Even my mushroom hating High School Guy ate and enjoyed several sneaky ground beef & mushroom tacos after I made him try a bite. “You’re right, mom! That’s so weird — you can’t even taste them.” So take it from him, and give this naturally gluten free (depending on toppings you choose) 30 minute weeknight dinner recipe a try for yourself!
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A friend recently told me that she always sneaks chopped mushrooms into her chili in order to bulk it out and help cut down on fat. Hmm, I thought: If it works in chili, why not try this in tacos?
This week’s Sunday Scratchups (your weekly recipe from scratch around grocery sales and affordable ingredients) therefore features Sneaky Ground Beef & Mushroom Tacos. To make these, I used clearance ground beef from my freezer, plus a mixture of organic baby bella mushrooms from Meijer (ten for $10 get the 11th item free!) and $.89 white mushrooms from ALDI.
Note that in the final product you can still see a few little bits of the white mushrooms, while the baby bella pretty much disappear into the meat. Depending on how sneaky you want to be, you might want to use all bella — and/or perhaps mince the mushrooms a little more finely than I did here. Packing mushrooms into your taco meat gives you extra B vitamins, potassium, selenium, and more, while helping bulk out the meat and add some umami richness to your finished tacos.
Sneaky Ground Beef & Mushroom Tacos
Ingredients
1-1.5 lbs ground beef
8-16 oz mushrooms
1/4 of a medium onion
1 Tbsp minced garlic (or 6 cloves)
1 Tbsp chili powder
1.5 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp cayenne
Black pepper, to taste
8 oz can tomato sauce
Directions
Brown ground beef over medium-high heat in a large skillet, stirring occasionally and breaking up as you go.
Meanwhile, pulse the mushrooms, onion, and garlic in your food processor until minced and nicely combined. (You’ll need to do this in a couple of batches.)
When the meat is mostly browned, stir in the mushroom mixture. Cook until completely browned, then drain the meat & mushroom mixture and return it to the pan.
Stir in spices and tomato sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve with your favorite taco fixings.
Note: Baby bella mushrooms will be easier to hide and add a little more meaty umami flavor, but either white or bella mushrooms will do. I used 8 oz of each in my tacos, since that’s what I had on hand today — or you could ease into the meat-and-mushroom idea with 8 oz total, then up the mushroom-to-meat ratio next time if no one notices.
Sneaky mushroom tacos are naturally gluten free
These ground beef & mushroom tacos are optionally gluten free and low carb, depending on the toppings and serving method you choose. (Try yours on a taco salad!) I’m going to call this recipe a win, because even my mushroom hating High School Guy ate and enjoyed several beef & mushroom tacos after I made him try a bite: “You’re right, mom! That’s so weird — you can’t even taste them.” So take it from him, and give this a try for yourself; the mushrooms do change the texture a bit, but the taco flavor is spot on.
Note that these juicy, flavorful tacos are not overly spicy, but you can either kick them up with a little more cayenne or dress them with taco sauce or hot sauce, if you prefer yours on the spicier side.
Sneaky Ground Beef & Mushroom Tacos, printable recipe
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5 from 2 votes
Sneaky Ground Beef & Mushroom Tacos
Even my mushroom hating High School Guy ate and enjoyed several beef & mushroom tacos after I made him try a bite. "You're right, mom! That's so weird -- you can't even taste them." So take it from him, and give this a try for yourself!
Course dinner
Total Time 30 minutes minutes
Servings 6
Author Rachel Singer
Ingredients
- 1-1.5 lbs ground beef
- 8-16 oz mushrooms
- 1/4 of a medium onion
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic or 6 cloves
- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 1.5 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- Black pepper to taste
- 8 oz can tomato sauce
Instructions
Brown ground beef over medium-high heat in a large skillet, stirring occasionally and breaking up as you go.
Meanwhile, pulse the mushrooms, onion, and garlic in your food processor until minced and nicely combined. (You'll need to do this in a couple of batches.)
When the meat is mostly browned, stir in the mushroom mixture. Cook until completely browned, then drain the meat & mushroom mixture and return it to the pan.
Stir in spices and tomato sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve with your favorite taco fixings.
Notes
Baby bella mushrooms will be easier to hide and add a little more meaty umami flavor, but either white or bella mushrooms will do. I used 8 oz of each in my tacos, since that's what I had on hand today -- or you could ease into the meat-and-mushroom idea with 8 oz total, then up the mushroom-to-meat ratio next time if no one notices.
Looking for completely vegetarian tacos instead?
Now that you’ve eased your way in, you can try stepping up to completely vegetarian tacos with this chipotle cauliflower tacos recipe!
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