Taco Skillet Recipe
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This loaded taco skillet recipe uses one common pantry ingredient to create a rich, flavorful sauce that coats every bite and keeps it perfectly saucy for leftovers. Take the guesswork out of dinner with this easy, delicious, guaranteed winner.
This cheesy taco skillet recipe skips the usual broth and uses your favorite prepared salsa to create a rich, flavorful sauce that soaks into every bite. It’s ready in about 30 minutes and super versatile, so it’s a great way to get dinner on the table fast and use up veggies hanging out in the fridge.
I don’t want to bury the lead here, but this recipe is cooked entirely in one skillet, so you solve the age old “what to make for dinner” question without a pile of dishes to wash afterward.
Personally, I work full time and make dinner every night, so I do not have the energy to load and unload the dishwasher over and over again. This is one of those recipes that dirties one dish. You don’t even need utensils, just grab a tortilla chip and use it as your fork.
That’s the whole appeal here. Just a few ingredients I always have on hand, and one skillet hot and ready.
Why You’ll Love This Cheesy Taco Skillet
- Ready in just 30 minutes and works great for meal prep and meal planning.
- No rice or tortillas soaking up the sauce means leftovers stay saucy for days. They’ll taste just as good as fresh.
- Versatile and a great way to clean out the fridge and use up veggies or ingredients that might go bad.
- This has everything you love about tacos, made in one skillet. Clean up is so much easier and you don’t need to put out a million bowls of toppings.
- The salsa is the hero and does the heavy lifting of making a sauce and adding a ton of flavor. And when you use a salsa you love + melted cheese, there’s no crossing your fingers hoping it’ll taste good. You know exactly what you’re getting!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Ground turkey – My preference is ground turkey for this taco skillet, but you can use a 90/10 ground beef or any of the subs listed in the section below
- Avocado oil
- Large yellow onion – diced
- Red bell pepper (optional) – diced
- Fresh garlic cloves – minced
- Prepared taco seasoning – from the packets or use my Homemade Taco Seasoning. One packet of McCormick taco seasoning is enough to season the whole skillet. I found that if you use homemade taco seasoning or Old El Paso brand from the can, you’ll need 4 tablespoons. I use full sodium taco seasoning, but feel free to use reduced sodium to meet your needs.
- Canned black beans – drained and rinsed
- Corn – drain if using canned. You can also use frozen or fresh corn kernels. 12 ounces or 1 1/2 cups of corn kernels will do the trick.
- Prepared salsa – Choose a salsa everyone in your house loves. I always select the shelved salsas instead of the fresh or refrigerated salsas. I personally love a thick and chunky style, but use what your family loves, and the heat level that works best for your crew.
- Water – Just like when making regular tacos, water is needed to help get the dryness out of the taco seasoning, deglazes the pan, and makes a “sauce”. Taco seasonings also contain thickening agents, so the water helps activate those.
- Shredded cheese – Mexican blend, cheddar, or Monterey Jack all work great in this recipe. I love using Cabot’s (because New England) 4 cheese Mexican blend in the rustic cut.
How To Make A Taco Skillet
This is a slightly shorter version of the complete directions at the bottom of the post. Use the recipe card instructions for the best results.
Step 1
Cook ground meat, onion, and bell pepper until the meat is browned and the veggies are soft, around 8 minutes.
Add the garlic and taco seasoning. Stir and cook for 1 minute, then add the beans and corn, and give the mixture a stir to combine.
Step 2
Pour in the jar of salsa and water, stirring and scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. The mixture should look saucy, but not soupy.
Bring the contents to a simmer and cook over medium heat until everything is heated through and bubbling. Taste and add salt if needed.
Step 3
Top with shredded cheese. Broil for 2-3 minutes until melted and bubbling. If you don’t want to use the broiler, cover the skillet on low heat instead until the cheese melts.
Serve straight from the skillet with a big spoon, alongside soft tortillas, tortilla chips, tortilla strips, or rice. Top with sour cream, homemade guacamole, and more cheese if you’d like!
