Ground Pork Makes Tacos the Perfect Weeknight Meal
When life happens, or when the craving strikes, you need pork tacos asap and that’s where these ground pork tacos come in. They take under 20 minutes to make, which is even faster than our quick pork tenderloin tacos.
- Quick and easy to prepare: Ready in 20 minutes.
- Uses simple kitchen ingredients: You likely have them in your pantry or spice cabinet.
- Rich Mexican-Inspired flavor: With bold spices and tangy pickled onions that make them authentic.
- Easy to customize: With your favorite toppings and tortillas.
Move over Korean beef tacos because I’ve got an equally flavorful recipe done in under 30 minutes.
Looking for more tacos? Try Korean shredded beef tacos, Birria tacos, chorizo tacos, or pork tenderloin tacos next.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Ground pork: be sure to check the package label for added sugars or corn starch. We like to buy organic and antibiotic-free Heritage pork whenever possible.
- Taco spices: we like to create our own taco seasoning with chili powder, cumin, kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and dried oregano.
- Honey: it caramelizes to give you crispy pork.
- Lime juice: the acid balances out the savoriness from the fat and sweetness from the honey.
How to Make Ground Pork Tacos
- Make the quick pickled onions (optional): Thinly slice red onions and soak in vinegar, sugar, and salt. Let sit while you cook the pork.
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently until soft and translucent. Add garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Push the onion and garlic to the side and place the ground pork in the pan. Break the pork up into small bits and brown fully.
- Let it sit in the hot pan, without stirring, for 2-3 minutes so the pork crisps, then stir and repeat 1-2 more times until it’s as crispy as you’d like it. Add the seasoning and honey and continue to cook.
- Remove meat from the heat and add lime juice. Serve the tacos with warm corn or flour tortillas and your favorite toppings.
Love ground pork? Make ground pork stir fry or pork lettuce wraps next!
Topping Ideas
- Salsa: Fresh, store-bought, or my our pineapple salsa with pork tacos.
- Avocado: healthy guacamole, avocado crema or sliced avocado.
- Cheese: Try grated cheese, such as cheddar or Monterey Jack, or crumbled Mexican cheese like Cotija or queso fresco.
- Lettuce or cabbage: Shredded lettuce or cabbage adds a crunchy texture and fresh flavor to tacos.
- Cilantro: Fresh cilantro leaves add a bright, herbaceous flavor to tacos, especially on carne asada tacos.
- Pickled red onion: the acid in these offsets the pork really well. Skip down to the recipe card for a quick recipe.
Wash them down with a Moscow mule with tequila or mango margaritas.
Storage Instructions
Storing: Allow leftovers to cool completely then transfer the taco meat to an airtight container or resealable plastic bag. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days. (I don’t recommend storing assembled tacos. Store the ground pork, tortillas, and taco toppings separately and assemble when you’re ready to eat.)
Freezing: Ground pork taco meat freezes well for up to 3 months.
Reheating: When you’re ready to eat it, reheat it thoroughly in the microwave or in a nonstick skillet over medium heat.
More Easy Pork Recipes
Watch How to Make Them
Ground Pork Tacos
These ground pork tacos are juicy, zesty, and ready in under 30 minutes. The pork is browned until slightly crispy, then tucked into warm tortillas and topped with bright quick-pickled onions. Perfect for a weeknight dinner or a fun taco night spread!
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Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
Quick Mexican Pickled Onions
- 1 cup thinly sliced red onion (1/2 large onion)
- 2 Tablespons lime juice (1 lime)
- 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, honey, or agave
Ground Pork Tacos
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 small yellow or red onion diced
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 lb ground pork (Note 1)
- 3 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon EACH: cumin and kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon EACH: garlic powder, onion powder, paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon honey or agavee
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 lime)
- 8 6-inch flour or corn tortillas (Note 2) for serving
- Toppings: queso fresco, cotija cheese, avocado crema, sliced avocado, cilantro, pickled red onion
Instructions
- Make the pickled red onions, if using. Place all of the ingredients in a medium bowl or glass jar and let them sit at room temperature, stirring once or twice, while you make the ground pork.1 cup thinly sliced red onion, 2 Tablespons lime juice, 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, honey, or agave
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once it’s hot, add the onion and cook, stirring frequently for 2-3 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the minced garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.1-2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 small yellow or red onion, 2 cloves minced garlic
- Push the onion and garlic to the side and place the ground pork in the pan. Use a meat smasher or spatula to break the pork up into small bits. Continue to cook, mixing the pork with the onions and garlic, until no pink remains.1 lb ground pork (Note 1)
- When the pork is almost done, let it sit in the hot pan, without stirring, for 2-3 minutes so the pork crisps, then stir and repeat 1-2 more times until it's as crispy as you'd like it. Be careful not to crisp it too much or it will end up tough and chewy.
- Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the seasoning and honey and continue to cook until completely combined.3 teaspoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon EACH: cumin and kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon EACH: garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, 1 tablespoon honey or agavee
- Remove the tacos from the heat and stir in the lime juice.2 tablespoons lime juice
- Serve the ground pork with flour or corn tortillas (Note 2). Top with crumbled Queso fresco, Cotija cheese, cilantro, or pickled red onion.8 6-inch flour or corn tortillas (Note 2), Toppings: queso fresco, cotija cheese, avocado crema, sliced avocado, cilantro, pickled red onion
Last step! If you make this, please leave a review letting us know how it was!
Notes
Note 1. Ground pork. Try to find a minimally processed ground pork without any added sugar or corn syrup.
Note 2. Corn Tortillas. Place a corn tortilla directly on top of the grates of a gas range. Turn the heat to medium-high, or until the flame just lights the outer ring. Char on both sides for 1-2 minutes, using tongs to flip them. Remove them to a plate lined with a tea towel. Repeat with all of the tortillas then wrap the tea towel around the tortillas to keep them warm. Don’t have a gas range? Try the oven method we used in our buffalo cauliflower tacos to warm them.
Toppings. we love our avocado crema on top for a cooling element.
Storage. Allow leftovers to cool completely then transfer the taco meat to an airtight container or resealable plastic bag. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Ground pork taco meat freezes well for up to 3 months.
*I don’t recommend storing assembled tacos. Store the ground pork, tortillas, and taco toppings separately and assemble when you’re ready to eat.
*Nutrition information includes taco meat and corn tortillas
Video
Equipment
- Skillet or saute pan
Nutrition
Serving: 2tacos | Calories: 565kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 1115mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 466IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 131mg | Iron: 4mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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These were SO delicious! We lived in South Texas and recently moved back to OH. We have missed a great street taco since then and THIS recipe hit the spot! We topped with the pickled onion, cilantro, queso fresco and a little Serrano hot sauce. We will be keeping this for our weekly rotation!
OMG what a compliment!! Thank you so much! Love when I make it into the rotation:)
Delicious! We’re can’t eat a lot of beef so I was searching for a pork taco recipe. This is definitely going in the rotation.
I did used already picked red onions but otherwise, followed the recipe.
Thanks, Heather!
I made this for my boyfriend and I because it was a quick easy recipe and we’re both busy college students. It has quickly become one of our favorite recipes, and he even loves the pickled red onions despite not being huge on onions or pickled foods! The tacos are great, and they’re even better with the cotija cheese, cilantro, and the pickled red onion on them. It is super easy to make and extremely delicious too!
Thank you, Mahala! We love the red onion on them too. Thanks for sharing.
Delish! I made this for my husband and myself and man was it a favorite. Will be making again. The pickled onions were the highlight. So delicious. We used goat cheese and it was so yummy with the sweetness of the pork.
Really good! Added a small minced red jalapeno to the onions and garlic. We just happened to have habanero pickled onions leftover from Cochinita Pibil, so we used those, which were spicy and a little citrusy. With lime, cabbage, avocado, cilantro, radishes and queso fresco, these tacos were sweet-savory and delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Yum, Heidi!!! Those pickled onions sound incredible. Thanks for taking the time to comment and rate the recipe!
These were really tasty! I definitely used the pickled red onions as I love pickled onions and also used the avocado crema. I think I will try with salsa next time but the pork mince makes a good base for using any toppings of choice. Great recipe!
The pickled red onions are my favorite!! Thanks, Debbie!
Wow was this ever good! With the pickled onions and some cotija cheese it was delicious. We’ll definitely be making this again.
The meat was pretty bland. I had to add a lot of seasoning.