Growing up in Southern California, I consider tacos to be a weekly standard. With taco kits, Taco Tuesday has never came together so easily! Prep a favorite taco filling — like this seasoned ground beef — and bag it up for freezing. Store it together with a bag of cheese and a packet of tortillas and dinner is ready in five minutes whenever you like.
One of the great things about freezer meals and taco kits specifically is that you can take a little time to embellish with fresh toppings, like pico de gallo or homemade guacamole. Or stir up a pitcher of margaritas.
Forget the taco stand, you'll have tacos ready to serve in less time than you can find your car keys.
Tester's Notes
This is such a genius freezer dinner, especially when the tacos and cheese are packaged together with the meat. I felt a little silly, in fact, for not considering tacos a more regular dinner staple. And you don't have to just use the ground beef mentioned here; make a big batch of carnitas or barbacoa and divvy that up among freezer taco packets instead.
→ Reheating Tip: I've found that my wok is the best tool for heating and crisping tortillas. I heat up the wok and arrange tortillas up the sides, flipping and turning for 1 to 2 minutes or until hot.
— Faith, February 2015
Freezer Taco Kit
Serves 4
1 pound lean ground beef, 90% lean/10% fat
1 to 2 tablespoons taco seasoning, homemade or store-bought
2 cups shredded cheese, such as Monterey Jack, Cheddar, or a blend
12 taco-sized flour or corn tortillas*
Brown the ground beef in a large skillet or pot until no pink remains. Season it with the taco seasoning to taste, using 1 to 2 tablespoons per pound. Drain and transfer the meat to a large bowl. Chill in the refrigerator until cool.
Freezing Instructions
Package the cooked meat, 2 cups of shredded cheese, and one 12-count package of corn or flour taco-sized tortillas in separate quart-sized bags. Store them in one large gallon-sized bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
Thawing & Heating Instructions
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat the taco meat with 1 tablespoon water in a covered saucepan over medium heat.
Serve and add fresh toppings like lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, and sour cream.
Recipe Nutrition Note
- * Note: The nutrition calculation does not include the tortillas. These are really variable by brand and size, so just refer to the nutritional info on the package.
Reprinted with permission from Not Your Mother's Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook by Jessica Fisher, copyright © 2012. Published by Harvard Common Press.
(Image credits: Faith Durand; David Hopler of D Squared Photo & Video)
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