Crunchy Taco Meatballs are easy, quick, and packed with the spiced savory flavors of tacos. The best part? Each meatball is rolled in toasted Panko breadcrumbs then baked!
The toasted Panko breadcrumbs give these meatballs a crunch and texture, like eating a crunchy taco. In addition, the chopped black beans add texture to the meat preventing it from being boring or one texture.
Make your next taco Tuesday fun with Taco Meatballs!
Recipe at a Glance
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Notes: Make this extra easy by using a packet of taco seasoning.
I know it can be a real challenge getting a home cooked dinner on the table on a busy weeknight. We live such busy lives. We’re working longer hours with higher demands. We’re picking up kids from daycare, or shuttling them to practice. And we’re trying to keep the house clean, and making sure everyone has clean clothes for the next day. And maybe, if there’s time, we try to have a social life. With life like this, no one has the time to make extravagant meals. You could order takeout, but that gets expensive!
That’s why I’ve made it the purpose of this blog to create easy, approachable dinners that can be made for a weeknight dinner. So if you’re like me and need easy, but inspired dinner recipes check out some of my best blog recipes!
I love meatballs. Like seriously love making meatball recipes. They’re so easy! If you love them too check out some of my best meatball recipes here on the blog!
Now onto pastas, another one of my favorite easy dinner go-to recipes!
Mexican inspired easy dinners here!
And what easy dinner round up would be complete without pizza? Roasted Red Pepper Sauce Pizza will save you from ordering take out!
How to make taco meatballs
These meatballs are so easy! Just mix, roll in the toasted Panko, bake then eat! So here’s what you need from ingredients, to kitchen tools, to time.
Ingredients
- Ground beef
- Panko crumbs
- Cooking Spray
- Black beans
- Egg
- Cumin
- Packet of taco seasoning
I usually have these ingredients on hand making this an easy go-to weeknight dinner for us.
Cooking tips
- I love using a packet of taco seasoning to make this extra fast and easy, but if you like mixing up your own spice blends you could use that instead!
- For the sauce I like to mix up some adobo sauce from a can of chipotle peppers with some sour cream for a nice kick of heat. For a less spicy option you could use a mild taco sauce.
- For serving the meatballs, I usually serve with rice and lots of taco toppings like lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cheese, and avocado.
- To reheat any leftovers, I like to cut the meatballs in half first. This will help them evenly reheat without drying them out.
- Want a spicy meatball? Add some cayenne pepper to the mixture for some extra heat!
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PrintCrunchy Taco Meatballs
Crunchy Taco Meatballs are an easy dinner recipe for a busy weeknight! Ground beef seasoned with taco spices, chopped black beans then rolled in toasted Panko and baked until crispy. Serve a spicy chipotle sauce, taco sauce, or sour cream.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 17-20 meatballs
- Category: Mexican
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef (as close as you can get to 1lb, I find the packages are always a little higher or lower then exactly one pound)
1 cup Panko crumbs (you’ll use 3/4 cup for rolling, and 1/4 cup for the meatball mixture)
Cooking Spray
1/2 cup black beans, drained then roughly chopped
1 egg
1 teaspoon cumin
1 packet taco seasoning
Instructions
1. Heat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with foil and spread out all of the Panko crumbs in an even layer and spray with some cooking spray. Bake for 3 minutes, remove from oven and stir the crumbs then place back in the oven for another 1 minute. (Watch them because they can go from nice and toasty to not so nice and burned very quickly.)
2. In a large bowl, mix the ground beef, roughly chopped black beans, cumin, taco seasoning, the egg, the remaining 1/4 cup of the toasted Panko. Mix until combined, then form into meatballs about the size of slightly larger than a golf ball. Roll each meatball in the remaining 3/4 cup of toasted Panko.
3. Bake the meatballs slightly elevated on cooling racks as seen in the photo above, this helps keep some of the fatty oils away from the meatballs. Bake at 400 for 25 – 27 minutes.
Serve with taco sauce, a chipotle sauce, or sour cream. I also add lots of taco toppings like lettuce, tomatoes, onions, queso fresco, and avocado!
[…] this recipe? Check out some of my other Mexican inspired dishes:Crunchy Mexican MeatballsCreamy Mexican Corn ChowderChicken Enchilada […]