Those tacos dorados are made with a delicious potato and beef mixture and then fried to perfection. They are tasty, budget-friendly, and perfect for any day of the week for a family meal.
Tacos dorados are a popular Mexican dish consisting of folded or rolled tortillas that are filled with various ingredients, such as shredded meat, cheese, or potatoes. The filled tortillas are then deep-fried until they become crispy and golden brown.
The name tacos dorados translates to golden tacos, which refers to their crispy, fried texture and nice color.
Once fried, they are usually served with various toppings such as lettuce, onions, cream, and cheese, then generously drizzled with a flavorful consome tomato sauce.
Ingredients
- Tortillas: Use medium size tortillas, I recommend corn tortillas because they become crispier when fried.
- Oil: Any frying oil works fine, I like to use sunflower or corn oil.
- Beef: You can make my recipe for shredded beef or use leftovers from other preparations.
- Fresh produce: Potatoes, tomatoes, onion, and serrano or jalapeño peppers.
- Spices: Ground cumin, salt, and pepper.
The tomato sauce is made with fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, and spices like Mexican oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper.
For toppings, I used shredded lettuce, Mexican crema (or substitute with sour cream), queso fresco, and pickled onions. Feel free to use any topping you prefer!
How To Make Tacos Dorados
Make the salsa
Roast tomatoes, onions, and garlic. You can also toast some chilies for a bit of heat, but this is optional.
Once done, place everything into a blender and add two cups of water. Blend until you’ll have a smooth sauce.
Heat some oil over medium heat in a medium pot. Add sauce and season with salt, pepper, cumin, and oregano.
Bring to a boil then set the heat to low. Let the consomé sauce simmer for about 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings to taste and set aside.
Make the filling
Peel and cut the potatoes into small chunks. Cook them in salted water until nicely tender.
Heat some olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add onions and chili peppers and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes, season with cumin, salt, and pepper, then cook everything for 3 minutes.
Stir in the shredded beef. Add potatoes and smash them well with a potato masher. Use a little bit of water to smooth a little the mixture.
Adjust seasonings to taste and turn off the heat.
Assemble & fry the tacos
Heat the tortillas on a skillet or comal until soft and pliable. Wrap them in a kitchen towel to keep them warm.
Place a flat tortilla on a working surface and spread two tablespoons of the potato and meat mixture in the middle. Fold them into a half-moon or roll them, however you prefer.
Repeat to make all your tacos.
Heat about 1.5-inch vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat. Working in batches, fry the tacos on all sides until nicely golden and crispy.
Tip: Use a spatula to firmly press down the tortilla edges while frying, to prevent tacos from opening.
Remove the tacos dorados from the pan and place them on a plate lined with paper towels to absorb excess oil.
Garnish and serve
Place tacos on serving plates. Top with lettuce and pickled onions, then generously drizzle with the tomato sauce. Add a dollop of cream and sprinkle with cheese. Enjoy!
Tips & Notes
- When stuffing the mixture into the tortilla make sure is nicely placed in the middle and not too near to the edges or it will fall out when frying the tacos.
- For perfectly fried tacos dorados with a nice crunch, don’t overfill the tortillas overfilling can cause them to burst during frying.
- Make sure there’s enough oil to submerge the tacos completely. Frying should be even, and the tacos should float in the oil. Pan-fried won’t work for this recipe if you want your tacos to have an even crunch.
- Check out that oil is nicely heated up before adding the tacos or they will absorb too much grease.
- Add them carefully to the hot oil, place them in a spatula then slice them into the oil.
Recipe Variations
- With chicken: Replace shredded beef with shredded chicken, you can use a rotisserie chicken or boil one or two chicken breasts.
- Vegetarian: Use sautéed mushrooms or zucchini instead of meat.
- Bake: You can brush the tacos with a little bit of olive oil, secure them with toothpicks, then place them in a single layer on a baking tray and bake at 400°F (200°C) for about 10 minutes or until golden and crispy.
- Other toppings: Feel free to add other toppings such as slices of avocado, diced onions, fresh tomatoes or pico de gallo, and sliced radishes.
