These wonton taco cups are the perfect appetizer or fun twist on taco night! Layers of seasoned beef and cheese are baked in layers of wontons in a cupcake pan, then finished off with your favorite taco toppings.
How cute are these taco cupcakes? They’re as much fun to make as they are to eat, and make a delicious and hearty snack for any occasion.
Tacos are one of my family’s favorite foods to eat – there are endless ways to mix and match the flavor combinations, and they’re all totally delicious! These taco cups are a fun play on tacos that use wonton wrappers instead of tortillas. The wontons are layered with meat and cheese and baked to crispy, gooey perfection.
How to make taco cups
The first step in making taco cups is to cook up your meat. I use 90% lean ground beef, although ground turkey will also work. The meat is flavored with taco seasoning and a can of petite diced tomatoes. It’s important to use the petite diced tomatoes so that you don’t have giant chunks of tomato in your taco cups.
After your meat is ready, it’s time to build your taco cupcakes! The first layer is wonton wrappers which get pressed into the wells of a muffin tin.
After that, you’ll add a layer of meat and shredded cheese.
Then you’re going to repeat the process by stacking a second layer of wonton, meat and cheese on top of the first. From there the taco cups get baked until the cheese is melted and the wontons are golden brown.
You actually can just eat the taco cups as-is from here, but I do like to add a few more toppings. I finish my taco cups with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of fresh tomatoes and green onions. Other great topping choices are diced avocado, chopped cilantro, sliced olives or minced red onion.
I love that these taco cups feed a crowd, they’re perfect for birthday parties, Taco Tuesday, football parties or just for any time you have a taco craving!
More Mexican appetizer ideas
Taco Cups
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef I use 90% lean
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- salt to taste
- 1 14 ounce can petite diced tomatoes drained
- 24 wonton wrappers
- 1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions
- 1/4 cup diced fresh tomatoes
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat.
- Add the beef to the pan. Use a spatula to break up the meat, stirring constantly. Add the taco seasoning and salt to taste. You may not need to add salt if your brand of taco seasoning already contains salt.
- Cook the meat for 4-5 minutes or until cooked through. Stir in the canned tomatoes.
- Coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray. Place one wonton wrapper into the bottom of each muffin cup.
- Spoon approximately 1 tablespoon of meat into each cup and top with approximately 2 teaspoons of cheese.
- Place a second wonton layer on top of the cheese, then add the remaining meat and cheese across all the muffin cups.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until edges are browned and cheese is melted.
- Top each taco cup with a small dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of green onions and tomato, then serve.
Notes
- Recipe adapted from Kevin and Amanda.
- 93% lean ground turkey may be substituted for the ground beef.
Canฬ these be re-heated. I need to transport them to a friend’s and they won’t be eaten immediately.
You could possibly try cooking them and then reheating and adding the toppings after they’ve been reheated, but I’ve never tried this myself so I’m not sure if it will work!
Great recipe! My kids loved it
I found it a little bland as written. I used a can of rotel and 1/2 package of taco seasoning mix to spice it up a bit.
Recipe was delicious! I baked the wontons first after doubling them. Besides the other ingredients I added a can of refried beans to meat mixture then added a whole pkg. of taco seasoning topped with cheese and baked.
Everyone loved them.
What a wonderful twist on a staple dish. These were great tasting and super easy to make. Highly recommend making this for Taco night!!
This recipe was so easy! It was a huge hit! I did add a diced jalapeno and used cheddar gruyere cheese (that was what I had on hand), and low sodium taco seasoning and the taste was wonderful!
Very good
Easy & delicious. Kids love them.
Excellent
Made this recipe for the family tonight and they loved it. I had most of the ingredients already on hand making this dish simple and fast to come together. Got a thumbs up from both the kids and hubby. lโll definitely be making this again!