Freezer-Friendly Beef Tacos

I’ve been making these beef tacos for a while, and they have always been a hit with my whole family. But recently, I experimented with freezing them, and to my delight, they froze pretty well! Although most of my recipes are pretty simple (I have little tolerance for fussy recipes nowadays,) it was a lot of work on a weekday to cook taco meat, assemble the tacos, then fry. Assembling the tacos ahead of time makes Taco Tuesday totally achievable.

I used corn+flour blend tortillas, so they don’t break apart while assembling. Briefly microwaving tortillas to warm them up before making tacos also helps them stay intact. After freezing, make sure to defrost the tacos before frying. In my experience, if you fry partially frozen tortillas, they break apart while cooking.

Of course, you can skip frying in oil and use a dry pan… but let’s face it. It’s just not gonna be as tasty.

In this recipe, I use apple sauce to tenderize the beef. Typically, I would use Asian pear puree to tenderize beef, but I’m using apple sauce as a shortcut. I believe it works just as well.

Mixing cauliflower rice into the beef makes the taco meat soft and tender. Also, adding more veggies to my kids’ diet never hurts!

Print

Freezer-friendly beef tacos

These beef tacos are freezer-friendly, family-friendly, and even has a good serving of cauliflower in them.

Servings 20 tacos

Author whiteblankspace

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup apple sauce
• 1 lb ground beef 85 lean /15 fat
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 bag (12 oz) frozen cauliflower rice
• 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
• 1/2 cup water
• taco seasoning to taste about 3 tbsp
• 16 oz shredded Mexican-style cheese
• 20 tortillas corn+flour blend
• cooking oil

Instructions

1. Mix apple sauce and beef and set aside for 15 minutes to tenderize the meat.
2. Heat olive oil in a large pot/Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add cauliflower rice and cook for about 2 minutes while stirring.
3. Gather cauliflower to one side of the pot. Add ground beef to the empty side and cook until it is no longer pink, breaking up big chunks with a spatula – about 2 minutes.
4. Reduce heat to medium. Mix in tomato paste with beef and cauliflower. Cook while stirring for 2 minutes.
5. Add 1/2 cup water and taco seasoning to taste. Cook for additional 2~3 minutes. Taco meat is ready.
6. If not using fresh tortillas, microwave them until warm. Spread cheese on top of a tortilla. Spread taco meat on one half and fold the tortilla in half.
7. For freezing, place a wax/parchment paper between each taco and store the tacos in a freezer-safe container. They can be stored for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, defrost the tacos before frying.
8. In a pan, heat cooking oil enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Fry tacos on both sides until crispy.

Recipe Notes

I used corn+flour blend tortillas so they don’t break apart while assembling. Briefly microwaving tortillas to warm them up before making tacos also helps them stay intact.

Print

Homemade taco seasoning

Author whiteblankspace

Ingredients

• 2 tsp paprika
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients