Meals in mugs have become all the rage. You can make cookies, cakes, and even main dishes in mugs. There are many reasons why these are so popular. First, there is minimal cleanup. You have the one dish. Also, they are very fast to throw together and the perfect size for one person.
Even if you have a large family to feed, you simply need to have a mug for each person and you’re ready to go. Everyone can add the toppings and ingredients they like best. You can serve these at a large party. Just tell guests to “Bring Your Own Mug.” They are easy to carry if you want to gather in the living room for family movie night, or take outdoors during warm weather months.
To make walking tacos in a mug, I recommend browning your meat in batches. You can always freeze it and unthaw or transfer to a crock pot (use a Reynold’s liner to save on cleanup) and keep the meat warm for hours. This is the perfect solution if your family is busy running in different directions. People can simply eat as they arrive home and the food will be warm for everyone.
First, you should create your taco meat ahead. I recommend making your own taco seasoning. I’m experimenting with this now and will have a final recipe for you soon. However, if you must, you can use a packet. Mixing up your own is super easy, though, because you do a large batch and have it for multiple meals. It isn’t really cheaper. Just much, much healthier because you control the ingredients.
You’ll want one pound of taco meat per four people. I recommend using a base (or several) you family most enjoys. So, for one family that might be tortilla chips. For another, it might be the taco shells crumbled up. For another family, the base might be made of Doritos. We like to use Fritos, which is what many walking tacos are made from. It is the favorite of everyone here, so I just provide the one base along with some soft low carb tortillas for anyone watching carbs.
Once the taco meat is browned and seasoned, add a Reynolds Slow Cooker Liner to your crock pot and place the meat inside. If the meat is hot, set it on low for an hour and then switch to warm.
Walking Taco Ingredients
As I mentioned before, the beauty of walking tacos in a mug is that each person can make them the way they’d like. You just provide possible toppings to go with the meat and base. So, here are some common ingredients to provide:
- Diced fresh tomatoes
- Salso
- Guacamole
- Sour Cream
- Cheese (Mexican cheese or Sharp cheddar or both – sometimes we do moz or Monterey cheddar – whatever is on hand)
- Onions
- Shredded lettuce
- Avocado
- Jalepenos
- Bacon
Those are just a few ideas. Provide what different people in your family enjoy and everyone should be happy.
Freezer Meal
This adapts well as a freezer meal. Cook the taco meat and freeze. When ready to eat, simply thaw the meat overnight in the amount you need (you can batch it in any serving size you’d like) and then heat quickly on the stove or in the microwave. Have the family help pull ingredients. If you don’t have help and are in a hurry, speed up how fast you get it on the table by using:
- Bagged shredded lettuce (just rinse and serve)
- Salsa
- Shredded cheese of one variety
- Sour cream
The ingredients choices are less, but the meal is still satisfying. You can have this on the table in under 10 minutes, assuming the meat is unthawed.
Enjoy your mug tacos. They are so easy and satisfying. Cleanup is simply rinsing them and putting the mugs in the dishwasher.
