Whether you prefer your tacos meaty, packed with seafood, or vegetarian, we have your next go-to taco recipe here. Some of our favorites include Birria Tacos and Chicken Tinga Tacos — we also love Chipotle-Rubbed Salmon Tacos and Fideos Secos Tacos. Read on for these and even more of our best taco recipes.
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Birria Tacos
A combination of tender chuck roast and succulent short ribs is marinated and then slow-cooked in adobo for lots of smoky flavor. Serve the tacos with onions and cilantro, lime wedges, and adobo broth.
Charred Chile–Marinated Grilled Chicken Tacos
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Nidia Cueva
Paired with homemade tortillas and fresh tomatillo salsa cruda, these tacos make for a next-level taco night. 2021 F&W Best New Chef Fermín Núñez builds layers of deep flavor by toasting and charring dried chiles, cinnamon, allspice, and onions for his smoky marinade.
Charred Cauliflower Tacos with Romesco Salsa
Greg Dupree / Food Styling by Margaret Monroe Dickey / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell
Sara Mardanbigi makes a smoky, mildly spicy romesco salsa from roasted red peppers and tomato. It serves as the ideal counterbalance for charred cauliflower florets in this vegetarian taco dish from 2020 F&W Best New Restaurant Nixta Taqueria in Austin. Pine nuts add crunch and richness to each bite.
Masa-Battered Fish Tacos with Citrus-Pickled Onions
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Julian Hensarling / Prop Styling by Claire Spollen
2023 F&W Best New Chef Isabel Coss uses masa both in her warm corn tortillas and in the batter for tender, flaky cod. To fill the taco, she tops a habanero-tinged orange aïoli with the fried fish, sliced avocado, citrus-pickled onions, and chopped cilantro, then serves with lime wedges and recommends salsa.
Al Pastor Fish Tacos
Chef Marcela Valladolid trades pork for white fish fillets, like red snapper, and serves these light, beachy al pastor tacos with the traditional raw white onions, cilantro, and avocado or guacamole.
Chorizo Breakfast Tacos
Morgan Hunt Glaze / Prop Styling by Josh Hoggle / Food Styling by Nicole Hopper
With a crisp, golden skirt made from pepper Jack, cilantro, and sliced jalapeño, these tacos are stuffed with a chorizo scramble for a festive breakfast that’ll become an instant favorite.
Carnitas Jackfruit Tacos
Caitlin Bensel / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Lydia Pursell
When chef and cookbook author Jocelyn Ramirez discovered that canned jackfruit could be the perfect vehicle to bring together Mexican flavors and plant-based cooking, a light bulb went off. By using the cumin, chile flakes, and salt that many Mexican home cooks already have in their pantries, Ramirez capitalized on the pulled pork texture of jackfruit to make her incredible “carnitas” tacos.
Fried Yuba Tacos with Sweet Corn Relish
Victor Protasio / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Heather Claire Spollen
Chef Bryant Terry rolls up thin sheets of tofu skin then fries them in avocado oil before layering them onto warm corn tortillas smeared with “green cream” — sautéed spinach stirred together with mashed avocado. A summery corn relish and lots of fresh toppings round these tacos out.
Baja Fried Shrimp Tacos
Food & Wine / Photo by Brie Goldman / Food Styling by Holly Dreesman / Prop Styling by Gabriel Greco
Torchy’s Tacos founder Mike Rypka makes the quintessential fried shrimp taco. Panko breadcrumbs provide epic crunch; a drizzle of tangy chipotle mayo and a scoop of warm cabbage slaw complete the dish.
Crispy Fish Tacos on Achiote Corn Tortillas
Matt Taylor-Gross / Food Styling by Barrett Washburne
In this recipe from chef Brooke Williamson, use masa harina and achiote paste to make homemade achiote tortillas. Then top with battered and fried cod, a tart remoulade, and crunchy kohlrabi slaw.
Chicken Tinga Tacos
Diana Chistruga
These smoky tinga tacos from chef Jenn Lewis are especially easy to make. The recipe calls for only a few simple ingredients, and you can braise the meat in the oven, in a casserole on the stove, or in a slow cooker.
Steak and Carrot Tacos
Cumin-tinged carrots are served in warm homemade tortillas with juicy, meaty skirt steak. Swap out the beef for roasted mixed mushrooms for a meat-free option.
Chile-Spiced Skirt Steak Tacos
Kelsey Hansen / Food Styling by Annie Probst / Prop Styling by Sue Mitchell
Jesse Vendley’s carne asada tacos from Calexico come together in just two steps and are ready in only 35 minutes. Serve with freshly made pico de gallo and avocado salsa for the ultimate taco meal.
Tempeh Tacos with Cabbage Slaw
Antonis Achilleos / Prop Styling by Christina Daley / Food Styling by Ali Ramee
Tempeh, a protein-rich fermented soy product that crumbles beautifully, is a wonderful ground meat alternative for vegan tacos. Enhance the filling with fresh bell pepper and onion, season with traditional taco spices, and finish with a refreshing red cabbage slaw.
