Easy Crispy Potato Tacos

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These Easy Crispy Potato Tacos are a vegetarian taco recipe that the whole family will love! With crispy fried potatoes, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and more, this simple dinner is the perfect option for your next Taco Tuesday! 

Two Easy Crispy Potato Tacos on a white plate next to a white bowl of salsa

Simple Potato Tacos Recipe

Sometimes we need a tasty but easy dinner recipe that everyone can assemble themselves. That is where these Easy Crispy Potato Tacos come in! Using a few shortcuts, this dish will be ready in less than half an hour! 

If you’ve ever tried a spicy potato taco at Taco Bell, you may have thought about how you’d make some yourself. That requires a lot of steps, but it doesn’t have to. 

Instead of taking the time to fill a large pot with cold water, cook some russet potatoes, make sure that they’re tender, and then cut them into small pieces, buy a bag of hash brown cubes. 

Don’t take the time to put garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, and other taco seasonings together, just pick up a taco seasoning packet at the grocery store. 

There are other Mexican potato tacos (called tacos de papa) that are much more intricately fried potato tacos. That is not what these are.

This is an easy recipe with lots of flavor that will work for taco night or any night that you have a hankering for Mexican food and very little time. Enjoy!

A closeup of the inside of an Easy Crispy Potato Taco with visible cilantro, tomatoes, sour cream, cheese shreds, and seasoned potatoes

Recipe Notes:

  • Be sure to taste-test the potatoes to make sure that they have cooked through before serving them. 
  • You can use either flour tortillas or corn tortillas for these tacos. You could also use crunchy taco shells. 
  • Assemble your tacos in warm tortillas or room temperature tortillas, whatever your personal preference. 
  • I used Mexican cheese, but you can use cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack, or anything else for your tacos.
  • You can easily make this a spicy potatoes taco recipe by adding some cayenne pepper to the taco seasoning or adding a spicy chipotle sauce or hot sauce to your various favorite taco toppings. 

Two Easy Crispy Potato Tacos on a white plate on a plaid tablecloth next to a white cup of tomato salsa

How To Make Crispy Potato Tacos

Easy Crispy Potato Tacos Ingredients:

16 oz diced frozen hash brown potatoes
8 fajita size tortillas
1 packet taco seasoning
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1/2 cup green onions, chopped
1/2 cup Roma tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup shredded lettuce
Sour cream (optional)
Cilantro (optional)

Supplies Needed:

Cutting board
Sharp knife
Large skillet
Flexible spatula or wooden spoon

Crispy Potato Taco ingredients including a bag of diced hash browns, a package of fajita tortillas, a tub of sour cream, and clear bowls of lettuce, shredded cheese, sliced onions, and tomatoes

Directions:

Step 1: Take out a cutting board and chop your lettuce into shreds, your tomatoes into chunks, and slice your green onions. Set them aside. 

A white frying pan with frozen hash brown cubes and taco seasoning sprinkles on top on a white table with the packages of hash browns and taco seasoning next to itStep 2: In a large frying pan over medium heat, add your oil, frozen potatoes, and taco seasoning. Stir to make sure that the diced potatoes are fully coated with the taco seasoning. 

A white skillet with seasoned crispy potatoes on a white table next to clear bowls of tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, and green onions for Crispy Potato TacosStep 3: Cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently and doing your best to keep them in a single layer.

Your potatoes are done when they are hot in the middle, tender to the touch, and have a crispy texture. 

A flour tortilla with crispy potatoes laying in the middle surrounded by clear bowls of lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheese, green onions, and sour cream for Crispy Potato TacosStep 4: Once finished, add about 1/3 cup of potato filling to each tortilla.

A white plate with a Crispy Potato Taco surrounded by bowls of lettuce, sour cream, shredded cheese, green onions, and tomatoesStep 5: Add some shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and anything else you’d like. 

Serve immediately and enjoy!

A single Crispy Potato Taco on a white plate with cilantro and a white bowl of tomato salsa

How To Store Leftover Crispy Potato Tacos

These are easiest stored if the tacos are not assembled yet. If they have not been assembled, cover each bowl with plastic wrap and keep them in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. 

If the tacos have already been assembled, store any leftover tacos in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Be aware that the tortillas will get soggy the longer you leave them. 

