Mini Taco Bites - Quick and Easy
Mini taco bites are a delicious and easy-to-make appetizer that is perfect for parties or any time you want to get your taco fix without making a full-sized taco. These little bites use store-bought Tostito Scoops, taco meat, cheese, and your favorite taco toppings.
Ingredients
My Favorite Taco Meat (May Use Your Favorite Recipe) (See Tip 1)
- 1 pound (16 ounces, 454 grams) ground beef (See Tip 2)
- 3 Tablespoons Taco Seasoning (See Tip 3)
- 1 10 ounce can Rotel Original Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, Undrained
- ½ cup water
- 1 cup (4 ounces, 113 grams) cubed Velveeta cheese
- 2 Tablespoons cornmeal for thickening (optional)
Mini Taco Bites
- 24 Tostitos Scoops
- ½ cup Taco meat (from the above recipe or your favorite)
- ½ cup (2 ounces, 57 grams) shredded Cheddar cheese (See Tip 4)
- 2 Tablespoons (1 ounce, 28 grams) sour cream
- 1 Tablespoon shredded lettuce
- 1 Tablespoon diced tomatoes
Instructions
My Favorite Taco Meat
- Brown and crumble ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat. Drain the cooked ground beef in a colander to remove excess grease. If desired, rinse with hot water to remove more grease. (See Tip 5)
- Return the ground beef to the skillet over medium heat. Add taco seasoning, undrained Rotel tomatoes, and water; stir to combine. Cover and cook over medium heat until most of the water has evaporated, around 20 minutes.
- Add the cubed Velveeta cheese; cover and heat until the cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Add cornmeal to thicken the taco meat to the desired consistency, if desired. (See Tip 6)
Mini Taco Bites
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick aluminum foil.
- Place scoops, cup-side up, on the prepared baking sheet. Place about ½ teaspoon of taco meat in each scoop and top with about ½ teaspoon of cheese.
- Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 6 to 7 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
- Remove from the oven. Top with a dollop of sour cream, some shredded lettuce, and diced tomatoes. Serve warm.
- Yield: 24 Mini Taco Bites. (See Tip 7)
Video
Tips/Notes
- My Favorite Taco Meat recipe makes more of the mixture than you need for the Mini Taco Bites. You can use the leftovers in other dishes.
- I used ground round in this recipe. However, you can use whatever ground beef you have on hand.
- I like to use my homemade taco seasoning. However, you can also use store-bought taco seasoning. Generally, a package of store-bought taco seasoning contains two tablespoons. You might want to increase the amount to one and a half packages to reach three tablespoons.
- Feel free to substitute Monterey Jack, Colby Jack, Pepper Jack, Mexican blend, or queso fresco.
- Rinsing the cooked ground beef in hot water is a personal preference of mine. You can omit rinsing the cooked ground beef if that is your preference.
- Adding cornmeal to the taco meat is optional to achieve the desired consistency. Feel free to omit this.
- This recipe can be easily doubled or tripled.
Nutrition
Calories: 37kcalCarbohydrates: 2gProtein: 2gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 6mgSodium: 30mgPotassium: 24mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 0.1gVitamin A: 31IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 23mgIron: 0.1mg
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