This is one of my family’s favorite meals. We ate tacos as salad or lettuce wraps long before we transitioned to Paleo (because we just like it that way!), so this is a pretty familiar presentation. I even started making my own seasoning a few years ago because the pre-packaged seasoning that I liked had MSG as an ingredient. Now, we pair them with my Paleo tortillas! Bib, boston or romaine lettuce varieties also work well as wraps.
My family serves tacos with a little toppings bar. We usually include chopped tomatoes, homemade guacamole, and sliced black olives. My husband and oldest daughter tolerate dairy well, so they will occasionally top theirs with grass-fed raw cheddar or mozzarella cheese. Other great toppings would be salsa, chopped bell peppers, chopped cucumber, or plain coconut milk yogurt or kefir. This recipe reheats well and can be easily be doubled to make two meals.
Prep time: 10 minutes
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Cook time: 20 minutes
Servings: 3-4
Ingredients:
- 1 lb ground beef (I use grass-fed)
- ½ large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 crushed garlic cloves
- 1 Tbsp cooking fat (I use tallow but Refined Coconut Oil
would work too, omit if you are using fairly fatty ground meat) - 1 Tbsp Chili Powder
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1½ tsp Ground Cumin Seed
- 1/8 tsp Cayenne Pepper(optional)
- ¼ tsp Dried Oregano
- ½ tsp Salt(to taste)
- ½ tsp ground Pepper
(optional)
1. Heat cooking fat in a skillet over medium-high heat (cast iron works well here). Add ground meat, garlic and onion. Cook, stirring frequently to break up the meat, until fully cooked, about 7-8 minutes.
2. Add spices to beef. If you meat is really dry, you might want to add 1-2 Tbsp of water. Stir to fully incorporate.
3. Turn temperature down to medium and cook another 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it smells so delicious you just can’t wait another second!
4. Serve on Paleo Flour Tortillas or lettuce leaves with your favorite Paleo-friendly taco toppings. Enjoy!
Bacon-Braised Cabbage
Mmmm! I would totally do them California style with pickled red onions, spicy coleslaw and avocado!
Made these tonight…yummy!
I use sliced ribeye marinated in a sour-ish sauce for my meat. It adds a nice tang to the tacos. I think your missing this very important warning to this recipe: It gets messy fast if you add on lots of toppings. Bring a big towel.
Best. Idea. Ever. My daughter (4) helped prepare the taco meat and toppings, and then enthusiastically assembled her own tacos. I’m not sure she has ever even tried lettuce before, but I’ve never seen her so excited to eat something. And I think ole hubs was pleasantly surprised at how full he could get without the traditional taco shells. A big success in our household! Thank you!
You mention plain coconut milk yogurt – I am curious if you (or any other comment-inclined reader) has found one without guar gum… I thought coconut milk was a problem for me for a while then realized it was the guar gum giving me issues. I have found coconut milk without it but not coconut yogurt – I’d be grateful to anyone who has an answer
Cheers!
have you tried making your own coconut yoghurt? just use a normal yog starter and add to coconut milk… I found a dairy free yog starter at the grocery store.
This was so delicious! Thank you! Today was the beginning of my third week and I am getting by using you wonderful advice!
we are having a version of this later in the week that is going to be made with pulled pork… mosly because I have half a pig in the freezer!
Am I correct in thinking that paprika, chili powder and cayenne are not suitable for AIP?
Yep. I only ever make this now if there’s leftovers for me to eat. 🙁
Hi! Thanks for posting this. I’d like to suggest to other AIP followers to put some of the browned ground beef aside before adding the chili, paprika, etc. I found, thanks to the Paleomom, that I am highly sensitive to nightshades. So, I have my plain ground beef with lettuce, avocado & sometimes some dairy depending on how I’m feeling. I found the recipe for cashew “sour cream” & think I might try adding that too.
I made these tonight and my husband declared them the best homemade tacos ever! I paired them with the guacamole from your Paleo Approach cookbook and it was all so delicious!! I’m so glad I found your site, book and recipes.
I am 2 weeks into the AIP Paleo for my fibromyalgia and migraines and food allergies (which is what pushed me over the edge to try this protocol after hearing about it a few years ago). I love Mexican food and our family usually has it once a week, but it seems that all the spices for Mexican food are off limits. Any suggestions on what to add to ground beef to get a little like Mexican food? The only thing I can think of is cilantro, although I’m not sure this is AIP-FRIENDLY. Thank you Sarah for your book and all the info and recipes on here, it has really been helpful.
Hi! Sounds like a yummy recipe! I’m just confused though because I thought from the Paleo Approach books that we’re supposed to stay away from certain spices, like chili powder and pepper. Is it still ok to enjoy such spices as long as it doesn’t make you feel sick?
Nightshade spices are to be avoided while following the Autoimmune Protocol. However, if you’re simply following a Paleo diet or have been able to successfully reintroduce nightshades, you can still enjoy these spices. -Kiersten
Hi Sarah,
thanks for this lovely recipe. Looks so Yummy 🙂
i’m trying to get into Paleo, i’ll give it a try tonight.
Thanks Paul