Walking Tacos

Name: Walking Tacos
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 4 small bags of chips (tortilla, doritos, takis, fritos, etc.); 1 lb Creekstone Farm Brisket Blend Ground Beef Pucks; 1/4 cup Holmes Made Marty’s Roasted Green Chile Salsa; Cattleman’s Grill Mexicano Taco Seasoning; 1 ear corn, kernels cut off the cob; 2 tbsp mayonnaise; 6 tbsp cotija cheese crumbles, divided; 1/2 cup Mexican Crema; 193 g (~13 1/2 tbsp) water; 9 g (2 1/4 tsp) sodium citrate; 226 g (8 oz) pepper jack, grated; 2 tsp Heat Maverick’s Jalapeño Vice; 1/2 medium avocado, diced; 1/3 cup tomato, small dice; 1/3 cup pickled jalapeños; 1/3 cup red onion, small dice; 2 tbsp cilantro; 1 tbsp lime juice; Jacobsen Salt Co. Habanero Sea Salt, to taste

Jul 14, 2023 • Tom Jackson

Taco Tuesday just got a lot more portable with Walking Tacos! No taco shells required, just rip open a bag of chips, fill it with your favorite taco ingredients, and you've got a delicious meal ready to walk away with. Kids will love creating their own unique tacos and it's a great way to get creative in the kitchen!

WHAT YOU'LL LOVE

No bowls, no plates, no cleanup. Everything gets built right inside the chip bag, so serving and eating happen in the same container.
Sodium citrate makes a genuinely smooth queso. This isn't a processed cheese shortcut — it's the same food-science trick that keeps real cheese from turning grainy or separating.
Beef gets a crust before it gets broken up. Letting it sit undisturbed on the griddle first builds real browning, the same smash-burger logic applied to taco meat.
Every bag can be different. With four separate assembly rounds, each person's walking taco can get a different chip base or topping ratio without extra prep.

Walking Tacos

Tom Jackson

Rated 5.0 stars by 3 users

Cuisine

Mexican

Servings

4

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes

Calories

808

Walking Tacos are the ultimate portable party food! Rip open a bag of chips, fill it with meat, queso, pico and anything else that goes in a taco; then you've got Walking Tacos. Get creative and add put your own spin on this simple and fun recipe.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

4 small bags of chips (tortilla, doritos, takis, fritos, etc.)
1 lb Creekstone Farm Brisket Blend Ground Beef Pucks
1/4 cup Holmes Made Marty’s Roasted Green Chile Salsa
Cattleman’s Grill Mexicano Taco Seasoning
1 ear corn, kernels cut off the cob
2 tbsp mayonnaise
6 tbsp cotija cheese crumbles, divided
1/2 cup Mexican Crema

Queso:

193 g (~13 1/2 tbsp) water
9 g (2 1/4 tsp) sodium citrate
226 g (8 oz) pepper jack, grated
2 tsp Heat Maverick’s Jalapeño Vice

Pico:

1/2 medium avocado, diced
1/3 cup tomato, small dice
1/3 cup pickled jalapeños
1/3 cup red onion, small dice
2 tbsp cilantro
1 tbsp lime juice
Jacobsen Salt Co. Habanero Sea Salt, to taste

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Directions

Preheat your Halo 4B Griddle over medium heat.
Combine the pico ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
Place the ground beef on the griddle and spread out. Cook without stirring for several minutes until a nice crust is formed on the bottom. Then add the Holmes Made Marty’s Roasted Green Chile Salsa and season with Cattleman’s Grill Mexicano Taco Seasoning. Cook until browned through. Remove from the griddle.
To make the queso, place a Lodge 10” Steek Skillet on the other side of the griddle. Add the water and sodium citrate. Bring to a simmer. Then add about half of the pepper jack and stir until melted. Add the remaining cheese and whisk until melted. Add the Heat Maverick’s Jalapeño Vice and stir.
Cook the corn on griddle until slightly charred and softened, and remove from the griddle. Mix the corn with the mayonnaise and 2 tbsp cotija cheese.
Cut the side of a bag of chips open. Add to the bag 1/4 of the ground beef, 1/4 cup queso, 2 tbsp corn salad, 1/4 cup pico and top with more cotija cheese and crema. Repeat with the remaining 3 bags of chips.

Recipe Note

Recipe FAQ

What internal temperature should the ground beef reach?
Ground beef should reach 160ºF internal per USDA guidance. Use a reliable thermometer to confirm rather than relying on color alone.

What's sodium citrate for, and can I skip it?
It helps the cheese melt into a smooth, stable queso instead of turning grainy or separating. You can skip it and use a pre-made queso base instead, though the texture won't be quite as silky.

What chips work best for this?
Anything sturdy enough to hold toppings without going soggy fast — tortilla chips, Fritos, and Doritos all work well. Thinner chips will get soft faster once loaded.

Can I make the components ahead of time?
Yes — the pico, corn salad, and queso all hold well in the fridge for a day. Reheat the queso gently and assemble the bags fresh when ready to serve.

Can I swap the ground beef for something else?
Shredded chicken, pulled pork, or a plant-based crumble all work in its place without changing anything else about the recipe.

How indoor-friendly is this recipe?
5 out of 5 — perfect for indoor or outdoor cooking. A stovetop griddle or skillet handles every step here exactly the same as an outdoor griddle.

Recipe Highlights

Beef left undisturbed to crust: Direction Step 3 spreads the ground beef out and lets it cook without stirring until a crust forms on the bottom — that patience is what builds real browned flavor instead of pale, crumbly meat.
Queso built with sodium citrate: Step 4 dissolves sodium citrate in simmering water before melting in the cheese, which is what keeps the queso smooth and pourable instead of clumping or breaking.
Corn charred before it's dressed: Step 5 chars the corn directly on the griddle before mixing it with mayo and cotija — that char is what gives the corn salad its smoky edge.
Assembled bag by bag: Step 6 builds each chip bag individually rather than combining everything in one big bowl, keeping every component's texture distinct until the moment it's eaten.