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Skip the food truck, and make this homemade smash burger tacos recipe with lean beef, a homemade special sauce, and all the best toppings. It’s a quick, family-friendly meal perfect for gatherings and fun weeknight dinners. Cook them on a flat-top grill or in a skillet on the stovetop, and enjoy smash tacos any time of the year.

Prep: 10 mins Cook: 10-30 mins Total: 40 mins
Servings: 6 tacos + 1/2 cup sauce 1x
Scale

Ingredients

For the Sauce: 

  • ⅓ cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons chopped dill pickles or bread and butter pickles 
  • ½ teaspoon paprika
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • Pinch of black pepper
  • 2-3 teaspoons pickle juice (to thin to desired consistency)

For the Smash Burger Tacos:

  • Cooking spray
  • 1 lb. Laura’s 92% Lean Ground Beef
  • ¾ teaspoon fine salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 6 (6-inch) flour tortillas
  • 6 slices cheddar cheese (or use American cheese, muenster, provolone or gouda)

For the Toppings:

  • 2 cups thinly sliced romaine or iceberg lettuce
  • ½ cup diced tomatoes 
  • ¼ cup finely diced white onion
  • 12-18 dill pickle slices

Instructions

Skillet Directions:

  1. Make the sauce: In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, chopped pickles, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, Worcestershire sauce, and black pepper. Stir well to combine. Stir in the pickle juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency. Chill sauce in the refrigerator while you prepare the burger tacos. 
  2. Prepare the toppings and set aside. 
  3. Preheat the oven to 250℉. Place a large rimmed baking sheet inside the oven.
  4. Divide the ground beef into 6 equal portions and gently shape each one into a ball. Sprinkle each meat ball with salt and pepper on two sides.
  5. Place a large cast iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. When the skillet starts to smoke it’s hot enough. 
  6. Mist the skillet with cooking spray and add 1 ball of meat to the skillet. Top the meat with a tortilla and, using a burger press or heavy spatula, press down on the tortilla until the meat is about ¼ inch thick.
  7. Cook for 4 minutes then use a thin spatula to loosen the meat from the skillet and flip it over, tortilla side down. 
  8. Top the meat with a slice of cheese and continue cooking for 2 minutes or until the tortilla has crisped up and the cheese melts. 
  9. Transfer the burger taco to the sheet pan in the oven to stay warm while cooking the remaining tacos.
  10. To serve, top each taco with 2-3 pickle slices, lettuce, diced tomatoes, and diced onions. Drizzle each taco with 1 tablespoon of sauce. Fold over and serve. 

Flat-Top Grill Directions:

  1. Make the sauce: In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, chopped pickles, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, Worcestershire sauce, and black pepper. Stir well to combine. Stir in the pickle juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, until you reach the desired consistency. Chill sauce in the refrigerator while you prepare the burger tacos. 
  2. Prepare the toppings and set aside. 
  3. Preheat the flat-top grill to medium-high heat for about 10 minutes.
  4. Once the flat-top is hot, mist the surface with avocado oil or cooking spray (or drizzle with oil and use a long flat spatula to push the oil around all over the surface). 
  5. Add all of the balls of meat to the flat top, leaving 4-5 inches of space between them. Working quickly, immediately top each ball with a tortilla. 
  6. Use a burger press or flat spatula to press/smash the tortillas down onto each burger, pressing very firmly to flatten the meat (meat mixture should be less than ¼ -inch thick). 
  7. Cook for 4 minutes, then use a long, thin spatula to scrape underneath the meat and flip each taco over.
  8. Top each one with a slice of cheese and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes to crisp the tortilla before removing them to a large platter or baking sheet. 
  9. Top each taco with 2-3 pickle slices, lettuce, and diced onions. Drizzle each taco with 1 tablespoon of sauce. Fold over and serve.

Notes

– May substitute pickle relish for the chopped pickles in the sauce.
Make gluten-free smash burger tacos using gluten-free tortillas or grain-free tortillas.
– Make dairy-free tacos using plant-based cheese or omitting the cheese completely.
– If using a cast-iron griddle on the stovetop, you may be able to cook more than one taco at a time, depending on how large the griddle or skillet is.

Nutrition Information

  • Serving Size: 1 smash burger taco with sauce
  • Calories: 418
  • Fat: 22 g
  • (Sat Fat: 6 g)
  • Sodium: 541 mg
  • Carbohydrate: 28 g
  • (Fiber: 1 g
  • Sugar: 0 g)
  • Protein: 24 g
  • Cholesterol: 64 mg

Dietary

© The Real Food Dietitians
Recipe By: Jessica Beacom