Description
This Beef Taco Skillet is a delicious and hearty one-pan meal packed with seasoned ground beef, black beans, salsa, and tortillas, all topped with melted Tex-Mex cheese. Perfect for a quick weeknight dinner, it combines bold Mexican-inspired flavors with the convenience of a skillet and oven broiler to deliver a comforting, cheesy taco bake that can be customized with your favorite toppings.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 (14 fluid ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 (14.5 fluid ounce) jar salsa (your favorite kind)
- 4 medium flour tortillas, cut into quarters
- 1 cup Tex-Mex cheese blend, shredded
Toppings (Optional)
- Sour cream
- Chopped scallions
- Cilantro
- Avocado
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook the beef and onions: Add the ground beef and chopped onions to a skillet over medium-high heat. Break up the meat with a spoon and add garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, ground cumin, and chili powder. Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beef is fully cooked. If necessary, spoon out any excess fat from the skillet.
- Preheat the broiler: Move your oven rack to the top third and turn on the broiler to high heat to prepare for melting the cheese later.
- Add beans, salsa, and tortillas: Reduce the skillet heat to medium. Add the drained black beans, salsa, and quartered flour tortillas. Gently toss the ingredients together using two spoons to fold in the tortillas evenly across the skillet.
- Heat through: Allow the skillet mixture to warm through for a few minutes on the stove, ensuring the tortillas soften slightly and absorb some flavors.
- Broil with cheese: Sprinkle the shredded Tex-Mex cheese blend evenly over the top of the skillet. Transfer the skillet to the oven under the broiler. Broil for a few minutes, watching carefully, until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and lightly browned.
- Serve: Remove the skillet from the oven and serve immediately. Add your desired toppings such as sour cream, chopped scallions, cilantro, or avocado. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
Notes
- For firmer tortillas that don’t soak up too much liquid, you can crisp the tortilla pieces separately in a skillet or oven before adding them to the beef mixture.
- If you don’t have a broiler, you can use the oven set at 400°F to melt the cheese, but watch closely to avoid overcooking.
- This dish can be easily doubled or halved depending on serving needs.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated and reheated on the stove or microwave but may not retain crispiness of the tortillas.
