Baked Beef and Bean Tacos
These tasty, crispy Baked Beef and Bean Tacos are perfect for Taco Tuesday, Cinco de Mayo, or any day of the week! Stuffed to the brim with beans, cheese, salsa, seasoned ground beef, and queso blanco dip, I found these tacos to be super filling and absolutely delicious! This recipe makes 21 tacos, so you can either feed a crowd or save some for later! I found that the tacos reheat really well in the air fryer. The only problem was that my daughter kept eating all the leftovers! I really think you’re going to love these Beef and Bean Tacos, and even better, each one is just 107 calories or 1 WW Point! To view your current WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app, click here!
Serving Suggestions
Everyone has their favorite taco toppings, and you can definitely use yours here! Just open up the tacos and add what you like! I went with lettuce and tomato for mine this round, and my husband added hot sauce. Avocado, sour cream, taco sauce, pico de gallo, or guacamole would also be tasty!
Heating the Tortillas
There’s really no way around it, I 100% recommend warming the tortillas on the stovetop before filling them. Warming the corn tortillas makes them more pliable, and microwaving them just doesn’t cut it. I’ve tried microwaving them with moist paper towels, etc but the tortillas always split and crack open at the taco fold. When I warm them on the stovetop they fold beautifully every time and never split. So, even though it adds a little time, I strongly urge you to heat the tortillas on the stovetop for 30 seconds on each side before filling them. It makes a huge difference!
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
This recipe makes 21 Baked Beef and Bean Tacos, so unless you’re feeding a bigger family and serving them at a party, you will likely have leftovers. Lucky you! If you plan to eat the leftovers within a few days, I suggest just keeping them in a sealed container in the refrigerator and then re-heating them in your air fryer as needed. For refrigerated tacos I re-heated mine at 350 for 6-7 minutes, flipping halfway through. If you want to freeze some tacos, wrap them in cling wrap and put them in an air-tight sealed freezer bag. I re-heated frozen tacos in my air fryer at 350 for 8-9 minutes, flipping once.
Ingredient Notes:
- Tortillas: I use and recommend Mission Extra Thin Yellow Corn Tortillas, which are easy to find in my local grocery stores. These are a 6-inch corn tortilla, so if you can’t find that exact product, try to find something similar! The Mission ones come in packs of 24, so you’ll have a few extra in case some tear, etc.
- Meat: I used lean ground beef for these Baked Beef and Bean Tacos and they turned out amazing! My beef was 93% lean, but anything between 90% – 95% lean should be good. If you don’t eat beef or prefer poultry, ground chicken or ground turkey would both work well.
- Queso: I used Tostitos brand queso blanco dip in these tacos and it works great to add extra cheesy, spicy flavor to the mix! If you have a similar product, feel free to substitute another queso dip.
- Salsa: I prefer a runnier, more liquid-y salsa for these as opposed to a super chunky one, but you can definitely use whatever you have on hand. My favorite salsa is Wegmans Roasted Tomato Salsa.
More Tasty, Lightened-Up Mexican-Inspired Recipes
Looking for more tasty, lightened-up Mexican-inspired recipes like these Baked Beef and Bean Tacos? Check out my Mexi Chicken Bites, Beef Taco Salad with Salsa-Ranch Dressing, Beef and Bean Chimichangas, One-Pot Taco Pasta, Layered Meat and Bean Enchilada Bake, Taco Stuffed Twice Baked Potatoes, Turkey and Chorizo Enchilada Rice Bake, Chicken Taco Rice Skillet, Mexican Street Corn Chicken, and many more in the Mexican section of my recipe index!
Baked Beef and Bean Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 lb uncooked lean ground beef, between 90-95% lean (I used 93% lean)
- 1 oz packet of taco seasoning
- ⅔ cup water
- 16 oz can of fat free refried beans
- ¼ cup salsa
- ¼ cup queso blanco dip, (such as Tostitos)
- 2 oz shredded 2% milk Sharp Cheddar Cheese
- 21 (6-inch) corn tortillas, (I use Mission Extra Thin Yellow Corn Tortillas)
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet (or two, depending on how many you are cooking at once) with aluminum foil and mist the aluminum foil with cooking spray.
- Lightly mist a large skillet with cooking spray and bring over medium-high heat. When hot, add the ground beef and cook, stirring occasionally and breaking up into small chunks with a cooking spatula, for 5-6 minutes until browned. Drain any liquid if present. Add the taco seasoning and water and stir into the meat until well combined. Once the mixture is bubbling, reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes until the liquid is mostly absorbed into sauce.
- While the meat is cooking, place the contents of the can of refried beans into a mixing bowl and microwave for 30-60 seconds until softened. Add the salsa, queso blanco, and shredded cheese. Once the meat is finished cooking, transfer the saucy meat to the mixing bowl and stir everything together until well combined.
- Lightly mist a skillet or griddle pan with cooking spray and bring over med-low heat. Depending on the size of your pan, you can heat the tortillas one at a time, or several at a time. *Place the tortilla(s) on the heated pan and cook for 30 seconds. Flip the tortilla and cook for another 30 seconds until pliable. Repeat with all 21 tortillas. *You may want to work in batches. I would heat up 4-5 tortillas, fill them, then heat up 4-5 more, fill them, and so on.
- To fill each taco, take one of the softened tortillas and lightly mist one side with cooking spray. Place on a clean surface like a cutting mat, sprayed side down. Add three tablespoons of the beef and bean mixture to one half of the tortilla surface and then spread into an even layer. Fold the bare half of the tortilla over the side with filling and gently press down to stick. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet from step one. Repeat with remaining ingredients to make 21 tacos.
- When ready to bake, place the baking sheet(s) of tacos into the heated oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, flipping the tacos over about halfway through. Serve with your favorite taco toppings.
Notes
107 calories, 13 g carbs, 1 g sugars, 3 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 7 g protein, 2 g fiber, 220 mg sodium (from myfitnesspal.com) Weight Watchers Points Plus:
3 per taco (PP calculated using a Weight Watchers PointsPlus calculator and the nutrition info below)
These bakes tacos are delicious! The queso cheese was an added bonus! My husband loved them! So easy to make! Thank you!
So happy these were a hit for you both, Barb!
Super delicious! This recipe is perfect as is but is very versatile and can be changed up in so many ways. The filling is even great without the tortillas!
So happy you liked it, Sharon!
Emily, these are amazing. They will definitely be in rotation. Took a time to make. But next time I won’t be consistently looking at the recipe.
DELICIOUS!!
I’m so happy you loved them! Thanks for taking the time to let me know 🙂