How Can I Make These Tacos Vegan?

Yes! These are vegetarian tacos, but you can easily make them vegan tacos by using vegan cheese and/or vegan sour cream. You could also omit those ingredients altogether.

Most tortillas are vegan, but you may want to double-check the ingredients on the specific package at your store.  

 A closeup of a Crispy Potato Taco with visible sour cream, tomatoes, cilantro, shredded cheese, and seasoned potatoes

Can I Make My Crispy Potatoes In The Air Fryer?

Yes! Spray your air fryer basket with nonstick cooking spray. Lay the potato cubes in a single layer. If there are too many, you may have to make two batches. 

Cook the potatoes for 5 minutes at 400 degrees. Remove the basket and pour the potatoes into a large bowl. Mix them with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and the taco seasoning packet. Stir until everything is well coated. 

Put the potatoes back into the basket and cook for another 5 minutes at 400 degrees. Take them out and flip over the potatoes.

Put them back in for another 5 minutes at 400 degrees, but be sure to check on them halfway through. Different sizes of potatoes will take more or less time to cook. 

Two Crispy Potato Tacos on a white plate with cilantro and a white bowl of salsa

What Else Can I Add To My Crispy Potato Tacos?

The key to personalizing these tacos is to use your favorite toppings. You can use all of the ingredients above and substitute or add things like guacamole, pico de gallo, diced red or yellow onions, black olives, or squeezed lime juice. 

You could also add ground beef, ground chicken, or soy crumbles. The potatoes themselves are a hearty starch, but black beans, refried beans, pinto beans, or canned corn are all tasty options to include as well. 

Can I Use Sweet Potatoes Instead Of Regular Potatoes In This Potato Taco Recipe?

Yes! You won’t see a lot of sweet potato tacos at your local Mexican restaurant, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t make them at home. 

Cook the sweet potato cubes in the same way that you fry the hash brown cubes in the pan. Season them with taco seasoning.

Cook until they are fork tender and golden brown, which may be a little longer than 20 minutes depending on the size of the cubes you use. 

A hand holding a Crispy Potato Taco with another one in the background

Can I Turn These Into Breakfast Tacos?

Yes! Just like other hash brown recipes that you might make as an easy weeknight dinner, this can be turned into breakfast in minutes. 

While you could actually eat these tacos just as they are for breakfast, you could also layer the potatoes with scrambled eggs, shredded cheese, tomatoes, and avocado slices.

Wrapped up in some soft tortillas, you’ve got a delicious breakfast. 

Are You Looking For More Handheld Lunch Or Dinner Recipes? Here Are Some Of My Favorites:

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Yield: About 8 Tacos

Easy Crispy Potato Tacos

A closeup of a Crispy Potato Taco with visible sour cream, tomatoes, cilantro, shredded cheese, and seasoned potatoes

These Easy Crispy Potato Tacos are a vegetarian taco recipe that the whole family will love! With crispy fried potatoes, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and more, this simple dinner is the perfect option for your next Taco Tuesday! 

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • 16 oz diced frozen hash brown potatoes
  • 8 fajita size tortillas
  • 1 packet taco seasoning
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheese
  • 1/2 cup green onions, chopped
  • 1/2 cup Roma tomatoes, chopped
  • 1/2 cup shredded lettuce
  • Sour cream (optional)
  • Cilantro (optional)

Instructions

  1. Take out a cutting board and chop your lettuce into shreds, your tomatoes into chunks, and slice your green onions. Set them aside. 
  2. In a large skillet over medium heat, add your oil, frozen potatoes, and taco seasoning. Stir to make sure that the potatoes are fully coated with the taco seasoning. 
  3. Cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring frequently. Your potatoes are done when they are hot in the middle, tender to the touch, and have a crispy texture. 
  4. Once finished, add about 1/3 cup of crispy potatoes to each tortilla, followed by shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and anything else you'd like. 
  5. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

2

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 728Total Fat: 40gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 29gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 1588mgCarbohydrates: 80gFiber: 7gSugar: 3gProtein: 13g

This calculation is intended for informational purposes only. I am not a doctor or dietitian. This calculator is a guide, but makes no guarantee of being exact or fully accurate.

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