Main Dishes
Oven Baked Tacos
Prep
30 minutes
Cook
40 minutes
Yield
6
These deliciously crunchy and flavorful oven-baked tacos are the perfect meal for a quick lunch or dinner that will please the whole family. These tacos are made with walnut beef and can easily be made vegan.
Why you’ll love these baked tacos:
- Short Prep: Prep this baked tacos recipe in just 30-minutes and have them on the table in just over an hour
- Versatile: Fill these oven-baked tacos with whatever fillings your family loves or let them make their own. You can also substitute the protein to be walnut beef, tofu, ground beef, or shredded chicken.
- Vegan: This recipe is vegan-friendly but can easily be made vegetarian or even be adapted for meat-eaters
Ingredient Notes:
Walnut Beef: I love this easy walnut beef that has the consistency of meat but is made with walnuts and spices to achieve that taco flavor you love. Walnuts are also healthy for you so this adds a protein-packed health boost to this recipe.
Dairy: Use plant-based mozzarella cheese and egg substitutes to make these baked tacos completely vegan!
How to make this oven-baked tacos recipe:
- For the Spicy Walnut Meat, add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend till well combined and crumb-like. It will resemble and smell like taco meat. The texture will feel slightly moldable and easy to remove from the processor.
- To prepare avocados, grab to deep bowls and put the panko + seasonings in one and the egg of choice in the other.
- Take the prepared avocado and begin using one hand only to dip into the wet mixture then into the dry mixture. Place the dipped avocado onto a plate and repeat steps until each is coated.
- Grab a non-stick pan and heat the avocado oil on medium-high heat. This may take up to 2-3 minutes.
- Add the avocado slices to the hot oil, be very careful not to burn yourself or your surroundings. You may need to repeat this step twice, depending on the side of your pan. You do not want to overcrowd your pan. NOTE: Use a cloth when handling the pan and when flipping the avocado face the frying pan in the opposite direction you are facing/standing. Cook avocado for about 1 minute on each side or until perfectly golden. I suggest using tongs to flip avocado, not a spatula. Prepare a plate with a paper towel and place the cooked avocado onto this plate to soak up any excess oil.
- Preheat the oven to 400F and prepare a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Place 6 soft tortilla shells onto the baking tray and brush the tops with olive oil.
- Bake for 5 minutes until slightly golden.
- Flip the tortillas and evenly distribute the mozzarella cheese on top of all shells.
- Bake for another 5 minutes until the cheese is completely melted and turns golden on the edges.
- Remove the tray from the oven and place 2 tbsp of spicy walnut meat in the middle.
- Place 1 piece of fried avocado in the middle.
- Fold the tortilla shell over and press down so the taco holds its shape.
- Brush the top of the shell with olive oil and bake for another 5 – 8 minutes.
- Dice your red onion and tomato into small pieces. Cut cilantro leaves from the stems and set them aside.
- Remove the baked tacos from the oven.
- Garnish the baked tacos recipe with red onion, tomato, sour cream, salsa Verde, and fresh cilantro! YUM!!
Expert Tips & FAQ:
Why do bake hard taco shells? Baking taco shells really brings out the flavor of the corn and makes them so warm, crunchy, and delicious.
What is the order of filling a taco? You can really do it whatever way you choose. I like to add the sauce or spread first, then protein, then sprinkle with cheese and/or veggie toppings.
Can you bake taco shells in an air fryer? Yes! You can actually make your own crunchy taco shells in an air fryer by brushing the sides of corn tortilla with olive oil, draping it over a taco mold, and air frying at 400 for 4-6 minutes.
Serving: Serve the extra fried avocado pieces on the side of your baked tacos recipe or with dip!
Can I make these into nachos? Yes!! Use all of the same ingredients and turn this into nachos instead!!
Personalize: Add any extra toppings or seasonings you desire.
Storage: Store the elements of the tacos in the fridge separately for up to 1 week. Assemble, reheat in the oven, and garnish again to serve.
What if I’m not vegan? No problem! You can use regular cheese, eggs, and also add taco meat with taco seasoning vs. walnut beef.
Other recipes you’ll love:
- Shaved Brussel Sprout Salad
- White Bean Shepherd’s Pie
- Kale Quinoa Salad
- Asparagus Puff Pastry Bundles
- Zucchini Lasagna Recipe
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Oven Baked Tacos
Ingredients
- For the Avocado
- ½ - 1 cup Chosen Foods Avocado Oil
- 2 large avocados
- 1 egg or vegan egg
- 1 cup panko if GF, use GF bread crumbs
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- Pinch of salt + pepper
- For the Spicy Walnut Meat
- 1 ½ cups walnuts
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 ½ tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 2 tsp oregano
- 2 tsp basil
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp olive oil
- ½ tsp red chili flakes
- ½ tsp cayenne pepper
- up to 2 tbsp water
- 6 small soft tortilla shells
- 2 ½ cups mozzarella cheese grated
- 1 medium tomato
- ½ medium red onion
- 2 sprigs green onion chopped
- sour cream
- salsa Verde
- cilantro
Instructions
- For the Spicy Walnut Meat, add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend till well combined and crumb-like. It will resemble and smell like taco meat. The texture will feel slightly moldable and easy to remove from the processor.
- To prepare the avocados, grab to deep bowls and put the panko + seasonings in one and the egg of choice in the other.
- Take the prepared avocado and begin using one hand only to dip into the wet mixture then into the dry mixture. Place the dipped avocado onto a plate and repeat steps until each is coated.
- Grab a non-stick pan and heat the avocado oil on medium-high heat. This may take up to 2-3 minutes.
- Add the avocado slices to the hot oil, be very careful not to burn yourself or your surroundings. You may need to repeat this step twice, depending on the side of your pan. You do not want to overcrowd your pan. NOTE: Use a cloth when handling the pan and when flipping the avocado face the frying pan in the opposite direction you are facing/standing. Cook the avocado for about 1 minute on each side or until perfectly golden. I suggest using tongs to flip the avocado, not a spatula. Prepare a plate with a paper towel and place the cooked avocado onto this plate to soak up any excess oil.
- Preheat the oven to 400F and prepare a baking tray with parchment paper.
- Place 6 soft tortilla shells onto the baking tray and brush the tops with olive oil.
- Bake for 5 minutes until slightly golden.
- Flip the tortillas and evenly distribute the mozzarella cheese on top of all shells.
- Bake for another 5 minutes until the cheese is completely melted and turns golden on the edges.
- Remove the tray from the oven and place 2 tbsp of spicy walnut meat in the middle.
- Place 1 piece of fried avocado in the middle.
- Fold the tortilla shell over and press down so the taco holds its shape.
- Brush the top of the shell with olive oil and bake for another 5 – 8 minutes.
- Dice your red onion and tomato into small pieces. Cut cilantro leaves from the stems and set them aside.
- Remove the tacos from the oven.
- Garnish the tacos with red onion, tomato, sour cream, salsa Verde, and fresh cilantro! YUM!!
