What To Do With Leftover Taco Meat
When Tuesday rolls around, there is one meal that's sure to make it to the dinner table — tacos. The alliterative weekday meal is a staple in the U.S. and provides an excuse to have delicious tacos once a week. One of the great aspects of tacos is the amount of variety that comes with the dish. Any toppings or sauces can be added or taken away depending on the preference of the eater. Some people also modify the base of the tacos, using tofu as a vegetarian substitute, shredded or ground chicken for chicken tacos, or ground beef for that classic taco taste.
More often than not, when you make tacos at home, you have plenty of ground beef left over. It is possible that you have other taco toppings left over to make more tacos the next day. However, if ground beef is all you're left with, never fear! There are more uses for leftover taco meat than you might think, so read on to find 12 different dishes you can improvise with your Taco Tuesday leftovers.
Breakfast burritos
One great option for leftover taco meat is a breakfast burrito. For those looking to create either an average breakfast burrito or a Mexican breakfast burrito, the leftover taco meat works the same. All you have to do is grab some tortillas, decide what toppings you want on your burrito, and grab your leftover taco meat. Suggested toppings are potatoes, eggs, cheese, and peppers.
First, you'll cook the eggs, typically in a scrambled fashion or as an omelet. While you cook the eggs to your liking, add in the leftover taco meat. Some eat their tortillas without cooking them, but if you want your tortilla crisped before adding the ingredients, stick it in the oven or grill it in another pan with butter. After the eggs and meat are cooked and the tortilla is crisping, add in the potatoes, cheese, peppers, and anything else you would like. Finally, throw it all together and wrap it in the tortilla, adding whatever sauces satiate your palate. With that, you've turned Taco Tuesday into a great breakfast on Wednesday.
Nachos
Is there anything faster or more delicious than microwave nachos? The leftover taco meat makes for a great protein base on your nachos, and the meal can be as elaborate or as simple as you want. For elaborate nachos, you can put the tortilla chips on a pan, add the leftover taco meat, queso, shredded cheese, and a bit of salsa, and throw it in the oven. After baking it until sizzling, you can add whatever toppings you'd like, including fresh avocado or guacamole, more salsa, sour cream, and jalapenos, and then you've got a gourmet nacho meal.
For an easier and much faster creation, you can turn to the classic microwave nachos. These will give you slightly less quality in the dish, but it can be prepared very quickly. Grab a plate, put some tortilla chips down, add the leftover taco meat on top, and cover the base in cheese — either queso, shredded, or both. Put it in the microwave uncovered until it starts to sizzle, and then take it out and add your preferred toppings. Within minutes, you will have a full plate of nachos.
Queso dip
Another really easy dish to spice up with leftover taco meat is queso dip. Queso dip on its own is a delicious appetizer to bring to a party or an easy snack to munch on at home. However, some people like to add extra ingredients or embellishments to the dip to make it fancier or enrich the taste. For any canned queso dip, a great way to intensify the flavor is to dump it into a pot, heat it up on the stove, and add your leftover taco meat to cook with the queso. If you want extra flavor, add some relevant spices like chipotle powder or cumin, and e. Even some pickled or fresh-cut jalapenos will do the trick.
For homemade queso dip, the garnishes of jalapenos and spices are all the same, just with the added steps of making your own queso dip base. Melting butter and adding flour in a pan gets your dip started. Selecting the flavor or multiple flavors of cheese you want to melt is your next step. Once you've added in your spices and melted the cheese with it, you add in the leftover taco meat and whatever other ingredients you prefer, and you have an easily created homemade queso dip.
Homemade Hamburger Helper
Hamburger Helper is a timeless dish that comes in many different variations but is most known for its beef and macaroni taste. The Betty Crocker classic doesn't have to come from the store, though. With the help of your leftover taco meat, you can easily make Hamburger Helper right in your own home. First, start by heating up your meat on the stove. Add in some tomato paste or sauce, onion, garlic, and whatever spices you'd like, and then stir these ingredients together.
