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This Cheesy Mexican Taco Skillet is a delicious meal made with ground beef, onions, and taco seasoning topped with tomatoes, cheese, and tortilla chips. It’s a low-carb dish that is keto-friendly and perfect for a quick and easy one-pan weeknight dinner made in under 30 minutes.

Cheesy Mexican Taco Skillet

This easy taco skillet recipe is made from scratch and easy to whip up when you’re in a hurry and need to get dinner on the table quickly. You can top it with diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, sour cream, or minced scallions, depending on what your family likes best.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat.

Add the ground beef and onion and cook until the meat is browned.

Add the diced tomatoes and green chilis, taco seasoning, and water.

Stir to mix and reduce heat to medium low.

Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until the sauce has thickened.

Stir in half the shredded cheese until melted, then sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top of the meat.

When the cheese on top is melted, remove the pan from heat and top with crushed tortilla chips.

Sprinkle shredded lettuce and tomatoes over the top and add some sour cream before serving.

Tips For Sucess/Variations for this taco skillet  

This cheesy taco skillet is easily adaptable to your preferences. You can change out the ingredients to fit your lifestyle or tastes. Here are some options to get you started. 

Meat: You can use ground turkey or ground chicken instead of ground beef if you’d like. 

Vegetables: Add diced green or red bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, green onions, green chilis, or poblanos peppers into the mix. 

Pasta: This recipe doesn’t call for pasta, but you can certainly add some to the dish! 

Toppings: You can substitute or add any toppings you’d like here. Try some sliced black olives, minced jalapenos, scallions, or chopped roasted red peppers. 

How to serve 

This beef taco skillet is a tasty dinner, but here are some other skillet options you might enjoy: Skillet Honey Chicken, Mediterranean Chicken Skillet, Keto Skillet Pizza, or Skillet Pork Chops.    

How to store this Cheesy Taco Skillet 

Store any leftovers of this homemade taco skillet in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to five days.

You can reheat it in the microwave, but an air fryer is best since it will make the chips crispy rather than soggy. 

This isn’t a great dish to freeze once you’ve put the tortilla chips or other toppings on the meat. If you have them separated, feel free to freeze the meat for up to three months. Be sure to label and date the container so you know what you’ve saved for later.   

FAQs

What kind of pan do you cook taco meat in? 

A large fry pan or skillet is best to cook ground beef and you can use non-stick, cast iron, or stainless steel.

Do you put oil in the pan for taco meat? 

Yes, you’ll need to put oil in the pan before cooking taco meat otherwise the beef will stick to the pan and burn.  

How brown should ground beef be? 

You want the beef to look like you cooked a burger and not gray. This will give it the best flavor.  

How do you strain taco meat? 

If your taco meat is liquidy or oily, lay a paper towel on a plate and pour out the meat onto the plate. Then, carefully transfer only the meat back to the skillet.