Healthy beef Beef tacos are made with lean ground beef tossed with homemade taco seasoning and fresh vegetables for an easy-to-make healthier version of homemade taco meat.
Serve these tacos for dinner tonight with your favorite taco toppings; they are not only quick but also full of flavor.
This recipe was originally posted in 2019, it’s been updated for content and photos.
This healthy taco filling has a lot of versatility! It may be good for tacos, but it’s also delicious in our sheet pan nacho recipe.
Recipe Highlights
- This healthy taco recipe is a great way to sneak extra vegetables into your day.
- Tacos made with homemade seasoning blend, allow you to control the salt and heat in your tacos.
- Tacos are quick and easy to make; dinner will be on the table fast!
Here is What You Will Need
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This is an overview of the ingredients and steps to make this recipe, scroll down to see ingredient notes and substitutions as well as a printable recipe card with exact measurements and complete cooking instructions.
Ingredients
lean ground beef
olive oil
shredded carrots
shredded zucchini
taco seasoning blend, here is my recipe for homemade taco seasoning
taco shells
your favorite taco toppings (chopped onions, avocados, grated cheese, etc)
Equipment
cast iron or stainless steel skillet
box grater for veggies and cheese
Step by Step Instructions
Get the ingredients ready – shred the carrots, zucchini, and cheese using a box grater or food processor; set them aside. Mix the seasoning blend together and set it aside.
Step 1. Heat olive oil in a pan. Once it’s hot, add the ground beef to the pan and cook it until it turns brown.
Step 2. Stir in the seasoning blend.
Step 3. Add the shredded carrots and zucchini.
Step 4. Stir in the water, and reduce the heat to low; simmer for a few minutes.
Step 5. Serve your healthy taco filling in your favorite taco shell.
Total Estimated Time to Make This Recipe: 30 to 40 Minutes
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Ground Beef: The best meat to use is ground round, chuck, or sirloin.
Ground beef substitutes – Ground chicken, turkey, or pork will also work in this recipe.
Shredded carrots & zucchini substitutes: Most types of chopped-up vegetables are suitable to add to the taco meat filling in this recipe. Try using mushrooms, cauliflower rice, broccoli rice, butternut squash or beets.
Don’t peel the zucchini! The zucchini skin is mild tasting and it’s where most of the nutrients are. If you don’t like the skin, you can remove it.
Homemade seasoning blend can be substituted with a premade blend like this taco seasoning
Storing and Using Leftovers
Store leftover taco meat in the refrigerator for up to three days or in the freezer for up to three months.
Thaw the leftover taco meat overnight in the refrigerator.
Re-heat the taco meat on top of the stove or in the microwave.
What to do with leftover taco meat – add leftover taco meat to salads, rice and beans, wraps, tortillas, or quesadillas.
Serving Suggestions & Variations
Taco salad – fill up a bowl with lettuce, onions, tomatoes, shredded cheese, healthy taco meat, avocados and top it with a crumbled taco shell or tortilla chips, salsa and Greek yogurt.
Nachos – add tortilla chips to a baking tray and cover them with taco meat, sprinkle on cheese and sliced jalapenos. Place the mixture into the oven at 350 until the cheese melts. Top the melted cheese with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and salsa.
Use less meat – Reduce the meat to ½ pound and add ½ to ¾ cup of cooked black beans to the meat when the vegetables are added.
Your Taco Questions Answered
Here are the most commonly asked questions about these healthy beef tacos. If your question isn’t answered below, leave me a comment and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
We prefer our tacos in hard shells, but they also taste great is soft corn or flour tortillas.
Try using romaine or bibb lettuce leaves to hold your taco meat.
Homemade is always healthier because you can control the ingredients. Homemade tacos contain less salt, and they have vegetables in them, so these tacos are much better for you than fast food tacos.
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Healthy Beef Tacos Recipe
Tacos with ground beef and shredded vegetables make these a healthier choice!
Ingredients
- ¾ pound lean ground beef
- 2 medium carrots shredded
- 1 small zucchini shredded
- 8 soft or hard taco shells
- Homemade Taco Seasoning
- ¼ cup water
- your favorite taco fixings such as
- onions, tomatoes, lettuce, olives, cabbage, beans, cheese, avocado
Instructions
- use a box grater to shred the carrots and zucchini and set the shredded veggies aside and measure the taco seasoning.
- brown the beef in a pan over medium to high heat
- once the beef is cooked through, drain any excess fat from the meat and return it to the skillet on the stove and reduce heat to low.
- stir in the taco seasonings and the shredded vegetables
- add the water and let simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until most of the water has been absorbed
- fill taco shells with meat and top with your favorite fixings
Notes
Recipe Variations
Change up the meat - You can subsititue the ground beef with any type of ground meat such as chicken, turkey or pork.
Use less meat - Reduce the meat to ½ pound and add ½ to ¾ cup of cooked black beans to the meat when the vegetables are added.
Change up the hidden vegetables - Replace the zucchini and carrots with shredded or small diced butternut squash, cauliflower or broccoli rice.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 2 tacosAmount Per Serving: Calories: 477Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 89mgSodium: 625mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 10gSugar: 10gProtein: 34g
Nutrition information is provided by an online calculator and is meant to be used for informational purposes only. Even though I try to provide accurate information, these figures should still be considered as estimates.
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