What To Serve With Deep Fried Tacos
Even though those tacos are perfect on their own with various toppings, you can also serve them with other sides.
- My favorite way of serving them is with sopa de fideo or conchitas soup, they just make the perfect side!
- If you want to include more veggies, try a side of calabacitas or top them with this nopales salad.
- Other salsas are perfect to serve with, like green tomatillo salsa or guacamole salsa.
Looking for more ideas? Check my What to Serve With Tacos guide and choose over 20 recipes for inspiration!
How To Store And Reheat
- Leftovers: Store them for up to 4 days in an air-tight container. To reheat them pop them into the oven at 400°F (200°C) for 4-5 minutes.
- Make ahead: You can make the meat and potato mixture 2-3 days ahead and store it in the fridge in a container well covered.
- Freeze: The beef and potato mixture freezes well for up to 3 months in a bag or container.
FAQ
What is the difference between tacos dorados and flautas?
Even though most people will say that tacos dorados are folded and flautas rolled, the truth is that in some regions of Mexico, the names are interchangeable as both dishes share similar preparation and ingredients such as being filled with the same ingredients, deep-fried, and served with the same toppings.
More Tacos Recipes
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Tacos Dorados
Ingredients
- 25 corn tortillas (medium size)
- 2 cups shredded beef meat
- 1 pound potatoes (peeled and cut into chunks)
- 1 medium tomato (diced)
- 1 small onion (chopped)
- 1 jalapeno pepper (chopped)
- pinch of ground cumin
- salt and pepper
- vegetable oil (as needed)
For salsa
- 3 medium tomatoes
- ½ small onion
- 3 arbol chilies (optional)
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 Tablespoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- salt and pepper (to taste)
For toppings
- Pickled onions
- lettuce (shredded)
- Mexican crema (or sour cream)
- queso fresco (or any cheese you prefer)
Instructions
Make the tomato salsa
- Roast tomatoes, onions, garlic, and chilies.
- Place into a blender and add two cups of water. Blend until you’ll have a smooth sauce.
- Heat the oil over medium heat in a sauce pot. Add sauce, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper.
- Allow the salsa to simmer for about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside.
Make the filling
- Boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain and keep aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat. Sauté onions, tomatoes, and peppers for 3 minutes.
- Season with cumin, salt, and pepper to taste.
- Add shredded beef and potatoes. Use a potato mashed to mash the potatoes and combine with the other ingredients.
- Adjust seasonings and remove from heat. Allow to slightly cool down.
Assemble & fry
- Warm tortillas on a skillet or pan until soft and pliable. Put them between a kitchen cloth to keep them warm.
- Place a flat tortilla on a surface, and spread two tablespoons of the meat and potato mixture in the middle.
- Fold the filled tortilla into a half-moon. Or you can also roll them to make taquitos.
- Repeat with all tortillas and filling.
- Heat about 1 ½ inches of oil on a frying pan and fry tacos until golden and crispy. Use a spatula to press down the edges while frying, to prevent tacos from opening.
- Remove tacos and place them onto a plate with paper towels to absorb excess oil.
Garnish and serve
- Place tacos on serving plates. Top with lettuce and pickled onions, then generously drizzle with the tomato sauce. Add a dollop of cream and sprinkle with cheese. Serve.
Notes
- Don’t overfill the tortillas overfilling can cause them to burst during frying.
- Make sure there’s enough oil to submerge the tacos completely.
- Check out that oil is nicely heated up before adding the tacos or they will absorb too much grease.
- Add them carefully to the hot oil, place them in a spatula then slice them into the oil.
We had tacos dorados last night and paired it with your delicious consome. They were delicious, and everyone loved them. It was so easy to prepare and it’s also budget-friendly!
I made these tacos dorados and let me tell you that they were the best I ever had! the filling is really flavorful, nothing I had before. Definitely those are now my favorite tacos dorados for life.
My favorite tacos ever are indeed tacos dorados. I like them just with potatoes but the beef mixture seems delicious too.