Lunchbox Taco Muffin Recipe

It's time for our weekly The Kids Cook Monday project and Ben & I made taco muffins the other day.

He told me I had to call them "Ben's Taco Muffins", so I did. These muffins are great fresh out of the oven or in lunchboxes for on-the-go meals.


Taco muffins are yet another version of the stuffed corn muffins we make. The recipe concept  is perfect for a non-sandwich lunch entree and versatile enough to put in any "stuffings" you might desire.

For taco muffins, I sautéed about a pound of lean ground beef, then drained it. We mixed it with taco seasonings, then let it simmer for a bit, then drained the excess liquid.  You can always use leftover taco beef too, just drain off the liquid so the muffins will stick.


While sautéing the beef, we made a corn muffin base. This is my favorite homemade version or you can use a store bought one like Jif. Mix it per the directions on the box/recipe.

Once the meat was done and the base was mixed, we added the meat to the corn muffin base and stirred in an addtional cup or so of shredded Mexican blend cheese.

We spooned it into muffin cups and baked it for the amount of time on the box. We took them out of the oven, did the toothpick test, and voila! Ben's Taco Muffins!


Ingredients:

1 ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
***Or just use leftover taco beef!

1 to 1.5 cups shredded cheese
1 box corn muffin mix (like Jif)
1 egg
1/3 cup milk

Directions:

Saute your ground beef and drain off excess fat.  Add taco seasoning and water let simmer.  Skip this step if using leftover cooked meat.

While beef is cooking, mix corn muffin mix, egg, and milk until blended, set aside.

Remove beef from heat, let cool, and drain off any remaining liquid.

Mix beef into corn muffin mix.

Add shredded cheese and mix until well blended.


Line a cupcake pan with paper cups and fill each cup as high as you want the muffin to be (batter does not rise like cupcakes).

Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, set aside to cool.

This concept works well with so many stuffing add-ins.  Taco is one of our favorites, but ham and cheese is a nice go-to as well as chicken and veggies.  Serve in a lunchbox with your favorite fruits, veggies, and a treat!

Comments

  1. oh, we make those all the time! I should start calling them "Ben's Taco Muffins" and really confuse my kids. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  2. We made Pizza Muffins the other day but it was not quite right. I am going to try this idea to see if it works better. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. He is such a cute kid :) Hannah and I will try to make some Ben's Taco Muffins!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks. He loves helping out in the kitchen, it's kind of fun to just do this with one or the other. No one fights over each job. ;o)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yum! Ben is too cute! What a good kitchen helper you have :D

    ReplyDelete
  6. That sounds really yummy! I'm definitely going to have to try this!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Thanks for sharing the recipe with us Shannon! I'll have to make this one day for my little one. I hope he'll like it. He is very picky when it comes to tacos. He only eats the crunchy tacos and would refuse to eat the soft tacos. But he eats chicken quesadillas. Such a weird. :S

    ReplyDelete
  8. I can't wait to try these - I bet my girls will love them! Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Can you freeze these? And if so, are there any special directions? What about for thawing them?

    Thanks in advance! I love your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I freeze them all the time! :o)

    Typically I freeze them (well anything really) on a cookie sheet for a couple of hours, then transfer to a bag or container so they don't stick together. I always have a few varieties of these in the freezer, perfect emergency lunch!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Awesome! I just discovered your blog and can't stop looking at all the cute bentos you do! I'm a neophyte with the bento meals - easy peasy for me right now, but my 3 year old son loves them! Thanks for this recipe. It's good to have something new for my little guy to take in his preschool lunches! :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a great substitute for a sandwich. I also loved your pirate bento, but it wouldn't let me comment on that post. You are so creative and your kids are lucky to get to eat such fun, cool, and healthy meals! Congrats on your SITS feature day, I think you are about to inspire a lot of fellow SITstahs!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment