With only a few simple ingredients, everyone in the family will be raving about these easy, make-ahead, hand-held 4 Ingredient Taco Cups! They're the perfect appetizer for any party and easy to customize. Plus they are made from start to finish in less than 30 minutes!
It doesn't get much easier than a recipe with 4 Ingredients and 10 minutes to prep! These fun and super yummy easy taco cups are a fun twist on traditional tacos and the perfect weeknight dinner or hand-held entertaining treat! I mean, who doesn't like the flavors of tacos?
Many moons ago, I was a Pampered Chef consultant and often made these with leftover taco meat from the Taco Ring that I would showcase at parties. I love them because they reheat well, can be made ahead of time and they're flat-out delicious!
You'll transform taco night with these flavorful taco biscuit cups! Take them to the next level with Fresh Pico de Gallo or 4-Ingredient Guacamole! They're a guaranteed crowd favorite and one the whole family will love!
Table of Contents
Why Youโll Like This Recipe
- Easy and Fun Dinner: Taco cups are easy to make and assemble, requiring minimal preparation and cooking time.
- Flavorful: Everyone loves a dish with the flavors of tacos! The seasoned, cheesy meat and buttery crust combined with your favorite toppings is a guaranteed hit! These cheesy taco cups are fun to customize with different toppings! They're kid and adult-approved!
- Perfect Appetizer: Serve this easy appetizer at a party and there won't be one left! They're the perfect finger food for game day, a birthday party, holiday, or any special occasion.
- Quick Dinner and Convenient: You can make the filling or the whole dish ahead of time so that they're ready to pop in the oven at the end of a busy day!
What Youโll Need
Scroll Down for Ingredient Amounts Listed in the Recipe Card Below
- Lean Ground Beef: Provides protein, substance and absorbs the flavors of the taco seasoning.
- Taco Seasoning: Provides seasoning and depth of flavor to the ground beef, giving it a delicious Mexican-inspired flavor profile
- Shredded Cheese: Melts into the taco cups, creating a gooey and cheesy texture. It also helps hold the ingredients together.
- Refrigerated Biscuit Dough: Convenient and ready-to-use dough, it forms the base and outer layer of the taco cups, creating a crispy and flaky crust.
Tools Youโll Need
How to Make Taco Cups
- First, make the taco cup filling while the oven preheats to 375ยฐF. Crumble and cook ground beef in a large skillet on medium high heat until no longer pink. Drain or blot off any excess grease.
- Stir in taco seasoning and 2 tablespoons of water. Simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and fold in cheese until it's melted and a cohesive mix.
- Butter or spray with nonstick cooking spray a 12-cup muffin pan. Split 6 of the biscuits horizontally by gently peeling them apart at the middle layer. Using a tamper tool, press one of the biscuit halves in each of the muffin tins so that it covers the bottom up at the sides and forms a cup shape. Alternatively, flatten the biscuit halves with your fingers on a flat surface so that they become 4 inches in diameter, and then press them into the muffin tins.
- Fill each muffin tin with 3-4 tablespoons of the prepared taco filling. Bake in the preheated oven 14-16 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the edges of the biscuits are golden brown.
- Gently run a knife around the edge of each biscuit to loosen, then transfer to a serving tray. Optional, serve with toppings.
What to Serve with Taco Biscuit Cups
Your favorite taco toppings can transform the flavors of these easy Taco Cups! Here are some treat toppers and sides:
- Perfect Guacamole or 4-Ingredient Guacamole
- Fresh Pico de Gallo
- Creamy Chipotle Sauce: subtly spicy, sweet, and a little bit tangy
- Dollop of Sour Cream
- Hot Sauce
- Taco Sauce
- Copycat Chipotle Corn Salsa
- Salsa
- Shredded Lettuce
- Chopped Onion
- Green Onions
- Queso
- Sliced Olives
- Tortilla Chips
Pro Tips and Substitutions
- Meat Substitution: Ground chicken or ground turkey can be substituted for ground beef.
- Cheese Options: Most shredded cheese will work for this recipe. Besides Pepper Jack and Colby Jack, cheddar or a Mexican cheese blend works great too!
- Dough Options: You can also use an 8oz can of crescent roll dough rolled out and cut into squares instead of biscuit dough.
- Wonton Taco Cups: You can also use 24 wonton wrappers for these cups. First layer, place one wrapper in each prepared tin. For the 2nd layer, add 1-2 tablespoons of the filling in each. Add another wonton wrapper, then the remaining filling. These Chicken Wonton Cups are perfect for meal prep and an easy and delicious go-to weeknight dinner!
- Homemade taco seasoning. A packet of taco seasoning works great, but if you prefer a homemade version, simply mix together these ingredients and adjust to your preference: 1 tbsp chili powder, ยฝ tbsp ground cumin, ยฝ tsp onion powder, ยผ tsp garlic powder, ยผ tsp red pepper flakes, ยฝ tsp oregano, ยฝ tsp salt, ยฝ tsp black pepper.
