfer to a bowl.
  
• Preheat oven to 400ºF.
  
• Reduce heat to medium and add a splash of olive oil to the pan. Add onion and garlic and cook until almost translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add tomatoes to the skillet and break up with spoon. Simmer until liquid mostly evaporates and sauce slightly thickens, about 8-10 minutes.
  
• Add cooked ground beef, chili sauce, Worcestershire, chili powder, brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, and cumin. Simmer and stir for about 5-10 minutes.
  
• Spread in a 13X9" pan and 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.) 
  

Lime Sour Cream:

• For the sour cream, mix together all the ingredients. Add salt to taste. Serve with taco meat and fixings. 

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Notes

* Ancho Chile powder is spicier than regular chili powder traditionally used in ground beef taco recipes. To tone down the spice use 1 tablespoon ancho chile powder and 2 tablespoons regular chili powder .

More Tips:

• This is the perfect make-ahead meal because it tastes even better the longer the seasoned beef sits and melds. Make it the day before or earlier in the day and bake right before serving.
• Not only is this a great weeknight dinner, but 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 weeknight dinner or use the next night in quesadillas, taco salads, taco pasta casserole with cheese, or throw on these Quick and Easy Taco Dogs.

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit

Nutrition

Calories: 341kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 792mg | Potassium: 672mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1140IU | Vitamin C: 12.2mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 4.3mg

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