Easy Taco Skillet Dinner
This Easy Taco Skillet Dinner is a quick, one-pan meal filled with seasoned ground turkey, black beans, tomatoes, peppers, and melty cheese. Serve it straight from the skillet with tortillas, chips, or your favorite taco toppings for a simple weeknight dinner, game day snack, or Friday night taco night.
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It has everything I love about tacos - warm spices, hearty beans, fresh toppings, and plenty of cheese - but it's even easier to serve. Set the skillet in the center of the table with tortillas, chips, guacamole, salsa, and sour cream, and everyone can build their own plate.
If you enjoy quick, flavorful skillet dinners, you may also like my Latin American 30-minute Arroz con Pollo recipe, or these easy Chicken Taco Bowls.
What I Love About This Taco Skillet
This recipe is one of those easy dinners that works for almost any occasion. It's simple enough for a weeknight, fun enough for game day, and easy to customize with whatever toppings your family loves.
A few favorite things:
- It can be served as tacos, bowls, nachos, or a party-style dip.
- It's made in one skillet for easy cooking and cleanup.
- Ground turkey keeps it lighter, but ground beef or chicken also works.
- Black beans and fire-roasted tomatoes make it hearty and flavorful.
Ingredients
One of the things I love most about this taco skillet is how simple the ingredients are. Most are pantry staples, with a few fresh vegetables and toppings to make it feel bright and delicious.
- Ground turkey: I often make this with ground turkey, but ground beef or ground chicken also works well.
- Vegetables: Onion and bell pepper add flavor and texture.
- Spices: Chili powder, garlic powder, oregano, cumin, red pepper flakes, and cayenne give the skillet its taco-inspired flavor.
- Pantry staples: Fire-roasted tomatoes and black beans make the filling hearty and easy.
- Cheese: A shredded Mexican cheese blend melts over the top and brings everything together.
- Toppings: Serve with sour cream, guacamole, salsa, chopped tomatoes, green onions, jalapeños, or cilantro.
How to Serve Taco Skillet
Serve this taco skillet straight from the pan, family-style, and let everyone build their own plate. It's delicious as a filling for:
- Street taco tortillas
- Corn or flour tortillas
- Burrito-style wraps
- Lettuce wraps
- Rice bowls
- Nachos with tortilla chips
It's also wonderful with a few simple sides, like this refried bean dip, and toppings like Guacamole, Mexican Rice, salsa (or this easy homemade salsa), sour cream, chopped tomatoes, green onions, jalapeños, and a green salad.
For a fun taco night or game day spread, set out small bowls of toppings so everyone can customize their own serving.
When to Serve This Taco Skillet
This easy taco skillet is casual, flexible, and always welcome. I especially love it for:
- Weeknight Dinners
- Game Days
- Super Bowl
- Friday Night meals
- Taco Tuesdays or Mexican-Inspired Food Nights
- Cinco de Mayo
- Casual dinners with friends
- Meal plan nights when you need something quick and satisfying
Recipe FAQs
Yes. Ground beef works beautifully in this recipe. I often use ground turkey, but ground beef or ground chicken can be swapped in easily.
Serve taco skillet with tortillas, tortilla chips, rice, lettuce wraps, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, chopped tomatoes, green onions, or jalapeños. It also makes a fun filling for taco bowls or nachos.
Yes. The filling can be made ahead and reheated gently on the stovetop or in the microwave. Add the cheese when reheating, or just before serving, for the best texture.
One Pot Skillet Taco Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 1 bell pepper chopped
- 1 ½ pounds ground turkey
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne
- 1 (15-oz) can fire-roasted tomatoes
- 1 (15-oz) can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 ½ cups Mexican-blend shredded cheese
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper; cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Then add the ground turkey. Cook until no pink remains while breaking the turkey apart as it cooks, about 10 minutes.
- To the turkey, add the chili powder, salt, garlic powder, oregano, cumin, red pepper flakes, paprika and cayenne; stir to combine. Add the fire-roasted tomatoes and black beans; bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cook until the liquid has reduced slightly, about 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle the cheese over the top of the turkey skillet. Remove from the heat, cover, and let sit for a couple of minutes until the cheese begins to melt. Garnish with scallions, fresh herbs like cillantro or parsley, and sour cream if desired.
- cover and turn the heat off. Let sit for a few minutes for the cheese to melt from the residual heat.
Serve right from the skillet with garnishes of avocado, scallions and cilantro and with tortilla chips alongside.
Notes
- How to Serve Taco Skillet: I like to serve this dish straight from the pan, family-style. Spoon it into street taco tortillas, corn tortillas, or lettuce wraps, or serve it as a warm dip with tortilla chips.
- Garnishing: Sprinkle fresh herbs, like cilantro or parsley, over the top. Add your favorite toppings, such as chopped avocado, green onions, sour cream or Greek yogurt, guacamole, refried beans, pickled onions, salsa, or jalapeños.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. Reheat gently in a skillet or microwave until warmed through.
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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