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By: Rachel GurkPosted: 09/23/2015
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
These easy vegetarian taco cups are a great meal for nights when you don’t have a lot of time to make dinner – you can customize them with any of your favorite toppings.
Ever have one of those nights where it’s 4:30…and then 5:00…and then 5:30…and you still have no clue what you’re going to make for dinner? (I have a feeling today is going to be one of those days for me.)
I try my best to meal plan and avoid those last minute decisions but…I have two toddlers. Sometimes the day gets away from me and I still haven’t decided what I’m going to make for dinner. Or perhaps I’m completely exhausted and want to ditch my original plan for an easier, quicker meal.
Thankfully, I usually have a stocked fridge and pantry (unless I need to make a trip to the grocery store). I was talking to someone recently who said that she doesn’t keep the pantry stocked with canned tomatoes – she only buys them when she specifically needs them for a recipe. It blew my mind! If I didn’t have canned tomatoes, I’d know it was time to go the store. Same thing goes for tortillas, cheese, and beans – three of the main ingredients in this recipe.
When Azteca Foods reached out to me to develop a recipe using their No Artificial Preservative flour tortillas, I knew right away that I’d be making these fun little vegetarian taco cups. Apparently, I think my muffin tins need more use – did you catch the turkey sausage and broccoli egg white frittata muffins I posted earlier this week? And even quinoa. And mini meatloaf! Oh…and sometimes I even use them for actual muffins.
To make these taco cups, I used a biscuit cutter to cut rounds out of the tortilla (which, by the way, contain no high fructose corn syrup, artificial colors or flavors). If you don’t have a biscuit cutter, find a bowl or glass with an opening slightly larger than your muffin tin openings. Place that on the tortilla and then use a knife to cut around the edge, making a circle.
Once you have the rounds cut out, spray the muffin tin, and press the tortilla rounds into the muffin tin. Fill with desired fillings (if you plan ahead, you could use homemade refried beans!). This would also be a great meal to use up leftovers after taco night. I don’t know about you, but I don’t love eating the exact same thing two days in a row. You could repurpose the beans (and meat, if you want!) into these taco cups. Viola! It’s basically a whole new meal.
PS: I snuck in a layer of spinach under the beans. You don’t need to precook it at all, it cooks while the taco cups cook. It’s a great way to add a little extra nutritional value and my kids chowed them down. Okay, E chowed them down. N doesn’t eat anything but macaroni and cheese and bananas but we’re working on it.
PPS: FINGER FOOD. What kid wouldn’t love these? Besides my picky little man, of course. But we can’t use him as a barometer of kid-friendly food. Because, again, he dislikes everything.
More fun ideas for tortillas:
Looking for delicious ways to use that package of tortillas in your fridge? Here’s a few ideas for you:
- Southwestern Cream Cheese Tortilla Roll-ups
- Quinoa Hummus Wrap
- Chicken Enchiladas Verde
- Vegetarian Baked Taquitos
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Recipe
Get the Recipe: Taco Cups
5 from 1 votePrep Time: 10 minutes mins
Cook Time: 20 minutes mins
Total Time: 30 minutes mins
18 taco cups
Print Rate Recipe
Taco cups are the perfect way to jazz up your Taco Tuesday routine! Swap the tortillas for crispy wonton wrappers, fill them up with seasoned ground beef and tomatoes, then let your family add their favorite toppings.
Ingredients
- 36 wonton wrappers (see note)
- 1 pound lean ground beef or ground turkey
- 1 can (10 oz.) diced tomatoes with green chiles (such as Ro-Tel)
- 1 pkg. (1 oz.) taco seasoning (or 3 to 4 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning)
- 1 ½ cups Mexican blend shredded cheese, divided
- Toppings: Shredded lettuce, sliced scallions, diced tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, avocado
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375ºF.
Spray an 18 cup muffin tin (see note) with nonstick cooking spray. Place a wonton wrapper in each cup of the muffin tin.
In a large frying pan, cook the ground beef or turkey, breaking it up into crumbles, until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes. Drain grease if necessary.
Add tomatoes and taco seasoning, stir to combine. Continue to cook until most of the liquid is absorbed.
Remove from heat. Stir in 1 cup cheese.
Place about 1 tablespoon of meat mixture on top of each wonton. Add a second wonton and press down. Divide remaining filling up on top of the second wonton wrapper. Sprinkle each cup with the remaining cheese
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted and wonton wrapper is crispy around the edges.
Carefully pop taco cups out of the tins and serve with all your favorite taco toppings!
Notes
- If you don’t have an 18 cup muffin tin, you can use any combination you have, such as three 6 cup muffin tins, one 12 cup with one 6 cup, etc. If you don’t have enough muffin tins, bake the taco cups in batches.
- If you want to use tortillas instead of wonton wrappers, cut large tortillas into rounds about 4-inches in diameter. Press into muffin tins. Instead of doing a double layer, simply divide up the filling evenly between the cups. Baking time remains the same.
- Nutrition information is calculated for 1 taco cup made with 90/10 ground beef and does not include toppings.
- This recipe was originally posted as a vegetarian taco cup. Retested and revised 3/2024.
- Vegetarian Taco Cups: Omit ground beef. Fill the taco cups with refried beans and shredded cheese instead. Bake as directed.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1taco cup, Calories: 127kcal, Carbohydrates: 10g, Protein: 9g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 27mg, Sodium: 288mg, Potassium: 131mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 230IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 76mg, Iron: 1mg
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Author: Rachel Gurk
Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Azteca Foods. I was compensated for my time to create this recipe. All opinions are always my own. Thanks for supporting my blog by reading about brands I use and love.
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Reader Interactions
Leave a Review
Georgia Neame says
The bottoms were soggy and wouldn’t come out of the tin without falling apart. I didn’t use the spinach
Reply
Rachel Gurk says
Hmm, I’m sorry these weren’t a success! What brand of tortilla did you use? Did you use canned refried beans?
Reply
georgia Neame says
Can’t remember the brand of tortillas but I used canned refried beans
Reply
Rachel Gurk says
Hmm. Sorry again it didn’t turn out! They’re always nice and crispy for me.
Reply
Querino de Freitas says
I LIKE THE IDEA,,USEING MUFFIN TINS,, A PARTY TIT BIT….I WILL TRY IT..
Reply
Rachel Gurk says
I hope you love them!
Reply
Patty K says
I’m such a fan of bite-sized food!
Reply
Michelle @ My Gluten-free Kitchen says
Love this idea. I will have to check to see if Azteca makes any gluten-free tortillas so I can make these!
Reply
Oh yum! This sound so good and is almost like a nacho cup too! I can’t wait to try these, Rachel!
Reply
This is right up my alley! Although I would have to fight for them, my boys would make them disappear in 2 seconds.
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