Thanks to ground pork, these easy pork tacos come together fast. You can even make the filling in advance. This is one of my favorite ground pork recipes!
My family loves these ground pork tacos. I love slowly cooked pork carnitas, but when I need a fast taco recipe, I turn to this easy taco recipe with ground pork.
The taco filling can be made in about 15 minutes and lasts in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Key Ingredients
- Ground pork: This recipe uses ground pork, but bulk sausage or chorizo works well. You can substitute ground meat like beef, turkey, or chicken. Keep in mind that ground pork is usually higher in fat, so you should increase the 1 teaspoon of oil called for in the recipe below.
- Taco seasoning: I use my homemade taco seasoning and think it’s better than anything you can buy at the store. Most of the ingredients are likely already sitting in your spice cabinet. It blends chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, coriander, cayenne, and cornstarch. It’s super flavorful, and thanks to the cornstarch, the seasoning sticks to the pork, making it extra delicious. You can use store-bought taco seasoning.
- Water: Helps our taco seasoning stick to the pork. You can use broth.
- Tortillas: Use your favorite store-bought tortillas or try making your own. I love these homemade corn tortillas as well as these flour tortillas.
How to Make Ground Pork Tacos
These tacos are seriously one of my favorite ways to use ground pork. To make them, you’ll brown your ground pork in a skillet and then stir in the taco seasoning and a bit of water.
Remember, I highly recommend making a batch of my favorite taco seasoning for this recipe. It’s much more flavorful than the packets you can buy at the store. It also has a little cornstarch added, so as the pork simmers with the water and seasoning, the liquid thickens and sticks to the pork (making these extra delicious).
When your pork is nicely browned and a delicious, you can build your tacos or refrigerate the taco meat for up to four days.
What to Serve with Pork Tacos
You can never have too many toppings for taco night. I love using homemade tortillas, so here are our recipes for flour tortillas and soft corn tortillas. When serving these pork tacos, I love adding a layer of mashed avocado or guacamole to the bottom and then scattering the taco filling on top. Then, I add sliced cabbage or some of this lime cabbage slaw, pickled onions, and a drizzle of sour cream (see how I make it in the tips section of the recipe).
Some more favorite taco toppings include this roasted tomatillo salsa, fresh pico de gallo, or this roasted tomato salsa. You can also serve these with rice and beans. Try our recipes for Mexican rice or cilantro lime rice. I also love these homemade black beans and refried beans.
More Ground Pork Recipes
- Easy Taco Soup
- Truly Amazing Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Big Italian Meatballs
- Swedish Meatballs
- See more of our pork recipes!
Easy Ground Pork Tacos
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
Thanks to ground pork, these easy pork tacos are quick and easy to make. We recommend making our taco seasoning with chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, coriander, and cayenne pepper. If you use store-bought taco mix, watch out for adding additional salt. Store-bought seasoning has salt added, so you might not need extra salt.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 pound ground pork or bulk ground sausage
1 to 2 tablespoons taco seasoning, I recommend homemade taco seasoning
1/4 cup water or more as needed
Salt to taste
8 flour tortillas or corn tortillas
Favorite taco toppings like cabbage, avocado, sour cream, pickled onions, pico de gallo, or tomatillo salsa
Directions
1Wrap the tortillas in aluminum foil in two stacks and bake them in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 10 to 15 minutes.
2Heat a wide skillet over medium heat, then add the oil.
3Press the pork into the pan, spreading it as thin as possible so it browns evenly on one side for about 5 minutes.
4When it begins to brown on one side, use a wooden spoon to break the pork into small crumbles. Continue to cook until browned on all sides, about 3 minutes.
5Toss one tablespoon of taco seasoning with the pork. Taste a small crumble to see if it needs more seasoning and adjust from there (I use 2 tablespoons of this homemade taco seasoning).
6Stir in the water and let it come to a simmer.
7The mixture will thicken and coat the pork. Taste, and then season with extra salt if needed. Serve in tortillas topped with your favorite taco toppings.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Make-ahead: Make the ground pork mixture up to 4 days in advance. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat the pork before serving. Adding a tablespoon or two of additional water helps to moisten the pork.
- Making thinned sour cream: To make it drizzleable, stir two tablespoons of sour cream with a teaspoon or two of water (or lime juice).
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We included one avocado, 1 cup of cabbage, 2 tablespoons of sour cream, and corn tortillas in the calculations.
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Turned out pretty dry. Probably because I used lean ground pork. I’d maybe try it again.
Hi Karen, Lean ground pork can sometimes make for a dry dish. To add moisture next time, try stirring in a tablespoon or two of butter at the end of cooking, or add a splash of broth while the pork is simmering. This will boost both flavor and juiciness!
I had something Asian planned with ground pork tonight, but I cleaned out a cupboard and had a bunch of taco shells to use up. I did a quick search online and found your recipe. To be honest, I don’t follow recipes very precisely, but I loved your ideas. I made the pork with taco seasoning we had on hand and added in the mushroom powder. Of course, I never made it without it, so I have nothing to compare, but it was delicious. I made my own pico di gallo, cut up mango, avocado, cabbage, lettuce, bell pepper, then served with a touch of sour cream. So amazing. My husband raved. Now that I found your site I will be following. Thanks for the great meal idea!
Made this tonight for dinner – fantastic! My husband couldn’t get enough! The homemade taco seasoning is fabulous – will never do store-bought again. Made the Pico di Gallo (without jalapeño as I didn’t have any) and lime-sour cream – added shredded lettuce and shredded cheddar. A definite keeper – thank you so much!!!!
Yay! We are so happy that you loved them 🙂 The homemade taco seasoning really does help to take things up a notch!
Forgot to add, I used your taco seasoning and will never purchase store bought taco seasoning again.
Made these today with the pickled onions and the Mayo-Free Cilantro Lime Coleslaw, all I can say is WOW! These are now a new staple in our house. Will be making every month at least twice if not three times lol. Thank you!
Wow! What a nice comment. Thank you so much for coming back to let us know that you loved them 🙂
Love these! Made the taco seasoning with the porcini powder. Browned the meat and drained, added dice onion (but will make pickled onion for next week), chopped black olive and 1 Tbsp tomato paste (borrowed from my Mom’s recipe). Muy sabrosa!
Very Delicious!
I love any and all tacos! These are super easy and look delicious!