Taco In A Bag Recipe (Famous Walking Tacos)

This may seem strange to you, but whenever I reminisce about the years that our boys played little league baseball the thoughts of them running the bases, catching a fly ball and me ordering a Taco In A Bag comes to my mind. It was my favorite concession stand item that served as my dinner on many nights in the summer.

A single serving bag of Doritos or Fritos that were cut open and filled with seasoned ground beef and your choice of standard taco toppings. Add some shredded cheese, salsa, lettuce, and sour cream and you have a quick and easy meal that is more than enough to get you through the night.

Best of all, each individual serving can be customized with the meat and toppings of your choice. And when everyone gets a meal that they like, life is good.

Although hot dogs, hamburgers and soft pretzels are often ball field favorite menu items, our hometown ball park is known for this specialty menu item. Often called walking tacos, these bags are filled with classic taco ingredients and are a huge hit not only at ball parks but in many homes across the country.

They make for a quick and easy lunch, especially for kids in the middle of summer. However, they also make for a great party food item where you can pick your own meat and toppings. It’s like having a ‘to-go’ taco bar.

Because this recipe is so versatile and delicious (but more because I don’t go to the ball field anymore), I decided to make this recipe at home. And I have to admit, this simple recipe tastes just as good as I remember!

What Chips To Use

The first step to making a Taco In A Bag is to pick out the variety of chips that you want to use as the base. I prefer to make mine with classic Nacho cheese Dorito chips. Although you can also serve them with corn chips (like Fritos), Doritos Cool Ranch or in individual bags of Tostitos tortilla chips.

If you love the combination of Doritos mixed in with tacos, you have to give our Doritos Taco Casserole a try! It is another family favorite meal!

How To Make a Taco in a Bag

Whichever style chip that you choose, lightly crush up the individual bags of chips before you open them. And speaking of opening the bag, there is one crucial step that makes it easier to eat.

Cut the bag open on the side, not the top! This will provide a larger opening, which makes it easier to assemble the ingredients and more importantly to eat the taco.

Now, fill your bag with standard taco ingredients. First place the taco seasoned ground beef on top of the chips.

Next, add diced onion, tomatoes, Mexican cheese, lettuce, salsa, and sour cream. Of course, leave out whatever ingredients that you don’t like or add in additional ingredients if you prefer.

Taco Bar Style Serving

If you are feeding a crowd, or a busy family where you need to eat at different times, I suggest serving the Taco In A Bag in a taco bar style set up. Assemble all of the ingredients and whenever someone is ready to eat they cut open and let them fill their bag.

The best part of all is that they can eat it wherever they like. Which makes it perfect to serve outdoors at picnics, potlucks, reunions and holiday gatherings.

We even set this up as a birthday party and it was a huge hit! So next time that you are looking for a fun, interesting or convenient way to get lunch or dinner on (or should I say off?) the table, make these walking tacos!

Taco In A Bag Recipe

*Specific measurements and complete recipe instructions are located in a printable recipe card at the bottom of this article. However, be sure to continue to read the tips and tricks to making this recipe below.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 package taco seasoning mix
• 5 packages, 1 ounce each Doritos nacho chips, Fritos corn chips or plain tortilla chips

Optional Suggested Toppings:

• diced tomatoes
• diced onions
• diced jalapeños
• shredded cheddar cheese
• shredded lettuce
• sour cream
• guacamole
• chopped cilantro

INSTRUCTIONS

In a large skillet, cook the ground beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Be sure to break the meat into small crumbles as it cooks.

Pour the meat into a large mesh colander to drain the grease. Then return the meat to the skillet.

Stir in the taco seasoning mix and then add 3/4 cup of water to the skillet. Stir and bring the mixture to a boil.

Reduce the heat to a simmer. Continue to simmer, uncovered until thickened (approximately 10-15 minutes), stirring occasionally.

Just before serving, lightly crush each bag of unopened chips. Turn the bag over on its side and cut it open at the top. (Do not cut the bag in the upright position).

Divide the meat into 5 equal portions. Then add each portion of the seasoned beef on top of the crushed chips. Serve and let each individual add their desired toppings of choice.

How To Double The Recipe

*This recipe can easily be doubled, tripled, or quadrupled to feed a crowd. As a general rule of thumb, 1 pound of ground beef will be enough for 5 Taco In A Bag servings. Then increase the remaining ingredients as needed.

Keep The Sour Cream Cold

When serving this recipe taco bar style, where all of the ingredients are prepared and used as needed, be sure to keep the sour cream cold if it will be out longer than an hour.

If it has been sitting at room temperature for more than 2 hours discard the remaining portion as it would be unsafe to consume.

Enjoy! Mary

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Recipe Card Located Below