Ground Beef Tacos with Onion & Cilantro for Easy Weeknight Abuela Cooking

These ground beef tacos represent both sides of Maria de Lourdes Torres Chaparro’s family food tree. The co-owner of La Criolla spices and herbs company — one of the first Latino food manufacturing businesses in Chicago — grew up in a household that was both Mexican and Puerto Rican.

It doesn’t get more Mexican than tacos, of course. But instead of the expected chile powder, the ground beef is cooked with adobo with sazon, a mix of two traditional seasonings Puerto Rican cooks have been sprinkling on carne and chicken dishes for decades. This popular La Criolla spice blend includes ground annatto seeds, which gives so many Boricua dishes their signature orange-ish hue and earthy-nutty sabor.

Do you love criollo classics like arroz con pollo (fun fact: the dish that launched Familia Kitchen) and low-and-slow-roasted pernil? Then you are a fan of annatto, also called achiote in Latino cuisine. The spice’s flavor is something like turmeric, something like paprika, yet milder. All Maria knows is that their best-selling seasoning makes her beef tacos taste so extra good. “I like to use adobo con sazon because it gives food color and flavor,” she says.

These simple tacos reflect the richness of her family heritage. “My Dad is from Guanajuato, Mexico, and my mother was from Peñuelas, Puerto Rico,” says Maria, who was born in Chicago. “I remember watching my grandmother cook a lot of Mexican. But I don’t. It’s too much work, I don’t have time. I try to cook easy, simple.”

Like most cocineras we know, Maria cooks by intuition and memory. “I don’t measure anything, I just chop away. I kind of cook my own thing. Like yesterday I made un guiso de pollo in the oven and I put our chicken seasoning and our adobo con sazon, with arroz blanco. I also make arroz con gandules.” All using La Criolla spices, of course. ”I have an entire cupboard full of them. I love the adobo con sazon, and also our garlic and herb and lemon pepper blends.”

Mostly her cooking is about meals that come together fast. She works alongside her husband Jose, putting in long hours every day at their company founded in 1957. Like most working moms, she doesn’t have much time to get food on the table at night, Maria says.

Just one more reason why she turns to these easy and delicioso tacos about once a week. “I cook the ground meat with sautéed onions and cilantro, and sometimes add a little cheese — either muenster or mozzarella — and some jalapeños on top. Maybe a little crumbled queso fresco too.” Y ya. In less than half an hour, they’re ready to eat. Success.

Bonus: “My son and his friends like them a lot,” Maria smiles.

Love tacos? Us too. Find muchas más recetas in our Familia Kitchen Taco Tuesday Ultimate Guide, featuring a tons of Mexican taco recipes: beef, chicken, pork, fish, shrimp, vegetarian and vegan. Plus: 1 easy chicken tinga tostada, 8 family-famous salsa recipes, our go-to guacamole recipes and our step-by-step guide to making corn tortillas!

Hungry for Maria’s Easy and Delicioso Ground Beef Tacos?

Ground Beef Tacos with Onion & Cilantro for Easy Weeknight Dinner

Recipe by Maria Chaparro

5.0 from 1 vote

Cuisine: Mexican, Puerto Rican

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef

• 1/2 white onion, diced

• 2 Tbsp olive oil

• 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

• 1 Tbsp adobo with sazon seasoning blend

• 12 corn tortillas (3 per person)

• 1/2 cup cheese, shredded muenster or mozzarella

• For Garnishes (Optional)
  

• Picked or fresh jalapenos, sliced

• Queso fresco, crumbled

Directions

• Dice onion. Mince cilantro.
• Place a skillet on a medium-low burner.
• Warm olive oil. Add onions and cilantro, sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add ground beef and mix in the adobo con sazon. Let the meat simmer, until there is no pink color left.
• Taste the ground beef mixture. Add more adobo con sazon, if needed. Turn off the heat.
• Place corn tortillas on a hot comal or cast-iron pan, until they start to become soft. While they are warming, add 1 to 2 Tbsp cheese in the center of each tortilla.
• When the tortillas are hot and ready, add about 3 Tbsp of ground beef mixture in the center of each.
• Fold each tortilla in half and stack three side by side on each plate. If you wish, garnish with optional toppings: thinly sliced pickled or fresh jalapeño rajas and crumbled queso fresco.

Notes

• Maria says she uses 96% fat-free ground beef for healthy and quick cooking.
• Because La Criolla seasonings are low in sodium, Maria says goes a little bit heavy on the spices — using 1 Tbsp instead of 1 tsp — of the adobo with sazon to pump up the flavor.