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This Taco Braid is an easy family dinner with taco meat and cheese baked in a golden crust. It is a fun, family-friendly recipe that is perfect for taco night. Just fill, fold, and bake!
Taco Braid is a fun and creative way to switch up taco night while still keeping all those familiar flavors. Seasoned taco meat and melty cheese are wrapped inside soft dough and braided into a golden, flaky crust that looks impressive but is surprisingly easy to make.
Table of Contents
Today, we’re making tacos with a twist! A taco braid is an easy recipe made by wrapping pizza dough around classic taco fillings. I fill mine with taco meat, cheese, and salsa, but just about anything goes. Then you add your favorite toppings like sour cream, salsa, or guacamole. Such a great dinner the whole family will enjoy.
What You’ll Need
- Pizza Dough – I always love the convenience of refrigerated pizza dough with this recipe. You can also use two sheets of crescent roll dough and pinch them together to make one big rectangle. If you have the time and a favorite pizza dough recipe, go ahead and use that, too.
- Ground Beef – you can use ground turkey as well
- Onion
- Taco Seasoning – Store bought or you can use homemade.
- Salsa
- Cheese
- Butter
Taco Braid
Put a (literal) twist on taco night with this easy taco braid! It's made with refrigerated pizza dough wrapped around savory taco beef and cheese. Just fill, fold, and bake!
Ingredients
- 1 refrigerated pizza dough
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 1 packet taco seasoning, or homemade
- 1/3 cup salsa
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375º F.
- In a large skillet brown ground beef and onion together, breaking up the ground beef. Cook for 7-8 minutes, until the onions are soft and the meat is cooked through. Drain any grease away if necessary.1 pound lean ground beef, 1 small onion
- Add taco seasoning, salsa, and water and mix until well combined. Simmer for 2-3 minutes for everything to come together and thicken. Remove from the heat.1 packet taco seasoning, 1/3 cup salsa, 1/3 cup water
- Onto a sheet of parchment paper, roll pizza dough into a 10×15 inch rectangle. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut 3-inch strips about every 1 ½ inches along both long sides of the rectangle.1 refrigerated pizza dough
- Place the parchment paper onto a large baking sheet. Scoop the ground beef mixture into the center of the pizza dough. Sprinkle 1 cup of the cheese evenly over the top.1 ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- Beginning at the top, fold one strip over the top of the meat, then fold the top strip on the opposite side over the top. Repeat wrapping the strips until you get to the end, tucking them under the end to secure them.
- Brush the crust evenly with the melted butter. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and the crust is cooked through.2 Tablespoons butter, 1 ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- Remove from oven, slice and serve with your favorite taco toppings.
Nutrition
Calories: 520kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 1456mg | Potassium: 418mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1095IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 260mg | Iron: 5mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Leave a comment below!
How to Make a Taco Braid (Step-by-Step!)
- Make the taco meat. First, brown ground beef in a skillet with onion until that’s cooked through. Next, stir in the taco seasoning and salsa. Add a little water and simmer to thicken.
- Roll out the dough. Meanwhile, roll out a sheet of pizza dough and cut the dough into strips along both long sides.
- Assemble. Spoon the ground beef over the dough and sprinkle on the shredded cheese. To make the taco braid, start by bringing one dough strip over the filling. Fold the strip on the opposite side over the top. Repeat until you’ve crossed over all the strips to make a “braid”.
- Finish and bake. Brush the taco braid with melted butter and top with more shredded cheese. Bake at 375ºF for 20-25 minutes, then slice and enjoy! See below for some easy serving ideas.
Recipe Tips and Variation Ideas
- Use leftover taco meat. If you have a batch of ground taco meat leftover from taco night, use it in place of the ground beef, seasoning, salsa, and water.
- Add veggies. Sauté diced bell peppers or diced tomatoes with the ground beef and onions. You can also make a vegetarian version of this recipe with the meatless mince from my tofu tacos.
- Make it spicy. Give the taco meat some kick with extra cayenne pepper or spicy salsa. You can also dice up jalapeños or green chilies to sprinkle over the filling.
- Add beans. Top your taco braid filling with drained and rinsed black beans or spread refried beans over the dough before you add the taco meat.
- Creamy. Stir a couple of spoonfuls of sour cream or cream cheese into the taco meat to make it creamy.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Store your leftover taco braid slices in an airtight container in the fridge. It’s best to reheat any leftovers within 1-2 days.
- Reheat. Warm the taco braid in the oven at 350ºF until it’s hot throughout and crispy outside.
The pizza dough gets all crispy on the outside, but inside it’s like a cheesy taco explosion. Super easy to make too!
We absolutely loved this when I made it last night. It’s like a Crunchwrap Supreme and a calzone had a baby!
I love everything in this taco braid! So flavorful, it’s like a surprise in every bite!
I’ve been making us a couple times a month and it’s always a hit! Thanks for the easy recipe!
Would this recipe also work well with Puff Pastry as opposed to Pizza Dough?
I think it would work, the size is just different, so it would be smaller. But I don’t know why it wouldn’t be delicious!