Beef and Bean Taco Filling

This beef and bean taco filling is full of protein and fiber from lean ground beef and pinto beans! Delicious and homey flavor, plus it’s a great way to stretch a pound of ground beef to feed several people, without sacrificing any flavor. In fact, my family and I happen to like this beef and bean taco filling a lot more than your typical, American plain ground beef plus a seasoning packet taco filling. This recipe, on it’s own, is gluten and dairy-free. If that’s important for your diet, make sure to check the ingredients in your beef bullion or beef stock concentrate to make sure it doesn’t contain anything like whey protein or wheat!

A 1/2 cup of cooked pinto beans has almost 8 grams of protein and fiber, 37% of your daily value of folate, and 10% of your daily value of iron! Read more about the nutritional value of pinto beans here: https://bit.ly/3k4NnSB

I learned something recently. I’d always heard that salting beans during the cooking process makes them tough. But, apparently, that’s a myth! This recipe still doesn’t call for the cooking water to be salted though. They get plenty of salt from the beef bullion later.

You can use this beef and bean taco filling obviously, for hard or soft tacos. But, it’s also great for adding to burritos, nachos, or taco salad. You could even just serve this over a bed of rice for a different take on beans and rice. My personal favorite way to serve this is in soft corn tortillas (pictured) or my teff tortillas. I like the little street taco corn tortillas because small things are cute and I like cute things. Don’t ask me why I find tiny tortillas cute, I just do. Anyway, if you’re looking for a new take on a classic flour tortilla recipe, check out my recipe for teff tortillas! https://bit.ly/2Pf0aUe

Print Recipe

Beef and Bean Taco Filling

Author: Mary Ellis Cooking Method: Stove-Top

Difficulty: Easy Prep Time 480 mins Cook Time 75 mins Total Time 9 hrs 15 mins

Servings: 6

Ingredients

Servings

• 1 cup dry pinto beans
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 medium onions
• 1 tbsp neutral oil (like corn, peanut, avocado, or canola oil)
• 1 lb lean ground beef (I use 90% or 92% ground beef)
• 1 tbsp ancho chili powder
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 2 tsp coriander
• pinch cinnamon
• ¹⁄₂ tsp oregano
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tsp beef stock concetrate or beef bullion
• 4 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional, can leave out entirely or replace with a 1/4 cup of cheese if you eat dairy)

Instructions

1. Soak pinto beans in a few cups of water for 6-8 hours.
2. Drain pinto beans, add to a pot with about 6 cups of water, half a peeled onion, and a bay leaf. Turn stove on high heat, bring to a boil.
   
3. Turn heat down to medium or medium low, cook beans at a gentle boil for about 45 minutes or until beans are soft. Remove from heat, drain, and set aside. Be sure to remove the onion and bay leaf.
   
4. Slice 1 1/2 onions and place in a large skillet with 1 tbsp of oil.
   
5. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally for about 7 minutes.
6. Add the ground beef, ancho chili powder, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, oregano, garlic powder, and onion powder to the skillet. Turn heat up to high.
   
7. Break up the beef well and cook on high, stirring often, until the liquid the beef releases cooks off and the beef and onions are lightly browned. Turn heat down to low.
   
8. Add 1/2 a cup of water to the skillet along with the beans, beef bullion, Worcestershire sauce, and nutritional yeast. Stir
   
9. Simmer for 5 minutes
   
10. Serve!