10+ Creative Taco Recipes For Taco Night

If you bought too much taco seasoning mix or made too much homemade taco seasoning for these recipes and now you’re trying to figure out what else you can do with it, check out our list of Budget-Friendly Recipes Using Taco Seasoning (that aren’t tacos).

Creative Taco Recipes

Affiliate links are included in this post and Drugstore Divas may make a small commission if you use them.

These are all the taco and taco-adjacent recipes we currently have on Drugstore Divas. As we add more, we’ll update this list. So be sure to save it (bookmark it, pin it, however you save posts) and come back to it from time to time to see what’s new.

Lentil & Cauliflower Vegan Tacos

Don’t scroll past these tacos just because they’re vegan. You’ll be missing out on some of the tastiest tacos you’ve ever experienced.

The lentil and cauliflower mixture is delicious and is a good substitute for meat. And the mashed avocado perfectly balances it.

Just a quick note: If you want these for taco night, you have to plan ahead because the lentils need to be soaked overnight.

Taco Stuffed Peppers

If you’re looking for a really easy weeknight dinner, these taco stuffed peppers are it.

You get all the flavors of tacos in the filling, which is stuffed into bell peppers instead of taco shells.

All of the peppers are baked at the same time, which means everyone gets served at the same time too.

Taco Rice Casserole

Pete has a list of the top five things I make for dinner, and taco rice is on the top of the list. Any time he sees me grabbing the casserole pan, he asks if I’m making it. I’ve even made it for non-taco fans (of course, I didn’t know there were non-taco fans until I brought this out), and they were converted. It’s that good.

It’s cooked meat, uncooked rice, and a few taco essentials baked together in a casserole dish. That makes for quick cleanup, unlike tacos, which have a million little bowls to clean up after the meal is over.

Taco Pie With Crescent Rolls

If you want to enjoy tacos without any of the mess, this taco pie recipe is perfect.

It has all the classic taco ingredients — meat, refried beans, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and sour cream — but instead of being served individually in taco shells, you’re making a “pie” using crescent rolls as the base for all the yummy taco ingredients.

Make this once and it’s sure to be a new family favorite.

Taco Lasagna

Taco lasagna has so many components of traditional tacos — cheese, salsa, ground beef, and taco seasoning — made into a lasagna.

Yes. A lasagna. With lasagna noodles.

This recipe fills an entire baking pan, so you can feed the whole family.

Grilled Taco Burgers

Once you make this grilled taco burger, you’ll understand why it needs to be in your Taco Tuesday rotation this summer.

The ground beef is seasoned with taco seasoning, which gives it a great flavor. You eat this with a bun instead of a taco shell (I mean, it is a burger), and trust me, you won’t miss the hard shells (which fall apart anyway).

Top it with your favorite taco toppings: lettuce, sour cream, salsa, and (of course) cheddar cheese.

Slow Cooker Taco Soup

When you want tacos, but you also want soup, make this slow cooker taco soup.

This recipe uses ground chicken, which is able to absorb the flavors of all the other ingredients without adding a competing flavor. If you don’t want chicken, you can substitute ground turkey.

Don’t forget to add crushed tortilla chips and sour cream on top to add texture and creaminess.

Wonton Taco Cups

These wonton taco cups are a really fun one-bite appetizer idea for a party.

The entire taco is in a baked wonton wrapper, making them easy to grab and eat while you’re chatting with other party guests.

Homemade Taco Bowls

One of my favorite memories growing up is my mom making homemade taco shells. Those were honestly the best tacos ever. It wasn’t until I was older that I realized just how much work it is to make shells from scratch.

It’s so much work, but it’s so worth it.

These homemade taco bowls use that recipe, but instead of shells, you form the batter into a bowl shape for taco salad.

How To Throw A Taco Fiesta (Foolproof Menu For Beginners!)

If this is your first time making tacos and you need a little help, I got you. We all need to start somewhere, right?

This post gives you the most basic, traditional taco recipe and tips for making sure your first taco night is a success.

What To Serve With Tacos:

If you want to make some of these taco recipes, but you’re not sure what to serve with them, definitely make homemade guacamole and homemade salsa. You’ll also want to serve some tortilla chips on the side of those. We also really like cilantro lime rice and beans too. I usually do a can of refried beans, but we went out recently to a Mexican restaurant that made refried black beans, so that’s my new obsession.

If you’re not into tacos, but you want to make something Mexican(-ish) for dinner, check out our list of quesadilla recipes and nachos recipe for some more ideas.