Copycat Qdoba Taco Meat

Adapted from Qdoba At Home

I don’t know exactly how long it has been, but we had a little celebration at work and they served up a “taco bar” from Qdoba. We all loved the food, but there was lots of the ground meat (and other stuff) leftover after the festivities were gone. How things like this go is someone puts the leftovers in the fridge and then nobody feels comfortable taking it, so it just sits there forever. Well, this time I decided I would bring some home and make tacos for my kiddos.

And then I got to thinking … this is pretty tasty stuff … I bet I could make it at home, with a leaner meat so it’s healthier and higher in protein.

So I did a search to find a recipe and stumbled across this one from Qdoba At Home. And so I tried it. I give you the recipe (pretty close) to how I found it, but my suggestions to make it a little better is:

1. Add a clove or two of garlic, chopped, when browning the meat
2. Use a bit of milk in place of some of the water
3. Add a sprinkle of Red Robin Seasoning (or your favorite seasoned salt)
4. Use Chimayo powdered red chile in place of the cayenne

Other than that, this recipe is perfect and it does really taste like Qdoba (without all the fat!) … I used it with ground venison with very good results. Both my amazingly picky eater kids were wanting some when they smelled it cooking and they both gobbled up the tacos we made with it, so this is a very good sign. I used it for my Mexican Taco Lettuce Wraps which I think I am pretty much in love with now. I made them for my work friends at my monthly cooking class and they expressed definite approval as well, so I’m pronouncing this recipe as a total winner. I mean, it’s easy, it tastes great, it saves you bundles of money on take-out and it’s healthier to boot (assuming you use leaner meat)! Not to mention it’s a great base recipe for so many others … tacos, burritos, enchiladas, tostadas … you get the idea.

Copycat Qdoba Taco Meat

★★★ 3 from 1 reviews

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: Yields enough seasoning for about 4 lb. of taco meat

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Ingredients

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For the Qdoba taco seasoning mix:

• 1/4 cup all purpose flour (or, for a gluten-free recipe, brown rice flour)
• 1/4 cup chile powder
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons onion powder
• 1 Tablespoon garlic powder
• 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (or powdered Chimayo chile peppers)
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander

For the meat:

• 1 lb. lean ground beef (or other ground meat)
• 1/4 cup Qdoba taco seasoning mix (from above)
• 3/4 cup water

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Instructions

1. In a small bowl, mix together the seasoning mix ingredients. Measure out 1/4 cup and put the rest in an airtight container for next time.
2. Brown the ground beef in a frying pan. Add 1/4 cup of the taco seasoning mix and water, stir and cook until most of the liquid is gone. Taste and, if needed, add a little Red Robin Seasoning or your favorite seasoned salt.

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Notes

For extra flavor, add some chopped fresh garlic to the meat when cooking the meat and substitute 1/4 cup milk for 1/4 cup of the water.

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

© Copyright 2015, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.

This recipe was shared at Inspire Me Monday, Tuesday’s Table, Thursday Favorite Things, Freedom Fridays with All my Bloggy Friends, What to Do Weekends and Hearth & Soul Bloghop.

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