Taco Balls: Think delicious tacos but meatloaf or meatball style. An easy and sensational dinner from my friend Crazy Kim.
Oh Taco Balls, how I love you! This recipe comes from my friend Crazy Kim. Every woman needs at least one girlfriend who’s name you can put “crazy” in front of. Kim is that person in my life. Crazy, full of fun, laughs out loud all the time and always reminds me to grab life by the horns. This is the girl that hiked the 100 mile wilderness on the Appalachian trail pregnant. You can’t not be inspired by her!
Taco Balls
Kim brought us Taco Balls after Jack was born. I had heard from our mutual friend about this strange dinner and was not sure quite what to think. It turned out to be amazing! We love all things Mexican food but this was over the top great. We may or may not have stuffed ourselves…
Taco Balls is simply seasoned meat balls (similar to meat loaf) that are essentially taco flavored. We eat them on a plate with fixings or stuffed into fresh tortillas. You can bake them up and freeze them to for later. Leftovers reheat very well too. This has become one of our staple dinners!
Tools In This Post: I make Mexican Rice all the time because it takes me five minutes to toss it into my rice cooker. I don’t believe in owning an appliance for every kitchen task but this one is well worth it. We use ours several times a week!
I always serve Taco Balls with this amazing Guacamole and my famous simple Restaurant Style Mexican Rice.
Taco Balls: An Easy Dinner Where Tacos and Meatloaf Meet
Ingredients
To Make The Taco Balls
- 1 lbs hamburger no more than 10% fat
- 1/2 cup chopped onions
- 1 package of taco seasoning or what you usually use for 1 lbs of beef
- 1 tsp. garlic salt or onion salt
- 1 cup of cooked Mexican or white rice
- 2 eggs beaten
- 12 oz bottle of red or green taco sauce any brand, whatever level of heat you like
- 1 can of condensed cheese soup I use Campbell's
- 8 - 12 oz shredded Mexican cheese blend or whatever cheese you love for tacos
Serve With Your Favorite Taco Toppings
- additional Mexican Rice
- tortillas we love to stuff warm tortillas with taco balls
- chips
- guacamole
- salsa
- sour cream
- onions
- tomatoes
- olives
- lettuce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 and spray a 9x9 baking dish with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Crumble the beef into a bowl. Add the chopped onions, taco seasoning, garlic or onion salt, rice and eggs.
- If desired use food service gloves or spray your hands with nonstick cooking spray. Use your hands to mix the contents of the bowl until combined but do not over mix.
- Divide the meat into 9 portions and form into balls. Place in the prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the taco sauce and cheese soup. After the balls have baked for 20 minutes spoon the sauce over the balls. Sprinkle the cheese over the top and bake another 20 minutes.
Notes
The Better Baker
Question: Did you freeze it with the sauce on it or added that after they were thawed? Thanks –
Mirlandra
I froze it with the sauce!
Mary
Thanks for another great share at Weekend Potluck, Mirlandra! Your Taco Balls are featured today at Weekend Potluck! We hope you have time to stop by the party and share more of your wonderful recipes.
Have a great Friday!
Mirlandra
Thanks so much. I love hanging out with you all at WP!
Aileen
Hope you had a good Mother’s Day! Your first one! 🙂
Mirlandra
Thanks, I did!
Katie
HI,
Made this last night and we just loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I made a package of Knott’s Spanish rice and halved the recipe to add the 1 cup to the meat balls and the other half as the side dish (there is just the two of us). Made as is and we just loved it! And wow, what a great recipe to make a pound of meat go far! Was able to save and freeze two more meals!!!! This is a do again! Wouldn’t change a thing!
Mirlandra
Thanks, Katie! It made me smile to see this today. I know how great it is to find a dinner you both love to add to the rotation. So glad you enjoyed it so much!
Jen Roman
These were awesome! Everyone agreed that they are way better than normal tacos!! The only changes I made were to sauté the onion first, and then I only used about 6 oz of taco sauce with the cheese soup (and this was enough to cover 2lbs worth of meatballs). I did bake them for the first 20 min on a cooling rack to allow the fat to drip off too. So delicious–will be on our regular rotation list for sure! Thanks so much for this ?
Mirlandra
You are welcome! I like to cook the onion sometimes first too. Glad it is a win for your family!