Then, you will add broth, preferably beef to stay consistent, and boil all of that together. Then, add in the macaroni noodles, or whatever noodles you prefer, to cook everything together. After the macaroni is cooked thoroughly, you will have a homemade Hamburger Helper with leftover taco meat that tastes just as good, if not better, than the store-bought version. This dish is nostalgic to those who grew up eating Hamburger Helper, and will instantly transport you back to childhood.
Quesadillas
Another obvious option for leftover taco meat is ground beef quesadillas. Most of the ingredients needed for quesadillas you would already have leftover from Taco Tuesday, so this is a simple way to reuse them. There are two methods of making homemade quesadillas, similar to homemade nachos. First, there is the easy method, where you combine your tortilla, cheese, and leftover meat. Then, all you need to do is stick it into the microwave until the cheese begins to bubble, and then take it out and fold it up. You can also add whatever other toppings you would like.
The more involved way to make a homemade quesadilla is to do it on the stove. Grab a pan, lightly butter it, or cover it with cooking spray. Fill your tortilla with cheese, meat, and whatever other toppings you would like. Then fold the tortilla and put it in the buttered pan. Press it closed using a spatula, and flip the quesadilla until golden brown on both sides. After that, it will be ready to enjoy. Though both versions are delicious in their own right, the stovetop quesadilla definitely wins out in crispiness and overall restaurant-level quality for your eating pleasure.
Quiche
A quiche is typically a breakfast food but is still great at any time of day. With the help of your leftover taco meat, you can make a great one at home. There are many options for store-bought quiche that work just as well, but then again, you will not have the pleasure of preparing it yourself for you and your loved ones. This savory pie is normally made with vegetables of your choosing, cooked meat of your choosing, shredded cheese, eggs, milk, and biscuit mix. Any other toppings or spices are up to your discretion.
Put the pie crust in a pie plate, and then add in the cheese, vegetables, and leftover taco meat. Then whisk your eggs, milk, biscuit mix, and seasonings together in a bowl. Once they're thoroughly mixed, pour the contents on top of the vegetables and meat. Put it in the oven, and bake for around an hour, and voila — you'll have a leftover taco meat breakfast quiche. You can even make it a Mexican quiche with different ingredients to go better with the taco meat. For more specific instructions, The Daily Meal has you covered.
Pizza
Another way to use up leftover taco meat is to throw it on a pizza. If you are making a frozen pizza for yourself or for others and want a quick way to spice it up, the leftover taco meat is the way. First, grab whatever frozen pizza you like. It could be any brand, whatever you prefer, and it could have pre-packaged toppings like plain cheese or peppers. Then, before you throw it in the oven, pop the meat on top and, optionally, sprinkle some extra cheese on top to help the meat settle in with the pizza. After it cooks, you are left with a delicious, meaty pizza.
On the other hand, you could always make a taco pizza. This uses most of the same ingredients as a regular taco but can be made in either the oven or the microwave. To assemble the pizza, you first need to grab a tortilla as your "crust." You can either harden it a bit on the stove before putting on the other ingredients, which is recommended if you use the microwave method, or you can let it cook in the oven with the rest of the ingredients. First, cover the tortilla in some queso and a bit of salsa as your sauce. Then, add on the leftover taco meat and whatever other toppings you want, and cover the whole tortilla with shredded cheese. Cook it in the oven or microwave, and serve it with sour cream and salsa.
Walking taco
A classic option and a great use for the leftover meat is the walking taco. True, it is very similar to your original meal, but it is a quick and easy way to use the ingredients you already have. All you need to do is have a single-serve bag of Doritos, Fritos, or any brand of chips that you like. Start with the bag closed and crunch up the chips a little bit so that they are not just crumbs but not quite full chips anymore, either. Once you have done this, you can start to assemble your walking taco.