Substitutions & Variations
- You can make this taco skillet with ground chicken, ground pork, or your favorite plant based crumbles.
- Sub green bell peppers or leave out the peppers entirely and add diced zucchini, squash, or any veggies you like! This taco skillet is loaded, so adding more veggies makes it a complete meal in one pan.
- Swap tomato based salsa for prepared salsa verde.
- At the end of cooking (before adding the cheese), stir in ⅓ cup of sour cream to the taco base to make it creamy. Then top with cheese.
If you love how fast this comes together, my egg roll in a bowl is another versatile one-pan dinner that’s ready in about the same amount of time.
Tips & Tricks for the Best Results
- Use the salsa and the water to “deglaze” the pan. Adding the liquid gives you the opportunity to scrape up the little flavorful bits cooked on the bottom of the pan from the meat.
- Don’t add the garlic too early, or it will burn and get bitter.
- Use ground turkey or lean ground beef here, but skip all white meat turkey or anything leaner than 85/15 for the best flavor. I like 90/10 ground beef. If you use a fattier blend like 80/20 or 85/15, spoon off some of the fat before adding the rest of the ingredients.
How to Serve Taco Skillet
- Serve topped with crispy tortilla strips, corn chips, or crushed tortilla chips. Or spoon your tacos out of the skillet into a bowl and scoop up with tortilla chips or Tostitos scoops
- Serve over white or brown rice or cauliflower rice
- Spoon into soft corn or flour tortillas or taco shells
- I’ve been known to use the leftover filling baked into enchiladas. I grab spoonfuls of cold taco skillet and spoon it into tortillas (cheese and all). Roll them up, add to a baking dish, top with salsa and cheese, then bake them the same way I do for my green chile chicken enchiladas.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
Store any leftover taco skillet in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Make sure it’s cooled completely before chilling.
Freezing leftovers: This recipe can be portioned out and frozen, making it a great base for later meal prep. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to a month. Thaw before reheating.
To reheat: microwave leftovers in a microwave safe glass dish, covered with a paper towel until heated through (2-3 minutes). You can also reheat leftovers in a skillet on the stove top on low heat, covered, until warmed through.
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Cheesy Taco Skillet Recipe
Equipment
- 12" cast iron or heatproof skillet
Ingredients
- 1 pound of ground turkey (85/15) or lean ground beef (90/10)
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1/2 a large yellow onion (about 1 cup), diced
- ½ red bell pepper diced (optional)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 packet (1 ounce) prepared taco seasoning *see note
- 15 ounces (1 can) black beans, drained and rinsed
- 15 ounces (1 can) corn, drained. You can substitute 12 oz or 1½ cups frozen or fresh corn kernels
- 16 ounces prepared salsa
- 1/3 cup of water, plus more if needed
- 8 ounces shredded cheese, Mexican blend, cheddar, or Monterey Jack
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons avocado oil in a 12-inch skillet (cast iron works great) over medium heat.
- Add the ground meat, onion, and red bell pepper. Cook until the meat is browned and the veggies are soft, breaking up the meat as it cooks. This takes around 8 minutes.
- Add the garlic and the taco seasoning. Stir and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. The mixture will look dry at this point, that's normal.
- Next, add the beans and corn, and give the mixture a stir to combine.
- Pour in the jar of salsa and ⅓ cup of water, stirring to create a sauce and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. The mixture should look saucy and coat the meat, without being soupy. Add a splash more water if it still looks dry.
- Bring the skillet to a simmer and cook over medium heat until everything is heated through, and bubbling. Taste and add salt if needed.
- Once heated through, top with 8 ounces of shredded cheese and broil the topping for 2-3 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling. If you don't want to use the broiler, cover the skillet, set the stovetop to low heat, and let the cheese melt.
- Serve straight from the skillet with a big spoon, alongside tortillas, tortilla chips, tortilla strips, or rice. Top with sour cream, guacamole, and more cheese if you’d like!
