Put your taco fixins on a baked potato! A baked potato taco is as simple as that. This is not only great for gluten-free or grain-free diets, but also for a change from the regular old taco. If you’re following a paleo diet, you can substitute sweet potatoes, which are a delicious contrast to the spicy flavorful taco meat.

This is something my husband grew up eating – one of his brother’s constant requests for dinner. I had never had one until recently.

The key, in my opinion, is to do one or both of these things:

1) Remove some of the inside of the potato before adding your toppings. This way, the starchy potato doesn’t get in the way of all of the good Mexican flavors you’ll add.

2) Salt (and pepper) the inside of the potato before adding the toppings. Potatoes are bland on their own and will dilute all of the delicious flavors, but adding salt first helps with this.

As far as taco seasoning goes, if you’ve ever watched Sandra Lee on Food Network, you might think seasoning packets are God’s gift to mankind. If you’ve been reading my blog for any amount of time, you can guess how I feel about these overpriced little conveniences.

I’ve said this before and I will say it again: buy your spices in bulk! Not only are they fresher (who knows how long that jar has been sitting on the shelf), but you can buy as little or as much as you like. Plus, one of the biggest benefits is that they are cheap! I have refilled my jar of cinnamon many times and spent about $1 each time. 

For taco seasoning, I used a mixture I found on Pinterest from gimme some oven. I really liked it – just added more salt.

This isn’t really a recipe, more of a method, but I’ve made a handy recipe card below so you can see what we do.

Baked Potato Tacos

A taco in baked potato form!

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Ingredients

1. Baking potatoes, such as Russet
2. Ground beef
3. Taco seasoning (see below)
4. Salt & pepper

Toppings (as many or few as you like)

1. Butter
2. Grated cheddar cheese
3. Sour cream
4. Salsa
5. Chopped tomatoes
6. Avocado (or guacamole)
7. Fresh cilantro
8. Black beans

Taco seasoning

1. 1 Tbsp. chili powder
2. 1 tsp. ground cumin
3. 1 tsp. garlic powder
4. 1 tsp. paprika
5. 1/2 tsp. oregano
6. 1/2 tsp. onion powder
7. 3/4 tsp. salt
8. 1/4 tsp. black pepper
9. 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (adds heat)
10. (optional: 1 tsp. flour)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Wash potatoes well, then poke with a fork. Bake for about 1 hour, depending on the size of the potato, until outside is crispy and potato can easily be pierced with a knife.
2. Meanwhile, mix together all spices for taco seasoning. Cook ground beef until browned. Pour off fat. Add 2-3 tablespoons water and about half the taco seasoning per pound of ground beef. Cook over medium-low heat until flavors are combined. Taste, and add more seasoning if you’d like.
3. To assemble, cut potato in half lengthwise. If potato is very large, remove some of the inside and save for mashed potatoes or hashbrowns. Generously salt and pepper inside of potato (and even add butter if you’d like).
4. Place toppings on potato just as you would a taco–ground beef, cheese, sour cream, etc.
5. Serve hot!