Fiesta Taco Potato Skillet
Fiesta Taco Potato Skillet is an easy and delicious dinner recipe perfect for Taco Tuesday! This easy weeknight dinner recipe is made with ground beef, taco seasonings, and potatoes that are cooked until crispy in an air fryer. The whole skillet is topped with shredded cheese and warm queso! Top with any of your favorite taco toppings!
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Easy Ground Beef Dinner
If you are looking for an easy and delicious weeknight dinner recipe this Taco Potato Skillet won’t disappoint! It cooks in a little over 30 minutes and is made with simple ingredients! This recipe is a great way to stretch a pound of ground beef.
Taco Potatoes come together quickly with the potatoes cooked in an air fryer while beef browns in a skillet. The crispy potatoes are topped with warm queso and so good topped any of your favorite taco toppings! The whole family can customize their toppings.
I’ve created and shared so many of these potato skillets because they are some of my favorite meals to make for my family. If you are looking for more meat and potato skillets you’ll love my Chicken Queso Potato Skillet, Sloppy Joe Potato Skillet, BBQ Chicken Potato Skillet, Chili Cheese Potato Skillet, and Cheeseburger Potato Skillet.
Ingredients
- Russet potatoes
- Olive oil
- Salt, pepper, garlic powder, paprika for potatoes
- Ground beef
- Taco Seasoning – salt, pepper, cayenne, chili powder, cumin, paprika, and dried cilantro
- Minced garlic
- 1 1/2 cups store-bought or homemade White Queso
- Taco toppings – sour cream, taco sauce, Pico de Gallo, cilantro
Make the Potatoes
Start by peeling, washing, and chopping about five potatoes. It’s best to chop the potatoes into small cubes and try to cut them into even sized pieces so they cook evenly.
Add the chopped potatoes to a large bowl and season with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Toss the potatoes around in the bowl until they are well coated in seasoning.
Next, add the potatoes to an air fryer and cook at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. I like to shake the potatoes at least a few times while they are cooking. Shaking the basket of potatoes helps make sure they get cooked evenly.
If you don’t have an air fryer, you can also make these potatoes in the oven.
Add the chopped potatoes to a sheet pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray and bake at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked to your liking. It helps to stir the potatoes half way through cooking.
Make Taco Potato Skillet
Once the potatoes are cooking, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add one pound of ground beef.
Season the ground beef with salt, pepper, cayenne, chili powder, cumin, paprika, and dried cilantro. I like using this blend of seasonings for taco seasoning, but you could use a taco seasoning packet instead of these seasonings if you prefer that.
Cook the ground beef until it is cooked through and doesn’t have any pink showing. Drain the extra grease.
Add 1 tbsp of minced garlic and stir everything together well.
Once the beef and potatoes are cooked, it’s time to combine it all together and eat! Add the crispy potatoes to the skillet with the cooked ground beef. Stir the beef and potatoes together. Top with shredded Colby Jack cheese and pop in the oven for just a couple of minutes to melt the cheese.
Pour about 1 – 1 1/2 cups of melted queso over the top of the skillet of ground beef and potatoes. I used my homemade White Queso, but you can use any store-bought brand you like.
Serve Cheesy Fiesta Taco Potato Skillet
Once the Taco Potato Skillet is topped with the creamy White Queso, it’s time to eat!
Top the skillet with some fresh cilantro and any of your favorite taco toppings! I like mine with sour cream, taco sauce, and fresh homade Pico de Gallo!
This recipe is perfect as is, but it also makes awesome burritos! I used the leftovers to make a burrito for lunch the next day.
You will love this recipe because it’s easy to make, so delicious, and easily customizable!
If you like this recipe, be sure to check out my crockpot version of Taco Potatoes! Crockpot Taco Potatoes are even easier and so good!
Tips for Success
- I used one pound of ground beef, but one pound of chicken is also good in this recipe. Check out my Chicken Queso Potato Skillet recipe! Ground turkey or ground chicken would also be a great substitution for the ground beef.