Crispy Pork Tacos with Red Chile Salsa
Maria Sinskey cooks pork low and slow, then fries it in pork fat to crisp it up without drying it out. She combines three types of dried chiles to make a salsa with mild, sweet heat, which she uses to top her tacos alongside thinly sliced cabbage and cilantro. It’s a love letter to the Mexican cooking traditions that shape California cuisine.
Rajma (Kidney Bean Curry) Tacos
Rachel Vanni / Food Styling by Judy Haubert
Creamy, richly spiced vegetarian kidney bean curry makes a surprisingly delicious filling for corn tortillas. These tacos from Chitra Agrawal are table-ready in less than an hour.
Beer-Battered Fish Tacos
Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Chelsea Zimmer / Prop Styling by Hannah Greenwood
Use a hoppy IPA to add depth to the crunchy coating of these beer-battered fish tacos, then serve with bright homemade pickled red onions and tart, creamy cabbage slaw for a taco-night win.
Crispy Ricotta-Kale Tacos
Paola Briseño González and Javier Cabral heat tortillas in a hot skillet before stuffing them with a ricotta-kale mixture so they’re more pliable and less likely to break. Top the tacos with this excellent tomatillo salsa studded with chopped roasted pistachios.
Duck Tacos
Antonis Achilleos / Food Styling by Ruth Blackburn / Prop Styling by Christina Daley
Grace Parisi pairs roasted duck with a cilantro-lime sauce that gets a kick of heat from pickled jalapeño. Shredded carrot, sliced scallion, and radish sprouts complete each taco.
Fideos Secos Tacos
Claudette Zepeda cooks thin spaghetti in a chile-based tomato sauce to fill these griddled tacos. Feel free to use soy chorizo for a vegetarian version.
Texas Chile Short Rib Tacos
Cookbook authors Matt and Ted Lee add a little semisweet chocolate to the sauce for these short ribs to round out the tang and heat from tomatoes and chiles.
Coke-Braised Pork Tacos
A cup of Mexican Coca-Cola is key to the rich flavor in this simple braised pork recipe from chef and cookbook author Marcela Valladolid.
Steak Tacos with Pineapple
Eva Kolenko
Soy sauce, garlic, and ginger make up the marinade for these super-easy skirt steak tacos made extra delicious with diced fresh pineapple.
Chipotle-Rubbed Salmon Tacos with Apple-Cucumber Salsa
Joseph de Leo
Cool down zingy grilled salmon with tangy lime mayo, crunchy cabbage, mashed avocado, and a juicy apple-cucumber salsa for these summery tacos.
Barbacoa Beef Tacos with Two Sauces
Con Poulos
Deeply flavorful Mexican beef short ribs are first braised with toasted ancho and chipotle chiles, spices, and 15 crushed garlic cloves until meltingly tender before they’re crisped on the grill, shredded, and served in corn tortillas with a sauce made from the fragrant braising liquid.
Fried Chicken Tacos
Con Poulos
Inspired by his favorite fried chicken in Tijuana, Andrew Zimmern dredges juicy chicken thighs in spiced flour and pan-fries them to a crisp to nestle into warm corn tortillas with fresh avocado-tomatillo salsa.
Shrimp Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa
Marcus Nilsson
The celery salad that tops these seafood tacos from chef Tim Byres adds a refreshing crunch, while the tangy green tomatillo-jalapeño salsa provides a bright complement to the shrimp.
Crispy Pork Belly Tacos with Pico de Gallo
Con Poulos
Chef Enrique Olvera confits crispy pork belly in fat for this taco filling. Serve with a tangy salsa spiked with your favorite Mexican beer.
Homemade Green Chorizo Tacos with Kale & Potatoes
Christina Holmes
Made with parsley and poblano, Alex Stupak affectionately calls his from-scratch green chorizo the “vegetal cousin” of the standard red variety. Here, he sautés the sausage with kale and sliced fingerling potatoes, then serves it up on warm corn tortillas with queso fresco and crema.
Tuna Tacos with Pickled Onions
Rick Lew
Aarón Sánchez chars his simply seasoned tuna on the grill and pairs it with quick-pickled red onions and an easy fresh salsa made from sweet mango and crunchy cucumber for this 30-minute taco dinner.
Brat and Pepper Tacos
Con Poulos
Classic Italian sausage and a mix of tender roasted peppers fill these playful sub-inspired tacos. Garnish them with pickled red cabbage and freshly grated horseradish.
Spiced Crab Tacos
Tina Rupp
Chef Michael Psilakis incorporates crabmeat with grilled jalapeño, red and yellow bell peppers, olive oil, lime juice, mint, and cilantro for these bright, fresh seafood tacos with a hit of chile sauce. You could use cooked shrimp in the filling, alternatively.
Chicken and Cabbage Tacos with Cilantro Cream
Raymond Hom
Pickled jalapeño adds heat and bite to Melissa Rubel Jacobson’s crunchy slaw-covered chicken tacos.
