Taco Beef Sliders are the perfect easy game-day food or weeknight meal. Ground beef is cooked with red bell peppers, red onion along with taco spices. The beef is added to slider buns with cheese and melted to perfection. Top with your favorite taco toppings.
I have to admit I am not always into watching a football game but I do come for the game-day food.
The Ohio Beef Council and I are celebrating tailgating season with these delicious Taco Beef Sliders which are a crowd favorite. These sliders are the perfect tailgating food that you can make for a crowd or perfect party food.
I like to double or triple the recipe and use some for meals too. The ground beef taco mixture is flavorful and perfect for sliders.
The taco seasoning and salsa add a lot of flavor to the meat. If you skip the taco seasoning these remind me of cheeseburger sliders. The meat is placed on toasted buns and topped with shredded cheese.
The sliders are warmed in the oven until the cheese is bubbly and topped with your favorite taco toppings. I like to add shredded lettuce, fresh cilantro and salsa.
When I make a tailgating spread I like to add these beef sliders, Jalapeño Poppers with Bacon, Cowboy Caviar, Buffalo Chicken Dip and Roasted Buffalo Cauliflower.
If you like sliders you have to try my Easy Chicken Sliders, Easy Chicken Parmesan Sliders, Roast Beef Sliders or these Chicken Enchilada Sliders.
Why You Will Love These:
- Great for a Crowd: These sliders are great for a crowd on game day. You can double or triple the recipe to feed people at a tailgate or party.
- Easy to Make: I like how easy these sliders are to make. You can prepare the taco beef mixture ahead of time and just add them to the buns with cheese before baking making them a good option for busy weeknights alongside french fries.
- Use Leftovers: This recipe is a great way to use up leftover ground beef. If you have taco meat leftover you can easily make these sliders. You can even cut the recipe in half depending on how much you have left!
Recipe Ingredients You’ll Need
- Beef: This recipe uses ground beef. I like to try and use 80/20 because I like the amount of fat it has and how it holds flavor and is juicy. Make sure to drain the beef so the sliders don’t become soggy.
- Vegetables: The vegetables in the slider mixture is garlic, sweet onion and bell peppers. You will want to finely dice the veggies so they mix well into the beef mixture.
- Spices: The spices for the beef mixture is a taco seasoning. If you want to make your own taco seasoning mixture you can use this Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix here.
- Salsa: The salsa or taco sauce adds flavor to the beef. Use your favorite store-bought or use this Homemade Salsa.
- Sliders: To assemble your sliders you will use the beef mixture, slider buns, cheese, lettuce, butter, garlic powder, onion powder and taco seasoning.
Please see the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts and instructions.
Recipe Variations
- Beans: Try adding beans to the beef mixture. I like black beans, red beans, pinto beans or white beans.
- Spices: There are other spices that would be nice in the taco mixture. Try cumin, chili powder, paprika or Italian seasoning.
- Cheese: I used sharp cheddar to top the meat but you could use colby jack, pepper jack, provolone cheese, cotija cheese or mozzarella cheese. Sometimes I will do a mixture of cheese for a variety of flavor. You also could use slices of cheese instead of shredded cheese.
- Vegetables: I used red onion and bell peppers in the beef mixture. Other vegetables that are nice would be sweet corn, banana peppers, carrots, poblanos or zucchini.
- Onions: Another addition I really like adding to these is caramelized onions. They really pair well with the beef and the cheese. I would suggest using mozzarella cheese with the onions.
- Salsa: You can stir in a variety of salsa to the beef mixture. Try my Salsa Verde, Homemade Salsa, Avocado Tomatillo Salsa or this Pico de Gallo.
How to Make Beef Sliders
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 1: Cook the Beef Mixture: In a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the red onion and bell pepper and sauté for another 3-4 minutes.
Once the meat mixture is cooked through drain the fat and return to the skillet
Step 2: Stir in Taco Seasoning: Stir in the taco seasoning and salsa or taco sauce. Remove the beef from the stove.
Grease and line a 9” x 13” baking dish or spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.
Step 3: Prepare Buns: Cut the sandwich roll sheet in half through the middle and lay the bottom half of the sandwiches in the casserole dish or lay the bottom of the slider buns down.
Step 4: Layer Beef and Cheese: Layer on the ground beef mixture. Spread the shredded cheese.
Step 5: Place Buns on Cheese: Place the tops of the rolls or buns on top of the cheese. Melt the butter in a small bowl. Use a brush to brush the melted butter over the buns.
Step 6: Mix Spices: In another small bowl mix together the garlic powder, onion powder, taco seasoning, salt and pepper. Sprinkle the spice mixture over the top part of the bun.
Step 7: Bake Sliders: Cover the casserole dish or baking sheet with aluminum foil and bake for 15-20 minutes, until butter is fully absorbed. Uncover and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes, or until the top of the buns are golden brown {watch to make sure they don’t burn}. Remove from oven and garnish with your favorite toppings like shredded lettuce, cilantro and salsa.
Store in an airtight container. Reheat on low in the oven or in an air fryer.
Storage Tips
Store the sliders in an airtight container for up to 4 days. When you are ready to reheat you can slowly reheat them in the oven at 200 degrees F until heated through or heat them in the air fryer at 350 degrees F for about 5 minutes or until heated through.
Recipe FAQ
Yes this will save time! Cook the taco beef up to 2–3 days ahead and store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
I suggest that you use slider buns, mini brioche buns, Hawaiian rolls—they hold up well and toast nicely.
Make sure that you drain the beef after cooking. The fat/grease can cause the sliders to get soggy.
Other Beef Recipes
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Taco Beef Sliders
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lb. ground beef {I like to use 80/20}
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 of a small sweet onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, seeds remove, diced
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 3 tablespoons salsa or taco sauce
For the sliders:
- 1 package of 12 slider buns or 1 package of King’s Hawaiian rolls
- 1 1/2 cups colby jack shredded cheese
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon taco seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- Fresh salsa for garnish
- Fresh cilantro, chopped
- Shredded lettuce for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the garlic and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the red onion and bell pepper and saute for another 3-4 minutes.
- Once the beef is cooked through drain the fat and return to the skillet. Stir in the taco seasoning and salsa or taco sauce. Remove the beef from the stove.
- Grease and line a 9” x 13” casserole dish or spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.
- Cut the sandwich roll sheet in half through the middle and lay the bottom half of the sandwiches in the casserole dish or lay the bottom of the slider buns down.
- Toast the bottom of the buns in the oven for 3-4 minutes before adding the beef. This helps to prevent the bottom of the buns from getting soggy.
- Layer on the ground beef mixture followed by the shredded cheese. Place the top half of the rolls or buns on top of the cheese.
- Melt the butter in a small bowl. Use a brush to brush the butter mixture over the buns.
- In another small bowl mix together the garlic powder, onion powder, taco seasoning, salt and pepper. Sprinkle the spice mixture over the buns.
- Cover the casserole dish or baking sheet with foil and bake for 15-20 minutes, until butter is fully absorbed. Uncover and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes, or until the top of the buns are lightly browned {watch to make sure they don’t burn}.
- Remove from oven and garnish with your favorite toppings like shredded lettuce, cilantro and salsa.
- Store in an airtight container. Reheat on low in the oven or in an air fryer.
Notes
- You can use a variety of cheese options like mozzarella cheese, pepper jack, cotija cheese or sharp cheddar cheese.
- Feel free to spice these up with hot sauce, jalapeños or crushed red pepper.
Today’s post is sponsored by the Ohio Beef Council. As always, opinions are 100% my own.
