Every taco filling has its moment, but some are simply better than others. Here are twenty, ranked from solid to transcendent, with a note on what each one does best.
20 to 16: dependable
- Ground beef. The weeknight standard. Fast, familiar, forgiving.
- Grilled chicken breast. Fine, lean, and easily dried out. Thighs would rank higher.
- Refried beans. Cheap, comforting, and a perfect supporting player.
- Roasted cauliflower. Charred edges do a lot of work here.
- Black bean and sweet potato. Sweet, earthy and genuinely satisfying.
15 to 11: very good
- Pollo asado. Marinated, grilled, and far better than plain chicken.
- Mushroom asada. Meaty, savory and the best vegan swap on most menus.
- Nopales. Bright, tangy and criminally underused outside Mexico.
- Chorizo. Spicy, fatty and best mixed with potato to balance it.
- Rajas con crema. Roasted poblano strips in cream. Quietly excellent.
10 to 6: excellent
- Shrimp. Fast-cooking and perfect with chipotle crema.
- Baja fried fish. Crunch, cabbage, crema and lime in balance.
- Lengua. Beef tongue, slow-cooked to a texture nothing else matches.
- Cochinita pibil. Achiote and citrus pork with pickled onion.
- Carne asada. Charred, salty, and the taco most people default to for a reason.
5 to 1: life-changing
- Suadero. Silky, confited beef that tastes like nothing else on a griddle.
- Barbacoa. Pit-cooked, tender, clean and deeply savory.
- Carnitas. The crisp-and-tender contrast is unbeatable when done right.
- Birria. Chile depth plus consomé for dipping.
- Al pastor. Spit-roasted, chile-marinated pork with pineapple. Still the champion.
How to argue with this list
Rankings depend on execution. Mediocre pastor loses to great chorizo every time. Use this as a guide for what to try next rather than a verdict on your favorite.
