Amazing Puff Pastry Taco Bites for a Fiesta
Needing an easy hand-held party appetizer? These puff pastry taco bites are the perfect party appetizer for Cinco de Mayo or any fiesta!
What is Puff Pastry?
Puff pastry sheets are sold in the refrigerated sections of supermarkets.
The sheets of thin dough are versatile. You can cut them to any size for wrapping or folding in fillings. Whether fried or oven-baked, the puff pastry dough makes for perfect party food and dessert.
Ingredients for Fiesta-Worthy Puff Pastry Taco Bites
These filling ideas are easy to change out based on preference. For a party snack, guests might prefer to add their own toppings from a small “taco” bar.
- Prepared taco meat (see below)
- Puff Pastry Sheets (1 package)
- Tomatoes, chopped
- Onion, chopped
- Cilantro, chopped
- Lettuce, shredded
- Olives
- Salsa, sour cream, or pico de gallo
- Shredded cheese
For the toppings on our puff pastry taco bites, the amounts will vary as desired. These are bite-sized appetizers so there isn’t room for many toppings. A bit of cheese and an olive or a cherry tomato is about all that fits.
One cup of chopped tomatoes, onions, or olives is enough for 18 small puff pastry taco bites. For the cilantro, salsa, pico, and cheese, one half cup is enough – though you may prefer extra cheese.
Homemade Taco Seasoning for Puff Pastry Taco Bites
No judgements at all about using a store-bought taco seasoning packet. We use them all the time. In fact, one of the first things my sister and I learned how to make was taco salad (nacho salad) with taco meat, and we use a seasoning packet for that! However, if you feel like making your own taco seasoning, it is pretty easy to do.
To Make Taco Seasoning In Advance
In a small mixing bowl, combine chili powder, crushed red pepper flakes, ground cumin, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, salt, and black pepper. Store the mixture in a recycled jar – such as a baby food jar, pickle jar, etc. with a tight-fitting lid – or an empty spice container and place in the pantry. The amounts used depend on how much seasoning we want to make and store. I use the ratio in the ingredient list below as a guide – one tablespoon of chili powder to one teaspoon of all other seasonings. Make as much as you want! Small jars of homemade taco seasoning make great gifts, too!
This homemade taco seasoning is gluten free and lacks a lot of the preservatives present in packaged seasoning mixes. We think preservatives are some sort of chemical type thing – at least that is one our mom says.
To Make Taco Meat with Homemade Taco Seasoning
In a large skillet, brown one pound of ground beef and drain thoroughly. Return drained meat to the stove, and add the seasonings.
Add 8 ounces of tomato sauce and simmer for 3-4 additional minutes, until meat seems evenly seasoned and moistened with the tomato sauce. Be careful not to keep on the stove too long as the meat may dry out.
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
Layering the Puff Pastry Taco Bites
For this recipe, you will need a mini muffin pan. Or you can use a standard muffin pan. You will just have fewer (but larger) puff pastry taco bites. And you may also need to adjust your baking time by a minute or two. Working with the puff pastry sheets is as easy as removing them from the package, cutting them into squares, and placing them inside the wells of a greased muffin pan. We like to use the Pillsbury brand.
Usually, to cut all the squares evenly, I use the kitchen shears from my knife block or my new handy cutting tool I found on Amazon. This thing is awesome!
I find the puff pastry taco bites turn out better when the dough is cut into larger squares as opposed to smaller. Although they are supposed to be bite-sized taco appetizers, if the dough is cut too small, the puff pastry tends to turn out a little too crunchy. They cook better when the dough reaches over the top of the mini muffin cups. In this next picture below, the squares are a bit on the small side – especially the two at the bottom of the frame.
Adding the Filling and Toppings
Once the phyllo dough squares are properly added into the cups of the muffin pan, a spoonful of taco meat comes next.
Add a sprinkle of cheese. Then, it’s time to pop the pan into the oven! Bake time only takes 8-10 minutes! Not long at all. Keep at eye on them though because if they over-bake, they become dry and crunchier than they should be.
You can see below how those couple that I cut too small are smaller (in the far right of the image).
Next, add a scattering of olives, tomato, and extra shredded cheese, of course!
These things are so good! You can’t eat just one – just like me and Oreos!
Easy Puff Pastry Taco Bites
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground beef
- 17.3 oz Puff pastry sheets Frozen and thawed
- 1 tbsp Chili powder
- 1 tsp Red pepper flakes
- 1 tsp Onion powder
- 1 tsp Garlic powder
- 1 tsp Dried oregano
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Black pepper
- 8 oz Tomato sauce
Instructions
- Place one square of puff pastry in the bottom of each cup of a greased mini muffin pan.
- Top with one tablespoon of drained taco meat.
- Sprinkle the meat with shredded cheese.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees. Edges should be golden brown. Do not overbake.
- Remove from the oven and place on a serving tray, allowing to cool slightly. (Repeat the first four steps until all dough and meat is used.)
- Add toppings as desired.
Nutrition
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