Double Decker Tacos
The best tacos! A soft shell taco is layered with refried beans, then wrapped around a hard shell taco, which is filled with seasoned ground beef and topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, sour cream and fresh guacamole. You can top it with whatever you like, but I recommend loading it up! Also, if you don't eat meat, put melted cheese on the soft shell, and the refried beans in the hard.
Prep Time:
30 Minutes
Cook Time:
15 Minutes
Total Time:
45 Minutes
Servings:
12
Yield:
12 Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 (1 ounce) packet taco seasoning mix, divided
- 1 (16 ounce) can refried beans
- ⅔ cup water
- 12 prepared crisp taco shells
- 2 avocados
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- 1 fresh lime, juiced
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 12 (7 inch) flour tortillas
- 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
- 1 cup shredded lettuce
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- ¼ red onion, chopped
- ½ cup sour cream
Preparation Steps
-
Step 1
Place the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat, and sprinkle about 3/4 of the packet of taco seasoning over the meat. Cook and stir the ground beef, breaking it up as it cooks, until the beef is browned and crumbly, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the excess grease.
-
Step 2
Mash the refried beans with the water in a small saucepan, and sprinkle with the rest of the seasoning packet. Heat the refried beans over low heat until simmering.
-
Step 3
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Place the crisp taco shells on a baking sheet, and warm them in the preheated oven for 3 to 5 minutes.
-
Step 4
To make the guacamole, peel, seed, and mash the avocados in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of sour cream, the lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste, and set aside.
-
Step 5
To build the tacos, spread each flour tortilla with about 2 tablespoons of heated refried beans. Wrap the tortilla gently around a crisp tortilla shell. Spread about 2 tablespoons of ground beef along the bottom of the crisp shell, and sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of shredded Cheddar cheese on top of the meat. Top the cheese with shredded lettuce, a sprinkle of chopped tomato and onion, and a dollop of sour cream and guacamole.
Serving Suggestions
When feeding a crowd, which I tend to do a lot more this time of year, I have found that the more hands-on your guests are, the easier it is for the cook. What I mean by that is that the less that you have to plate up and serve, the better. Which is where the beauty of a taco bar comes in. Not only does everyone love a taco, but you can make it all ahead of time and be able to sit down with your guests and eat instead of plating up food all night. I kept the taco bar simple here. You can use two or three types of meat, but I just served ground beef.
Consider serving the tacos with the following toppings:
- Cheese, cheese, and more cheese
- Shredded lettuce and diced tomato
- Onion, cilantro, and jalapeños (I call these “the optionals”)
- Salsa, sour cream, and guacamole (and any other sauces you like! I call these the “final condiments”)
It's all about the details! Consider incorporating extra touches like flower arrangements, a variety of hot sauces to choose from, and a lineup of themed beverages — Topo Chico bottles with fresh lime wedges are always a crowd favorite!