Make taco night a veggie-filled experience with these Beef Mince Tacos- with homemade spice mix and stacks of veggies! This is going to become the only way you do taco mince for your family.
Why you're going to love this taco mince recipe
- filled to the brim with veggies
- no packet spice mix needed
- makes enough for 8 serves, so freeze one portion
- delicious, with enough spice and flavour to keep everyone happy
- perfect in hard or soft tacos
What goes into the recipe
don’t forget to scroll to the recipe card for quantities and the full method
- Look at all those veggies! Celery, carrots, zucchini, capsicum, onion and mushrooms. I chop them up into dice (my kids love veggies!) BUT...you can: food process them if you want to completely disguise them, or grate them.
- beef mince: use 5 star or premium or the best mince you can find. There is enough moisture in all the other bits and bobs that this will stay moist and not dry out!
The spice mix- otherwise known as never-buy-packet-taco-spices-again
- cumin- ground
- salt- I used sea salt flakes- use what you have!
- paprika- I used sweet paprika, we like it sweet and that way it has less heat
- oregano- dried oregano gives a nice earthy flavour
How to make this recipe
- Chop, grate or even puree your veggies! I just chop them because the kids don't mine them- you can see how in image 1.
- Preheat your BIG frypan over medium heat and pop in 3 tbsps of your favourite oil. I use olive oil and sometime grapeseed for this. Start frying of the mince, you need to brown it, image 2.
- Dump in the veggies, and the tomato paste like in image 3. They don't need to go in separately, they will all cook together.
- Mix your spices together (image 4) and pop them into the pan as well.
- Give it a good mix, you want everything covered in spice like image 5.
- Here's the fun part: put in a cup of water, bring it to the boil. And leave it to simmer without a lid for 15-20 minutes. It will thicken and the water will cook out...and then you know it's done, just like in image 6!
Expert Tips and FAQs
I serve this beef taco mince just as I would any other taco filling, with:
- lettuce
- guacamole
- sour cream
- cheese
- tomatoes
- cucumber
Feel free to add your own family spin, you can even make your own flatbreads to eat it with, either plain, or sweet potato.
Of course, use what you've got, and what your kids love! I find they don't even notice what half the veggies are in this sauce and they help to give it a nice texture.
Yes! In fact it makes 8 serves, so it is perfect for freezing. I like to keep the leftovers in the freezer for busy nights, just defrost and sort out the extras and you're good to go.
I use 5 star beef, it's the highest quality with the lowest amount of fat. I find the amount of veggies in the sauce help to keep the beef very moist.
All the herbs and spices work together to make a delicious spice blend that helps to flavour the mince and veggies.
It's all about using flavourful mince and then adding in your favourite toppings. If you like it spicy, add some jalapenos to the tacos, sour cream and guacamole work really well, as well as fresh coriander and tomatoes and cucumbers. We use grated tasty cheese in our tacos on top of the mince as it melts into the sauce of the beef.
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Beef Mince Tacos
Ingredients
Beef Mince
- 3 tbsps olive oil
- 750 grams premium beef mince
- 2 carrots
- 1 zucchini
- 1 onion
- 200 grams button mushrooms
- 1 red capsicum
- 2 stalks celery
- 130 grams tomato paste
- 1 cups water
Spice Mix
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tsps sweet paprika
- 2 tsps oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
Instructions
- Chop all the veggies (or you can grate them or even food process if your kids will prefer them that way!)
- Heat the olive oil in your biggest frypan over medium/high heat.
- Brown the beef.
- Add the veggies and tomato paste and mix well.
- Add in the spices and coat everything.
- Add 1 cups of water and mix well. Bring to the boil.
- Reduce to a simmer and cook uncovered for 15-20 minutes. The water will cook out and you will be left with a thick flavourful sauce.
- Serve however you like your tacos!
Karen says
Tried these this week and the kids really enjoyed them. I added jalapeños and chipotle sauce to mine because I like it hot, but the kids and chilli scared husband loved them as they are.
Mum of 4 says
Made your taco rice last week and it got thumbs up from all the family. I've just made the beef mixture ready for tonight. Another winner.