- I used 1 – 1 1/2 cups of homemade White Queso but any store-bought queso will also work.
- I use russet potatoes for this recipe because that is what we keep stocked in our pantry.
- If you don’t have an air fryer the potatoes can be cooked in the oven at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes or until they are cooked to your liking. It also helps to stir them around half way through cooking.
- I make homemade Pico de Gallo, but you could also use store-bought or even top it with taco sauce instead of pico.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make Taco Potato Skillet without an air fryer?
You can definitively make this ground beef and potato skillet with an air fryer! You can bake the potatoes in the oven on a sheet pan at 400 degrees F for about 35 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked to your liking. It helps to stir the potatoes around half way through cooking.
Can I make Taco Potatoes with ground turkey?
Yes, ground turkey can be used in place of the ground beef in this recipe.
Can I make potato skillets using frozen cubed hash browns?
Yes, to save time on chopping potatoes you can use the frozen cubed hash browns instead. They should still cook in about the same amount of time in your air fryer!
Can I make Taco Potato Skillet with a taco seasoning packet?
Yes, if you want to save time measuring out individual seasonings you can use your favorite taco seasoning packet instead of the homemade blend!
More Family Dinner Recipes
- Crockpot Taco Potatoes
- Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Potato Skillet
- Mississippi Chicken and Potato Skillet
- Alice Springs Chicken and Potato Skillet
- Smash Burger Potato Skillet
- Sloppy Joe Potato Skillet
- Big Mac Potato Skillet
- Buffalo Chicken Potato Skillet
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Potato Skillet
- BBQ Chicken Potato Skillet
- Queso Chicken Potato Skillet
If you make this Fiesta Taco Potato Skillet I hope you love it! If you make the recipe please leave me a recipe rating or save this to your Pinterest account.
Equipment
- 1 Air Fryer
- 1 Oven
Ingredients
Potatoes
- 2 1/2 lbs russet potatoes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
Taco Skillet
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp each of cumin, paprika, and dried cilantro
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 cup shredded Colby Jack cheese
- 1 1/2 cups microwaved white Queso
- 1 tbsp fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Peel, wash potatoes, and cut up into cubes.
- Add the potatoes to a large bowl. Toss the potatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika.
- Cook potatoes in the air fryer at 400 degrees F for about 20-25 minutes shaking them around at least a couple times while they cook.
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the ground beef to the skillet and season with salt, cayenne, chili powder, cumin, paprika, dried cilantro, and black pepper. Once the beef is browned, drain any extra grease. Add minced garlic and stir well.
- Once the potatoes and ground beef are cooked combine them together in the skillet and top with shredded Colby Jack cheese. Pop this in the oven at 400 degrees F for just a couple of minutes to melt the cheese.
- Pour warm Queso over the whole skillet. Top with fresh cilantro and any of your favorite taco toppings! I like sour cream, taco sauce, and Pico de Gallo. Enjoy!
Notes
- I used one pound of ground beef, but one pound of chicken is also good in this recipe. Check out my Chicken Queso Potato Skillet recipe! Ground turkey or ground chicken would also be a great substitution for the ground beef.
- I used 1 – 1 1/2 cups of homemade White Queso but any store-bought queso will also work.
- I use russet potatoes for this recipe because that is what we keep stocked in our pantry.
- If you don’t have an air fryer the potatoes can be cooked in the oven at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes or until they are cooked to your liking. It also helps to stir them around half way through cooking.
- I make homemade Pico de Gallo, but you could also use store-bought or even top it with taco sauce instead of pico.
Made this for dinner tonight. Delicious!! My extremely picky 7 year old ate two helpings and said they LOVED IT! That’s a win! Tried a few recipes from here and all were great. I grew up in the midwest and these recipes remind of the cooking back home. Can’t wait to try more!
Happy to hear that!
What if you do not have an air fryer??