19 Taco Recipes to Put on Repeat
Whether you prefer your tacos meaty, packed with seafood, or vegetarian, we have a wealth of recipes for you to try. Some of our favorites include birria tacos and tacos al pastor—we also love chipotle-rubbed salmon tacos, fideos secos tacos, and fresh chorizo and potato tacos. Read on for even more of our best taco recipes.
Birria Tacos
A combination of two meats creates the best balance of tender texture (from the chuck roast) and succulence (from the short ribs). These birria tacos get slow-cooked flavor from the adobo sauce.
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Texas Chile Short Rib Tacos
To round out the tang and heat from the tomatoes and chiles in the sauce for the short ribs, cookbook authors Matt and Ted Lee add a little semisweet chocolate. "It's mellow and sweet," says Ted. "The chocolate puts everything in balance."
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Steak Tacos with Pineapple
A quick marinade of soy sauce, garlic and ginger flavors the skirt steak for these super-easy tacos.
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Barbacoa Beef Tacos with Two Sauces
While most meat is put on the grill raw, these intensely flavorful Mexican beef short ribs from chef Roberto Santibañez are first braised with chiles and spices until meltingly tender. The cooked meat is then crisped on the grill, shredded and served in corn tortillas with a sauce made from the braising liquid.
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Chile-Spiced Skirt Steak Tacos
These tacos come together in just two steps, and are ready in 35 minutes.
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Chipotle-Rubbed Salmon Tacos
These salmon tacos are served with an apple-cucumber salsa.
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Chicken and Cabbage Tacos with Cilantro Cream
Pickled jalapeño adds heat and bite to these crunchy slaw-covered chicken tacos.
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Fresh-Chorizo-and-Potato Tacos
In just under an hour, this recipe yields you 12 tacos—serve them with a plummy, peppery Zinfandel.
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Chicken and Poblano Tacos with Crema
You can replace the chicken strips with chorizo in these tacos; for a vegetarian taco, Justin Large recommends subbing in crumbled spiced tofu.
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Tacos al Pastor
We recommend pairing these tacos with a smoky bock beer.
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Breakfast Tacos
For his take on breakfast tacos, F&W's Justin Chapple fills warm corn tortillas with scrambled eggs, crisp bacon and Monterey Jack cheese.
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Steak-and-Carrot Tacos
Here, small (not baby!) carrots are roasted with fragrant cumin seeds, then served in warm homemade tortillas with juicy, meaty skirt steak. For a vegetarian version, swap out the steak for roasted mixed mushrooms.
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Crispy Pork Belly Tacos with Pico de Gallo
Chef Enrique Olvera stuffs tacos with crispy pork belly, confited in fat, and serves them with a tangy salsa spiked with Mexican beer.
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Coke-Braised Pork Tacos
Coca-Cola is the secret to this super-simple braised pork recipe from chef and cookbook author Marcela Valladolid. "The cola both tenderizes the pork and gives it a dark, caramelized crust," says Valladolid. "I like to shred this pork and serve right in the casserole that it cooks in. I lay out bowls of toppings so everyone can build their own tacos."
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Brat-and-Pepper Tacos
These playful brat-and-pepper tacos from Food & Wine's Justin Chapple are inspired by classic Italian sausage-and-pepper subs.
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Chicken Tinga Tacos
F&W's Justin Chapple stews dark meat chicken with onion, tomatoes and spices, then spoons it into crispy tortilla shells for the perfect taco.
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Al Pastor Fish Tacos
"You'd think the adobo would totally consume the flavor of the fish, but it doesn't," Marcela Valladolid writes. "It's a lighter, beachier version of a Mexican classic—perfect with an ice-cold beer. Topped with the traditional raw white onions, cilantro, and avocado (or guacamole!), it's heaven."
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Crispy Pork Tacos with Red Chile Salsa
These hearty tacos, piled high with braised pork and topped with a shower of thinly sliced cabbage and cilantro, are a love letter to the Mexican cooking traditions that shape California cuisine. Fried in pork fat after cooking low and slow, the pork gets extra crispy without being dry. Dried chiles bring a mild, sweet heat to the salsa; their slight bitterness cuts through rich, fatty pork.
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Fideos Secos Tacos
These griddled tacos are filled with fideos secos, a Mexican dish of thin spaghetti cooked in a chile-based tomato sauce until the pasta has absorbed the flavor and rich red color of the sauce.