Tacos are the best weeknight dinner format because everyone customizes their own plate and nothing takes long. Here is how to run taco night when you have half an hour.
Five fillings under 30 minutes
- Ground beef picadillo: beef, onion, potato, cumin, tomato. 25 minutes.
- Chicken tinga: shredded rotisserie chicken simmered in chipotle and tomato. 15 minutes.
- Shrimp with chile and lime: 8 minutes total, the fastest option there is.
- Black bean and sweet potato: diced sweet potato roasted at 425°F while everything else happens. 25 minutes.
- Chorizo and potato: one pan, 20 minutes, universally popular with kids.
Prep once, eat three times
On Sunday, make one batch of salsa, one batch of pickled onions, and one pot of beans. Those three components turn any protein into a full meal for the rest of the week.
Shortcuts that are actually fine
- Rotisserie chicken instead of poaching your own.
- Canned black beans, rinsed and simmered with garlic and cumin for five minutes.
- Store-bought tortillas, warmed properly on a dry skillet.
- Bagged slaw mix in place of shredding cabbage.
Get kids involved
Put components in bowls and let everyone assemble. Picky eaters eat more when they build the plate, and you stop cooking three dinners.
The 10-minute emergency version
Canned black beans mashed with cumin, warmed tortillas, shredded cheese, salsa, and whatever vegetable is in the drawer. It is a real dinner and nobody will complain.
Browse our recipe collection and filter by difficulty for more fast options.
