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Walking Tacos, Tacos in a Bag, Locos Tacos – whatever you call them, they’re the best meal for camping, reunions, and block parties. Plus, walking tacos are cheap and tasty, with the easiest clean-up ever—no plates required!
Featured with this recipe
This Walking Tacos Recipe is everywhere lately! Honestly it’s not as much of a “recipe” as it is an awesome idea that we love. Walking Tacos are just too good to not share here on FFR! They’re the perfect party food for outdoor get togethers, camping, family reunions, or a quick weeknight backyard supper with the kids. We have made these for years in our family! There are so many ways to enjoy this taco salad in a bag —it is truly one of the most versatile and easy recipes ever.
What are Walking Tacos?
Some call it a deconstructed taco, others call them tacos in a bag, but what exactly are “walking tacos”? Ready to have your mind blown? All you have to do to enjoy a walking taco bar is open up an individual size bag of nacho cheese Doritos, layer on your favorite taco toppings, grab a fork and enjoy. No plate or bowl needed. It tastes like a taco casserole, but much easier to make. That’s why this easy walking tacos recipe is so perfect for outdoor mealtime. Sometimes we switch things up and give these tacos a southwest spin by using a bag of Fritos instead of Doritos and chili instead of ground beef… seriously SO tasty.
Ingredients for Walking Tacos
There are so many different ways to enjoy portable tacos in a bag. Basically, take anything you love from a taco or taco salad and add it to your bag of chips. We like to have a variety of chip bags on hand for the buffet. Some favorites are, regular tortilla chips, corn chips, Cool Ranch Doritos, even Cheetos! (I guess we shouldn’t knock it ’til we’ve tried it?) Here are some of our favorite taco ingredients:
- Ground beef – in a large skillet, brown lean ground beef on medium heat. You could use ground chicken or ground turkey too. Then stir in some of our homemade taco seasoning, or an extra dash of chili powder for heat, and water and let it simmer. Then spoon the beef mixture into a bowl or keep it warm in the crock pot or slow cooker, and serve on your buffet table.
- Diced or shredded chicken – keep it simple by shredding a rotisserie chicken for your protein.
- Shredded cheese – cheddar cheese is always a favorite, Monterrey Jack, or a Mexican blend works great.
- Chopped lettuce – you can buy pre-shredded lettuce, which saves lots of time and space if you’re cooking for a crowd.
- Diced tomatoes
- Black olives – sliced
- Diced onions – green onions or diced yellow onions can be chopped and stored ahead of time.
- Chopped or minced garlic
- Salsa
- Green bell pepper, red pepper or any other vegetables you like in tacos
- Black beans – control the salt flavor by choosing low sodium beans,
- Pinto beans
- Pico de gallo
- Sour cream
- Guacamole
- Lime juice or lime zest
- Ranch dressing
Places to Serve Walking Tacos
We make these almost every time we go camping because of the fact that they are so ridiculously easy. We cook up the beef ahead of time and either keep it in the freezer or the refrigerator. Then, just re-heat it when we are ready to eat. Boom. Dinner is done and there is no mess.
This is also a great dish for the masses if you are hosting a family reunion, girls/scout camps, or block parties. It is relatively cheap to make and it isn’t hard to make bulk amounts of everything – again, clean-up is a snap, which is a MUST for big groups. We just had these at our big family reunion and of course, they were a big hit!
Tips for Making Walking Tacos
- Choose the Right Chips: Opt for single-serving bags of corn chips, Fritos, or Doritos. The small individual bags are perfect for creating individual walking tacos and provide a nice crunch.
- Prepare Toppings in Advance: Pre-chop your favorite taco toppings, such as lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cheese, jalapeños, and sour cream. This way, assembling the walking tacos will be quick and convenient.
- Choose a Flavorful Filling: Brown ground beef or turkey with taco seasoning for a classic filling. You can also use shredded chicken, pulled pork, or even vegetarian options like black beans or roasted vegetables for delicious variations.
- Keep it Warm: If serving a crowd, keep the meat filling warm in a slow cooker or a warming tray. This allows guests to assemble their walking tacos with hot and tasty ingredients.
- Plan for Leftovers: If you have any leftover taco meat or toppings, they can be used for regular tacos or as toppings for other dishes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Start with a snack size bag of Doritos or Fritos, add your favorite taco ingredients and that’s it! Cheese, ground beef, sour cream, salsa, etc. The sky’s the limit on what you can put in your own version of a walking tacos recipe.
They’re called walking tacos because they’re so portable you can eat them on the go, or while wandering around.
I like to think of this as a portable taco casserole, rather than nachos. You eat it with a fork, rather than your hands like you do with nachos a lot of the time.
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More Taco Recipes
Taco Tuesdays have never had so many options! There are endless recipes to try the next time a taco craving strikes. From breakfast to lunch and dinner, try some of our very favorites.
How to Make this Walking Tacos Recipe
Walking Tacos
Ingredients
- 6 individual-sized bags Doritos
- 1 pound taco meat (prepared taco seasoned ground beef or shredded chicken both work great)
Topping options (all to taste):
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
- 1 1/2 cups lettuce
- 1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes
- diced onion (to taste)
- 1 avocado diced
- 1 cup salsa
- 1 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Open each bag of Doritos. You may crunch up the Doritos for easier eating or keep the chips big.
- Add ⅓ cup of cooked meat to each bag of Doritos.
- Add additional toppings, to taste.
Notes
- Ground chicken
- Ground turkey
- Rotisserie Chicken
- Keep it vegetarian by omiting meat and adding extra kidney, pinto or black beans.
Oh my gosh, I had completely forgotten about walking tacos! I was looking for something to make for a family party and this was perfect. Everyone got to make their own version, and clean up was a breeze!
We love these!! Everyone in my family likes something different on their tacos and this makes it easy and fun!
I finally convinced the guys at the the local pub to add these to the menu and they can’t keep up with the business they generated. Poor kids know them well and the fancier types get to feel the buzz of the streets. Lol.
I’ve been eating these since 1986 when Cool Ranch Doritos came out, but no matter the flavor of Doritos/ or even Fuegos if ya like spice and also may be my favorite.
*****EXPERT TIP*****
****CUT THE BAG DOWN THE SIDE-DO NOT OPEN IT FROM THE TOP LIKE USUAL*****
IF YOU DON’T ALREADY DO THIS, ALL I CAN SAY IS,
YOU’RE WELCOME
AND ENJOY SOMETHING GREAT BECOME EVEN BETTER. I JUST CHANGED YOUR LIFE! LOL
I love the cutting the bag down the side idea! Genius!
These are so fun and we loved having them on a Friday night so clean-up was a breeze! Woot! Thank you!
We looooove walking tacos! They’re great for a party!
A hit with the whole family! My nine year old thought it was the coolest thing ever to eat right out of the chip bag, and I’m a fan of less dishes to wash. 🙂
This is the best, easiest and most delicious way to eat a taco.
Oh yea! That’s what’s for Dinner tonight ! Thank You
Such a great idea! Love this:)
Are you kidding me? How fun and they look delicious! Thank you!
These are fun and delicious – and easy to clean up! Thank you for visiting our site!
So fun, we’ve got to do this!!