Rolled tacos are seasoned ground beef and roasted chile rolled up tight in a corn tortilla and baked until the outside snaps when you bite it. This recipe makes 24 of them, half with green chile and half with red, which is Christmas on a sheet pan. They take about an hour start to finish, and the one step worth knowing about before you begin is a quick dip in hot oil that softens each tortilla so it rolls easily.
They bake rather than deep fry, so the oil is there to soften the tortillas, not to cook them. Everything else is a weeknight filling you can build in one skillet.
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The recipe
Red and Green Rolled Tacos
- Yield24 tacos
- Prep35 minutes
- Bake20 minutes
- Oven350°F
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 1 small onion, diced
- Salt and garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 1/2 cups canned corn, with some of its liquid
- 18 to 24 corn tortillas
- 2 cups grated mild cheddar or Monterey Jack
- 3/4 cup flame roasted Hatch green chile, drained
- 3/4 cup flame roasted Hatch red chile, drained
- Vegetable oil for dipping
- Sour cream and salsa, to serve
Method
- Brown the beef in a large skillet over medium high heat, breaking it up as it cooks. When it has color, add the onion, garlic powder, salt, cumin and the corn with some of its liquid. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer about 10 minutes. Mash the corn into the meat as it goes.
- Let the mixture keep cooking until it sticks and browns on the bottom of the pan. Scrape up the browned bits and break them through the filling. That browning is most of the flavor. Keep it warm.
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Pour about an inch of oil into a deep skillet or heavy saucepan and heat until the surface shimmers and ripples.
- Using tongs, dip each tortilla into the hot oil for a few seconds, just until it goes limp. Do not let it crisp. Drain on paper towel and repeat.
- Spoon 1 to 2 tablespoons of filling onto each tortilla. Add 1 tablespoon of green chile to half of them and 1 tablespoon of red chile to the other half. Roll tightly and set seam side down on a baking sheet.
- Bake 20 minutes, until crisp. Sprinkle with cheese and return to the oven just long enough to melt it.
- Serve hot with sour cream and salsa.
The oil dip
This is the step people skip, and it's the one I'd tell you to keep. An inch of oil in a deep skillet, heated until the surface shimmers, and each tortilla goes in for a few seconds with tongs before it gets filled. The dip warms the tortilla until it bends easily, and it leaves a thin film of fat on the outside that keeps the filling from soaking in while also giving the oven a head start on the crisp. Five extra minutes buys you a tray that holds its shape and eats like a rolled taco should.
A few things to watch while you're doing it. The oil should shimmer but not smoke, which is the window where the tortilla softens without cooking. You're after limp and pliable, and it shouldn't pick up any color, so a few seconds is plenty. Drain each one on paper towel before you fill it. Tortillas stiffen again as they cool, so dip in batches of four or five and roll them while they're still warm rather than dipping all 24 up front.
If you'd rather not deal with hot oil at all, wrap the tortillas in a damp towel and microwave them 30 to 45 seconds. They'll roll fine that way. You give up the barrier against sogginess and some of the crunch, so brush the rolled tacos with oil before they go in the oven to make up the difference. Honestly, if you're already making 24 of these, I'd just heat the oil.
Red, green, or Christmas
Splitting the tray is the point of this recipe. It's the one dish where you get to taste red and green side by side with everything else held constant, same beef, same tortilla, same oven. Green is brighter and more vegetal, and it sits forward against the beef. Red is sweeter and earthier, because red chile is the same pod left on the vine to ripen, and it folds into the beef instead of sitting on top of it.
If you're only making one kind, I'd go green with this filling, since the corn and the beef are already sweet and the green cuts through them. But the split is better than either half, and it costs you nothing but two open jars.
A tablespoon per taco is a light hand. If you want them to taste properly of chile rather than of seasoned beef, go to a tablespoon and a half. Drain the chile well either way, because roasted chile carries its own liquid and it will loosen the filling if you spoon it straight out of the jar.
If you'd rather not open two jars, the red and green harvest blend is both in one.
Making them ahead and freezing
The filling keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated, which is USDA guidance for cooked leftovers, and it needs to be covered and in the fridge within two hours of cooking. It's arguably better on day two, so making it the night before isn't a compromise.
The best version of make-ahead is to roll them and freeze them unbaked. Freeze them on a tray until they're solid, then bag them, and bake from frozen at 350°F for about 30 minutes. That's the whole reason to make 24 when four people are eating.
Baked leftovers keep 3 to 4 days and reheat in a 375°F oven for 10 minutes. Don't microwave them unless you're fine with a soft rolled taco.
If your tortillas crack
A corn tortilla is held together by starch rather than gluten, so it's brittle when it's cold and flexible once it's warm and slightly hydrated. Roll a cold one and it splits down the middle, which is why a lot of people give up on rolled tacos and make a casserole instead. Almost everything that goes sideways with this recipe comes back to temperature or to how much you put in each one.
They cracked while rolling
The tortillas were too cold, or the dip was too short. Dip until they're genuinely limp and roll right away.
They're greasy
The oil wasn't hot enough, so the tortillas absorbed it instead of being sealed by it. Wait for the shimmer, and drain them on paper towel.
They unrolled in the oven
Seam side down, always, and pack them up against each other on the tray so they hold each other closed.
They're soggy in the middle
That's too much filling or undrained chile. One to two tablespoons is enough, and the chile needs draining.
They're pale and not crisp
The pan was crowded or they didn't get long enough. Give them space and another five minutes.
What to serve with them
Sour cream and red chile salsa is the obvious pairing, and it uses the same red jar you already have open. If you want a sauce instead of a salsa, green chile enchilada sauce poured over the top turns these into something closer to enchiladas, and New Mexico red chile sauce does the same from the other side. Green chile beer queso alongside isn't traditional and it's very good.
The chile comes in 16 oz jars, green or red, Medium or Hot, with four ingredients each. There's frozen green chile in 5 lb bags if you cook at volume, and the recipe archive is free.
Common questions
Why do my corn tortillas crack when I roll them?
They were cold. Corn tortillas are held together by starch and stay brittle until they're warmed. Dip each one briefly in hot oil until it's limp, or microwave them wrapped in a damp towel, then roll immediately.
Do I have to fry the tortillas?
No, but the oil dip also keeps the filling from soaking through and helps them crisp in the oven. If you skip it, warm them in a damp towel and brush the rolled tacos with oil before baking.
How much chile goes in each taco?
A tablespoon, which is a light hand. Go to a tablespoon and a half if you want them to taste properly of chile, and drain it so the filling doesn't loosen.
Can I make rolled tacos ahead?
Yes. Roll them and freeze them unbaked on a tray, then bag them. Bake from frozen at 350°F for about 30 minutes.
Why did my rolled tacos unroll in the oven?
They weren't placed seam side down, or they had room to move. Pack them against each other on the tray.
What is the difference between red and green in this recipe?
Green is brighter and more vegetal and sits forward against the beef. Red is sweeter and earthier and folds into it. Making half of each is the easiest way to taste the difference.
How long does the beef filling keep?
Three to four days refrigerated, per USDA guidance for cooked leftovers, covered and cold within two hours of cooking.
The short version
Brown the beef hard and let it stick to the pan a little, because that browning is most of the flavor. Dip the tortillas in shimmering oil until they go limp, then roll them while they're warm and set them seam side down. They bake 20 minutes at 350°F, and the cheese goes on at the end. Make half with green chile and half with red, and if you roll extras and freeze them unbaked, you've got a tray on demand.