You will need to cook your leftover meat before putting it in the bag. If you microwave the meat until it begins to sizzle, it will be good to go for your meal. If microwaving the meat does not sound appealing, you can also pop it in the oven for a little bit until it begins to sizzle, or even put it back on the stovetop with some additional spices to improve the leftover taste. Put the meat in the bag, and then put some shredded cheese on top. Once you have your base completed, add on the toppings. Any shredded lettuce, avocado, guacamole, jalapeno, sour cream, and salsa you have in the house will go great in this dish.
After everything you want to eat is in the bag, use a fork to mix it around. Then, enjoy the walking taco directly out of your chip bag.
Salad
For a healthier meal, you can make a taco salad with leftover taco meat. Salads are a great meal to have on the go or to prepare in a fancy way at your home for hosting guests. Your base for the meal will be lettuce, spinach, or any other greens you prefer, and then you will add the meat. You can heat it up before and add it hot to the salad, but that is up to you. Then, you can add shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream, crumbled tortilla chips, and avocado for the perfect blend of taco salad ingredients.
In many ways, a taco salad is similar in makeup to a walking taco. However, you do not have to make a taco salad to enjoy the leftover taco meat. You can add the meat to any other salad you make, be it Caesar salad, a goat cheese salad, or anything else for a bit of protein. Though the leftover taco meat likely fits best on a taco salad, you are not limited to that option with this protein. The leftover taco meat provides a great source of protein that can make your salad all the more beneficial to your health.
Chili
One staple of a chili dish is ground beef. Of course, you can make vegan chili, vegetarian chili, or use chicken in the dish, but for a traditional chili, ground beef is the way to go. When you are preparing your ingredients for the chili, the leftover taco meat will fit right in. You need beans, beef broth, onions, green or red peppers, any other vegetables you want in the dish, tomato paste, and a plethora of spices like chili powder, salt and pepper, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne, and others that are left up to your discretion.
After gathering everything you need, add your leftover meat and onion to a pot and cook until the onions are translucent. Add in your spices and tomato paste, combining these ingredients thoroughly. Then, add in your broth, beans, veggies, and the rest of your ingredients, stirring everything together. Let it simmer for around 20 or 30 minutes until it is ready to serve. Then, you can add sour cream, shredded cheese, or any other garnishes to the top when you serve, and with your leftover taco meat, and you've made a completely new dish.
Sloppy joes
For a completely different recipe that still makes delicious use of your leftover taco meat, you can put together some sloppy joes. This messy sandwich lives up to its name but is also a delicious and not too time-consuming meal that can appease most palates. All you need for a great sloppy joe is ground beef, salt and pepper, garlic powder, an onion, a green pepper, tomato sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire, and whatever bun you want to serve the sandwich on.
After you have gathered your ingredients, grease a pan and put the meat and vegetables in. Add in the spices, and once everything looks nice and cooked, stir in the sauces. After you see the dish thicken, you will know it is ready to serve. Grab whatever condiments you want and apply them to taste, and then put the meat on the bread. With just leftover taco meat and a few extra ingredients, you have a sandwich that is delicious and helps you get rid of the leftovers.
Shepherd's pie
The last dish on our list — but certainly not the last idea for leftover taco meat — is shepherd's pie. This dish is a classic for any comfort food, family gatherings, or impressive meals to whip up. Ground beef is the base of this dish, so with your leftover taco meat, you already have one of the key ingredients. For this dish, you will need beef, potatoes, milk, butter, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper, onion, carrots, garlic, flour, tomato paste, beef broth, Worcestershire, peas, corn, and herbs to taste.
To make this dish, you start by cooking the potatoes until tender, and then you mash them. As an alternative, you can use pre-cooked mashed potatoes. Season the potatoes and set them aside. Then, you'll add in the vegetables and cook them until they're fragrant and sizzling, which is when you add in the ground beef. To this mixture, you add in the flour, more seasoning, the beef broth, tomato paste, and Worcestershire, combining until evenly distributed. Transfer this mixture to a pie dish, topping it with mashed potatoes. Bake this until the potatoes begin to brown, and then you have the perfect gourmet dish with your leftovers from the night before.
There are many other ideas to use your leftover taco meat, so get creative and find a dish that works for you!