- One Bite Taco Cups: Want to make this taco appetizer in a smaller size? Use 24 cup mini muffin pans instead of the standard size muffin tin. You'll need 2-10 count (7.5 ounce each) refrigerated biscuit dough containers. Split the biscuits in half and tamper in greased mini muffin tins. Make the same filling, fill the cups and bake at 400ยฐF for 10-12 minutes. This recipe makes 40 little taco cups.
Storage & Make Ahead Instructions
Allow the taco cups to cool completely after baking. Place in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag. Refrigerate up to 3-4 days.
Alternatively, you can freeze the biscuit cups for longer storage. To freeze them, follow the same steps as above and then place the container or bag in the freezer. They can be stored in the freezer for up to 2-3 months. To use them, simply thaw them in the refrigerator overnight and then reheat them in the oven or microwave.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can fully prepare them up to 12 hours in advance. Simply cover the pan with cling or press wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake.
Of course! You can substitute equal portions of the meat with drained and rinsed pinto beans or black beans.
Absolutely! You can add beans as noted above. You can also substitute or add olives, drained rotel tomatoes, drained chopped green chiles, or jalapeรฑos.
Yes! You can use an 8oz can of crescent roll dough rolled out and cut into squares instead of biscuit dough. You can also use 24 wonton wrappers. For these, place one wrapper in each prepared tin, add 1-2 tablespoons of the filling in each, add another wonton wrapper, then the remaining filling.
More Taco-Inspired Recipes Like This
Taco Cups (4 Ingredients!)
Ingredients
- 1 ยผ-1 ยฝ pounds lean ground beef
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 1 ยฝ cups shredded Colby Jack or pepper Jack cheese
- 1 16-16.3oz can jumbo southern homestyle buttermilk biscuits
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ยฐF.
- Crumble and cook ground beef in a large skillet on medium-high heat until no longer pink. Drain or blot of any excess grease. Stir in taco seasoning and 2 tablespoons water. Simmer 2 minutes.
- Turn of the heat and fold in cheese until it's melted and a cohesive mix.
- Butter or spray with nonstick spray a 12-cup muffin pan. Split 6 of the biscuits horizontally by gently peeling them apart at the middle layer. Using a tamper tool, press one of the biscuit halves in each of the muffin tins so that it covers the bottom at up the sides. Alternatively, flatten the biscuit halves with your fingers on a flat surface so that they become 4 inches in diameter, and then press into the muffin tins.
- Fill each muffin tin with 3-4 tablespoons of the prepared taco filling.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and edges of biscuits are golden brown.
- Gently run a knife around the edge of each biscuit to loosen, then transfer to a serving tray. Optional, serve with toppings.
Video
Notes
-
- Meat Substitution: Ground chicken or ground turkey can be substituted for ground beef.
-
- Cheese Options: Most shredded cheese will work for this recipe. Besides Pepper Jack and Colby Jack, cheddar or a Mexican cheese blend works great too!
-
- Dough Options: You can also use an 8oz can of crescent roll dough rolled out and cut into squares instead of biscuit dough.
-
- Wonton Taco Cups: You can also use 24 wonton wrappers for these cups. First layer, place one wrapper in each prepared tin. For the 2nd layer, add 1-2 tablespoons of the filling in each. Add another wonton wrapper, then the remaining filling. These Chicken Wonton Cups are perfect for meal prep and an easy and delicious go-to weeknight dinner!
-
- Homemade taco seasoning.ย A packet of taco seasoning works great, but if you prefer a homemade version, simply mix together these ingredients and adjust to your preference: 1ย tbsp chili powder, ยฝย tbspย ground cumin, ยฝย tspย onion powder, ยผย tspย garlic powder, ยผย tspย red pepper flakes, ยฝย tspย oregano, ยฝย tspย salt, ยฝ tspย black pepper.ย
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- One Bite Taco Cups: Want to make this taco appetizer in a smaller size? Use 24 cup mini muffin pans instead of the standard size muffin tin. You'll need 2-10 count (7.5 ounce each) refrigerated biscuit dough containers. Split the biscuits in half and tamper in greased mini muffin tins. Make the same filling, fill the cups and bake at 400ยฐF for 10-12 minutes. This recipe makes 40 little taco cups.
Kathleen
I used to be a Pampered Chef consultant (100 years ago) too! Loved that Taco ring, these were a brilliant way to use up leftovers! Made them for the game last night!
Laura Ashley
SO FUN! So happy you made them! I was a consultant probably at the same time you were LOL!
Mindy S
These came out fabulous! I ate 6 of them in one setting ๐
Laura Ashley
Thank you so much!! ๐ I'm so happy it was a hit!
Debi
The biscuits made this super fun. Everyone loved them - like comfort food that you family wants to eat!
Laura Ashley
Thank you so much!! ๐ I'm so happy it was a hit!
Liza
These taco cups are so tasty and easy to make โ a new family favorite!
Laura Ashley
Thank you so much!! ๐ I'm so happy it was a hit!
Margaret
These were fantastic and super easy! My kids each ate 3-4! Only thing I modified was I added homemade taco seasoning instead of premade. Will definitely be making these again!
Laura Ashley
Thank you so much!! I'm so happy you liked it! I'm happy it'll be a repeat!