Learn the easy way to make walking tacos. A walking taco is taco meat served in a bag of Fritos with your favorite taco toppings. A fun family dinner or perfect party recipe!
Taco night can get boring with the same routine, but when you serve it in a bag of chips it's fun for everyone! Try this walking taco recipe as a fun party food or for game day!
What is a Walking Taco?
A walking taco is a taco in a bag of chips. It's simply taco meat placed in a Frito or Dorito chips and served individually so everyone can add their own favorite taco toppings. The "walking" part means you can walk around eating your taco in a bag making it the perfect party food.
I found Sam's Club as the best place to buy individual Frito bags. (You want the 1 oz. bags.) They had the best price and quantity, but it does include a mixture of Doritos as well. I like this because we use both. If you want a large quantity of Frito bags only, this choice on Amazon is good.
Taco Meat Ingredients
- Ground beef - I like to use the 80/20 for more flavor but you can use a leaner variety.
- Taco seasoning - Use two (1 oz. each) packets of taco seasoning. Or use 4 tablespoons of my homemade taco seasoning.
- Beef broth - Or you can use water if you do not have broth on hand.
Walking Taco Toppings
- Shredded lettuce
- Salsa
- Diced avocado
- Sour cream
- Shredded cheese (cheddar, pepperjack, Mexican flavors, etc)
- Diced tomatoes
- Diced onions
- Fresh cilantro
- Guacamole
- Jalapenos
- White cheese dip
You certainly do not need to set out all of these toppings. Choose your favorites!
How to Make a Walking Taco
This is one of the easiest party food ideas! Follow the tips below to make a walking taco bar:
- Cook taco meat. Make a large batch of taco meat for a crowd and leave in a slow cooker on the warm setting or over low heat in a pot on the stove.
- Choose toppings. Set out various taco toppings in individual bowls with serving utensils.
- Cut tops off bags of chips. Place individual sized bags of Fritos and Doritos in a basket at the beginning of the food table. (Cut the top off the bags ahead of time to make it easier for your guests.)
- Guests assemble their own walking taco. Tell everyone to grab a bag of chips, then spoon in taco meat and their choice of toppings. Make sure they have forks! (Plastic forks are perfect.)
Click here for full recipe ingredients and step by step instructions.
How to Serve Walking Tacos
Chili: You might hear some people call this Frito pie, especially when using chili meat instead of taco meat. I use both, depending on what I feel like making. When I have leftover chili or taco soup, I might decide to use the leftovers and serve this for dinner another night that week. But, if I am specifically planning to make walking tacos, then I'll use my favorite taco meat recipe.
Meat: Don't feel like you're limited to ground beef taco meat for these! You can also use chicken, beef barbacoa, pork, or go vegetarian.
Game Day Food: I can't stress enough how perfect this walking taco recipe is for game day. Everyone loves being able to walk around with their "taco" while socializing with friends.
Camping: Walking tacos is a great meal when camping with friends. We bring our crock pot of taco meat and set out the taco toppings for everyone to make their own. It's easy to clean up because everyone just throws away their bag and plastic fork.
More Party Recipes
Try some of our other favorite party recipes:
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This article was originally published October 2020 and updated with no changes to the recipe in February 2022.
Recipe Card
Walking Taco Recipe
Ingredients
For the ground beef taco meat:
- 2 lb ground beef
- 2 packets taco seasoning (or 4 tablespoons of your favorite taco seasoning)
- ⅔ cup water or beef broth
For serving:
- 12 individual bags of Fritos and Doritos
- shredded lettuce
- salsa
- diced tomatoes
- diced avocado
- diced onions
- sour cream
- shredded cheese
- white cheese dip (try this recipe)
- fresh cilantro
Instructions
For the taco meat:
- Brown beef in a medium skillet over medium high heat; drain. Add taco seasoning with water (or broth), let simmer 10 minutes. Keep warm over low heat or transfer to small crock pot.
To serve:
- Set out desired toppings in separate small serving bowls with serving utensils. Cut tops off chip bags. Instruct guests to grab an open bag of chips and fill with taco meat and desired toppings, then eat out of the bag with a fork.
Notes
- This recipe includes instructions and ingredients for ground beef taco meat, but feel free to substitute with your favorite taco meat (chicken, barbacoa, pork, etc.).
- Instead of taco meat, try using leftover chili!
- Use your favorite taco toppings from the list, or any that are not listed.
- Nutrition information is an estimate of the taco meat only. Will vary depending on types of chips used, amount of meat added to bag, and toppings chosen.
