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Need to feed a crowd without much effort? Here’s the perfect recipe for you: Game Day Walking Tacos.
Walking Tacos are the perfect snack for game day parties, picnics, and camping. Serve them with other hand-held snack foods like Jalapeno Poppers, Roast Beef Sliders, and Baked Irish Nachos.
What’s a walking taco?
A walking taco is a deconstructed crispy taco in a bag that you can literally hold in your hands so you can walk and eat at the same time. Its made with a snack-size bag of chips, like Doritos or Fritos, taco meat, and your favorite taco toppings.
They are super easy to make, and kids and grown-ups love them. You can customize to your heart’s content and there’s no sitting required – you can mingle all you want!
The best part is there are no plates needed and clean up is a breeze!
Ingredients for Walking Tacos
This recipe makes enough for 8-10 servings.
- Ground beef – I choose lean ground beef but any kind will work, just be sure to drain it really well.
- Minced garlic
- Taco seasoning – 1 packet will work or use 2 tablespoons of my homemade taco seasoning.
- 8-10 1-ounce bags of Fritos or Doritos chips – I like to set out a mix of both.
- Taco toppings – Shredded lettuce, shredded cheddar cheese, diced tomatoes, sliced olives, avocado or guacamole.
- Dressing – You can totally just set out salsa and sour cream, but I like to make a spicy ranch dressing from Ranch, sour cream and salsa.
How to Make Easy Walking Tacos
Cook the taco meat. If you’ve ever made Ground Beef Tacos or Ground Beef Enchiladas, cooking the meat is a no-brainer. Cook over medium-high heat and crumble as you go. Drain the grease and stir in taco seasoning, salt and water, then simmer for 10 minutes.
Mix up the dressing. Combine equal amounts of Ranch dressing, salsa, and sour cream. You can adjust the amounts however you like.
Set up for assembly. I like to set up a “taco bar” with all the toppings, meat, and bags of chips. Open each bag and carefully roll down the sides a little, or just slice off the top, then add some taco meat and any toppings you like. Finish off with the dressing.
Favorite Toppings
The best toppings for tacos in a bag are the ones you love to put on tacos! We’ve got the usual suspects, like cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes, but here are some of our favorite ideas that go a little beyond the traditional:
- Beans: black beans or pinto beans
- Chili: Skip the taco meat altogether and add a scoop of thick and hearty chili.
- Green onions
- Cilantro
- Sliced olives
- Corn
- Avocado
- Pico de Gallo
- Mexican Rice
- Limes, for squeezing
- Radishes
- Sliced jalapenos
More Game Day Snacks
Walking Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ cup taco seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup water
- 8-10 1-ounce bags of Fritos or Doritos chips (use both)
- Shredded lettuce
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Diced tomatoes
- Sliced olives
Dressing
- ½ cup Ranch dressing
- ½ cup salsa
- ½ cup sour cream
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and cook, crumbling with a spatula, until no longer pink. Drain as much grease as possible. Stir in minced garlic, taco seasoning and water. Bring to a boil and turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until sauce is thickened and slightly reduced.
- Combine ranch dressing, sour cream and salsa.
Assembly
- Grab a bag of chips and gently crush them. Open the bag and spoon in some taco meat, and add any toppings you choose. Finish with a drizzle of salsa ranch dressing. Add a fork and eat while you walk around.
