Mini Taco Cups

Taco night just got a whole lot cuter! Get the whole family involved and make these adorable mini taco cups made with homemade hard shell taco boats.

Mini Taco Cups

There is something about taco Tuesday that I’ve always been obsessed with. Actually, I think taco Tuesday was the first “blue lunch,” as we called it (because the trays were blue), that I ever tried in high school.

I love being able to customize my own taco. I like extra toppings, duh. Tacos are the one food that I ALWAYS ORDER if it’s on the menu –> breakfast tacos, fish tacos, vegetarian tacos…you name it, I’ll order it!

Ingredients for Mini Taco Cups

For the Chicken Taco Meat

• Ground chicken
• Olive oil
• Minced garlic
• Chili powder
• Cumin
• Paprika
• Maple syrup
• salt

For the Tortilla cups

• Taco-sized tortillas (corn or regular)
• Non-stick cooking spray
• Sea salt

For the taco fixings

• Chopped lettuce
• Pico de gallo or salsa
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Sliced black olives
• Greek yogurt or sour cream

How to Make Mini Taco Cups

Cook the Taco Meat

Place olive oil and minced garlic on a nonstick skillet and heat to medium/high heat. Then, add ground chicken and brown. Once it’s almost fully cooked, add spices and maple syrup and finish cooking.

Prepare the Tortilla cups

Place the tortillas in the microwave for about 5-10 seconds to soften a bit. Then, place on the backside of a muffin tin so that they create a boat-like shape. The bigger the muffin tin you use, the more you can cook at once.

Thoroughly spray each taco shell with nonstick cooking spray on both sides and then season with sea salt. Place in the oven and bake for around 8 minutes, or until golden brown.

Assemble the taco cups

Assemble tacos by placing lettuce on the bottom of a taco shell, followed by about 1/4 cup of meat. Then, top with pico, cheese, black olives, and Greek yogurt. Enjoy!

Other Meat Options

These mini taco cups are delish with ground chicken, but feel free to sub it for any taco meat of your choice! Any of the following would be delish:

• Shredded Chicken: use up your leftover chicken breast or thighs by shredding It!
• Ground Beef: use the meat in our ground beef tacos for these taco cups.
• Carnitas: Our IP carnitas recipe is to die for and would be so delicious in this recipe.
• Lentils: Hoping to keep things vegan? Try our easy lentil taco meat!
• Sweet Potato: roasted sweet potatoes makes for another great vegetarian “meat” idea. It’s easy, too!

Other Lettuce Options

We opted for classic chopped romaine hearts for these taco cups, but feel free to sub in any green of your choice that you have on hand, like:

• Red leaf lettuce
• Bib lettuce
• Butter lettuce
• Arugula
• Iceberg lettuce

More Taco Fixings

Keep things traditional or feel free to jazz up your mini taco cups by adding any of these topping options:

• Slaw: slaw is a fun way to jazz up a taco cup! Our pineapple coleslaw would be delicious.
• Corn Salad: try our black bean and corn salad.
• Mexican Street Corn Salad
• Fajita Veggies: there is nothing better than peppers and onions. Try our grilled version.
• Guacamole: so many guac options! You can stay classic or go mango!

Storage

Store any leftovers from these mini taco cups in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. We recommend making the taco boats fresh before serving them with any leftover fixings.

Mini Taco Cups

These mini taco cups made with homemade hard shell taco boats are the ultimate family dinner. Enjoy!

Prep: 15 minsCook: 15 minsTotal: 30 minutes

Fat 14 Carbs 17 Protein 18

Yield 6-8 1x

1x2x3x

Print Pin Rate

Ingredients

For the Chicken Taco Meat

• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1.5 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• salt, to taste

For the Tortilla Boats

• 8 taco-sized tortillas (corn or regular)
• non-stick cooking spray
• sea salt

For the Rest of the Tacos

• 1 cup chopped lettuce
• 1/2 cup pico de gallo/salsa
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup black olives
• 1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt

Instructions

For the Chicken Taco Meat

1. Place olive oil and minced garlic on a nonstick skillet and heat to medium/high heat. Then, add ground chicken and brown. Once it’s almost fully cooked, add spices and maple syrup and finish cooking.

For the Tortilla Boats

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
2. Begin by placing tortillas in the microwave for about 5-10 seconds to soften a bit.
3. Then, place on the backside of a muffin tin so that they create a boat-like shape. The bigger the muffin tin you use, the more you can cook at once.
4. THOROUGHLY spray each taco shell with nonstick cooking spray on both sides and then season with sea salt. Option to use a squeeze of lime.
5. Place in the oven and bake for around 8 minutes, or until golden brown.

For the Rest of the Tacos

1. Assemble tacos by placing lettuce on the bottom of a taco shell, followed by about 1/4 cup of meat. Then, top with pico, cheese, black olives, and Greek yogurt.

Tips & Notes

-Taco shells: we found that normal white tortillas cook better and become crunchier than the corn tortillas. Make sure you give them a good spray with cooking spray and let them cook long enough! We also found it’s best to eat the shells ASAP as they might get stale if you let them sit out.
-Taco meat: option to use any kind of meat that you desire.

Watch It

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1/6 Calories: 252 Sugar: 3 Fat: 14 Carbohydrates: 17 Fiber: 2 Protein: 18

Author: Lee Funke

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