Homemade Street Tacos – Frugal Friday Recipe

This Frugal Homemade Buttery Flour Tortilla Recipe pairs perfectly with these Street Tacos!

These Street Tacos are inspired by my favorite taco truck from college. I can’t count how many times I have recreated them, but I know that it is well over 50 (at least!) These are so satisfying and only ~$0.67/Taco! The cilantro, lime, and cucumber slices make these taste so fresh and the rice, meat, avocado, and tortilla add in enough calories to help hold me over. They are perfect to prep for lunches, or as a mid-day snack. For lunches or snacks, I normally make 3 tacos which comes out to $2.01. If we make them for dinner, we each eat between 5-8 tacos/person. This comes out to $3.35-$5.36/person for a dinner.

The Budget Breakdown

Heres the quick breakdown:

Street Taco Tortillas – ~$0.07/Taco ($1.62 for a 24 pack)

Ground Beef 80/20, Rinsed and drained – $0.26/Taco ($0.26/oz)

White Rice- ~$0.03/Taco ($0.05/oz)

Fresh Cilantro- ~$0.03/Taco ($0.46/bundle)

Small Avocado- ~$0.15/Taco ($0.49/Avocado)

Cucumber- ~$0.06/Taco ($0.46/Large Cucumber)

Lime- ~$0.01/Taco ($0.15/lime)

Total = ~$0.67/Taco

(Optional- Street Taco Sauce for $0.39/oz) Although, these tacos are so good with just fresh lime juice, so this ingredient is truly VERY optional.

(OPTIONAL- Shredded Cheese for $0.27/oz or roughly $0.05/taco) Sometimes if I am having trouble keeping my tortillas together, I will melt about a tsp of shredded cheese in the center to help hold them together but this is optional.

How to make street tacos at home

Step 1

Start by prepping your street taco ingredients- chop the cilantro, slice the avocado and cucumber in very thin slices, and slice the lime into wedges. Cook your ground beef and season generously with salt and pepper (or taco seasoning) Use whatever seasonings you have on hand for these. Make your white rice according to the instructions.

Step 2

Warm the corn tortillas. If you are adding cheese to your tacos, melt it while you are warming these.

Step 3

Assemble the street tacos- I like to do it in this order:

Rice
Meat
Cucumber
Avocado
Cilantro
Lime Juice

There really is no wrong way to do this step.

Homemade Street Tacos

5.0 from 2 votes

Recipe by Madison Hanson Course: DinnerDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Total time

minutes

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

8 Tortillas Street Taco (mini) Tortillas
8 Slices Thinly Sliced Avocado
16 Slices Thinly Sliced Cucumber
To Taste Fresh Chopped Cilantro
1 Sliced Lime
4 oz Cooked White Rice
8 oz Ground Beef
Optional
8 tsp Shredded Cheese
Street Taco Sauce

Directions

Start by prepping your ingredients- chop the cilantro, slice the avocado and cucumber in very thin slices, and slice the lime into wedges. Cook your ground beef and season generously with salt and pepper or taco seasoning. Feed free to use whatever seasonings you have on hand for these though. Make the white rice according to the instructions.
Warm the corn tortillas. If you are adding cheese to your tacos, melt it while you are warming these.
Assemble the tacos- I like to do it in this order to prevent the rice and meat from falling out:
Rice, Meat, Cucumber, Avocado, Cilantro, Lime Juice
(Optional) Top with Street Taco Sauce

Notes

You can substitute the ground beef for any protein source. I love this recipe with shredded chicken and mini shrimp too!

Like this recipe?

Tips and suggested add-ons

Since street taco tortillas are mini, make sure to work with smaller filling portions so that you are able to close the taco shell to eat them.
Add your favorite taco sauce on top if you want more than lime juice
Jalepenos, radishes, onions, and pickled onions are all so good with these street tacos too!
I make these with every kind of meat. I especially love them with shredded chicken or mini shrimp. Try out multiple variations to reuse this recipe for a quick and easy dinner!