Crispy Potato Tacos

Potato Tacos are a simple and vegetarian Mexican dish made with creamy spiced mashed potatoes and cheese.

Fried Potato Tacos, also know as “Taquitos Dorados de Papa” or “Tacos de Papa” in spanish are also budget friendly and a favourite for any game day, Taco-Tuesday or vegetarian dinner ideas!

Mexican Crispy Potato Tacos

Fried potato tacos are a Mexican dish you’ll find them everywhere as street food or served in many restaurantes.

These tacos are a very popular recipe during Lent Season (Cuaresma) as they don’t contain any meat, but truth is, you can find them also all year around because they’re cheap, delicious and so easy to make!

The traditional recipe calls only for mashed potatoes seasoned with salt and that’s it. But some versions (like ours) include cheese mixed with potatoes and spices. So, you can even make your own version and add or replace with other spices if you want.

Potato Tacos Recipe

Wash potatoes throughly and place them into a large pot. Cover with water and boil them until very tender.

Transfer potatoes to a bowl and let them cool enough to handle, peel them and mash them with a potato masher to your desired consistency.

Ad to the bowl with potatoes crumbled cheese, paprika, cumin, pepper and garlic. Season with salt and mix until combined. Set aside.

Make tacos

Heat corn tortillas on a hot skillet or griddle until soft and pliable. Cover them with a clean kitchen towel to keep them warm.

Lay one tortilla flat and fill half with about 1 tablespoon of the potatoes mixture. Fold in half and and press down lightly so that tortilla sticks a bit to the potatoes and stays closed.

Place tacos in the refrigerator while continuing the recipe, this will make tortillas to “stale” a bit and make them easy to fry.

Make the sauce

Place tomatoes on a sauce pan and cover with water, boil until you see the skin is falling off. Reserve 2 cups of water and discard the rest.

Peel tomatoes, place them into a blender and add garlic, cumin and pepper. Pour in one cup of cooking water and blend until smooth.

In the same sauce pan heat oil over medium heat. Add sauce and let it sizzle for about half minute.

Add the remaining cooking water and season with salt and pepper. Let the sauce simmer for about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, adjust with salt and add oregano. Mix well and set aside.

Fry Tacos

Before starting, prepare a large plate or bowl with some paper towels.

Heat about 1.5 inch (4cm) oil on a frying pan over medium heat.

Carefully place 3 or 4 tacos into the oil, using a spatula firmly press down the edges of tacos while frying, to prevent them from opening.

Fry until both sides are golden and crispy, about 2 minutes per side. Remove the tacos from the hot oil and place them onto the plate with paper towels to absorb excess of oil.

Repeat the process until all tacos are fried.

Serve

Place tacos on plates and add lettuce on top, pour sauce and finish with onions and crumbled cheese. Serve immediately.

Super Tips

• If you want crispy and crunchy tacos use enough oil to fry them.
• Cooking potatoes with the skin on and without cutting them into chunks prevent them from absorbing too much water and forming bubbles that will splatter when tacos are frying in hot oil.
• Save time and make the mashed potatoes a couple days before assembling and preparing tacos.
• You can also assemble tacos and store them on zip bags in the freezer before frying. When you’ll need them you won’t need to thaw them, just fry them right ahead!

Other toppings you might like

Queso Fresco – Authentic Queso Fresco is something you may like to try sometimes.

Fake Guacamole Sauce – A Guacamole without avocado? Yes it’s possible and is also delicious!

Salsa Bandera – Also know as Pico de Gallo this sauce is perfect for Tacos Dorados.

Mexican Chili Oil – This is my favourite sauce for Fried Potato Tacos, is very spicy indeed but the flavour is amazing.