Walking Taco Recipe and Serving Board Idea

Love Tacos? Then you will love these Walking Tacos also known as Taco in a Bag! They are the perfect party food or easy dinner recipe. It starts with a bag of nacho cheese or corn chips that you crunch up. Then pile on taco meat and all of your favorite toppings like cheese, sour cream, salsa, onions, tomatoes, guacamole and more. Everyone can make their own version with their favorite toppings. Clean up is a breeze!

What is a Walking Taco?

Want to save this recipe? Enter your email below and we'll send the recipe straight to your inbox!

Email *

Save This Recipe

If you’ve been to a party, fair, carnival etc. then I’m sure you’ve had a Walking Taco! Maybe you call them Taco in a Bag? Whatever you name them they are amazing!

They are one of my favorite entertaining foods because they are so simple to make and clean up is a breeze. Plus, everyone can customize their toppings easily.

The kids love them for a quick dinner too, which is always a win in my book.

When I serve these at parties I love to make a quick and easy “board” out of them with all the toppings.

It looks impressive, but is easy to put together. Check out the tips and tricks below on how to make it!

The first step is to make your taco meat and prep your toppings!

Walking Taco Recipe Essential Ingredients

• Ground Beef – You could also use ground turkey if desired.
• Taco Seasoning – Make your own or use a packet. If using a packet we like to grab a low-sodium option.
• Water – To mix into your taco meat as it cooks.
• Chips – Make sure they are individual size bags. Our favorites or Fritos or Nacho Cheese Doritos, but grab whatever you like. We have heard Cool Ranch Doritos are a great option too!
• Topping Ideas – The possibilities are endless, grab whatever you would like on top of your tacos. Great ideas are shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, shredded cheese, sliced black olives, diced avocado or guacamole, chopped onion, salsa, pico de gallo, sour cream and so much more!

How to Make a Walking Taco

1. Prepare your taco meat by browning the hamburger in a large skillet until cooked through.
2. Drain off any grease. Mix in taco seasoning and ¼ c. water. Stir until combined and simmer for 5 minutes.

You could also use my favorite homemade taco meat recipe!

How to assemble Walking Tacos

1. The first step is to grab your bag of chips, we usually use Fritos or Doritos and then squish the bag to break up the chips.
2. Next, add your taco meat in the chip bag. After that we like to put the shredded cheese in next so it’s melts on top of that hot taco meat! Is there anything better than melty cheese?
3. Finally, it’s time to pile on your favorite taco toppings. Think things like shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes and onions, black olives, salsa, sour cream and more. The possibilities are endless!

Topping Ideas for Walking Taco Chips

• Shredded cheese
• Sliced black olives
• Diced Tomatoes
• Salsa
• Pico de Gallo
• Guacamole
• Chopped Onions
• Shredded Lettuce
• Sour Cream

Walking Tacos Board Assembly!

A board always looks impressive at parties, but we are going to break it down step by step to make it easy to prepare!

Prep

• Have a variety of bowls/containers to use for different size items.
• Line your surface if you are afraid items might stain or “sweat” onto your board.
• Set out all of your items in the containers you are using so you can see your options.
• Have some fresh garnish and cheese that can be used to fill in gaps/holes in your board.
• Have a good variety of colors in your ingredients, I like to use red onion instead of white or yellow, a bright red salsa and bright red chopped tomatoes, yellow cheese, all kinds of green vegetables in varying shades of green, black olives, etc. This makes the board more visually interesting.
• You can use all kinds of things for a board if you don’t have a large cutting board or marble/stone slab. Other options are parchment paper, a baking sheet or muffin tins.
• No board? Just arrange everything on a counter or table (I would suggest putting down parchment paper for this though).

Arranging the Board

1. Place your largest items first, your taco meat will probably be the biggest bowl you use. You can place it in the center, or in a corner. By placing these items in straight lines or slight curves makes it more visually appealing because the eye likes to travel in a Z pattern or in triangles. Also, odd numbers are more pleasing to the eye and brain to process. 
2. After you arrange the large items place your medium sized items on the board.
3. Next, place your smallest items on the board.
4. Now it’s time to fill in any remaining space with loose or garnish items like cilantro bunches, piles of shredded cheese, sliced  and whole limes. These items may or may not get eaten as is, but they add to the visual esthetic of your board and keep the eye moving. You can pick up items already placed and put some of these fillers under them to keep the board flow and make sure each surface is covered.

Tips for Grouping and Arranging Board!

• One option is in circles surrounding your main bowl of taco meat, if you have lots of containers of the same size this works nicely.
• Another option is in lines to add visual appeal.
• Or you could group them by cold or warm ingredient groupings i.e. cheese, sour cream, guacamole together/hot meat, melted cheeses, etc together; room temp items like garnish and chips in the middle.
• By color, so like colors are together creating color blocking patterns.
• If you are using a round board you can arrange ingredients as wedges, like pie pieces fanning out from the middle of your board.

Don’t forget to put your serving spoons, scoops, tongs, etc in each container too.

What Goes Good with Walking Tacos?

• Every taco needs a Margarita with it!
• Don’t forget the Strawberry Virgin Margaritas for the kids!
• Top those tacos with homemade Pico de Gallo and Guacamole.
• Chips and Salsa are the perfect appetizer for a party!

MORE RECIPES YOU’LL LOVE!

• Crock Pot Spaghetti
• Roasted Broccoli in the Air Fryer
• Alabama Slammer
• BBQ Chicken Marinade
• Chicken Potatoes Green Beans
• Cannoli Dip

Be sure to give this recipe a try! If you love this recipe as much as we do (pretty sure you will!), be sure to leave a five-star rating below!

Don’t forget to tag me on Instagram either, I’d love to see pictures of your good eats! @julieseatsandtreats or #julieseatsandtreats

Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure tag me on Instagram at @julieseatsandtreats or #julieseatsandtreats so I can see your yummy treat!

 

5 from 8 votes

Walking Tacos

Nacho Cheese Chips or Corn Chips topped with taco meat and your favorite taco toppings!

Prep:10 minutes mins

Cook:10 minutes mins

Total:20 minutes mins

Print Recipe Rate Recipe

• Pin

Save RecipeSaved!

Want to save this recipe? Enter your email below and we’ll send the recipe straight to your inbox!

Email *

Save This Recipe

6

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 lb ground beef
• ▢ 1 oz envelope taco seasoning
• ▢ ¼ c. water
• ▢ 6 individual size bags of chips Fritos or Nacho Cheese Doritos
• ▢ Toppings: Shredded lettuce, diced tomato, shredded cheddar cheese, sliced black olives, diced avocado or guacamole, chopped onion, salsa or pico de gallo, sour cream etc.

Instructions

• Prepare your taco meat by browning the hamburger in a large skillet until cooked through. Drain off any grease. Mix in taco seasoning and ¼ c. water. Stir until combined and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Prep toppings and place in individual bowls.
• You can serve on a large “board” arranging all the toppings on the board for a fun display.
• Each person will take a bag of chips, crush them, cut the top off the bag and then pile in their favorite toppings, mix it in the bag and eat!

Tips

How to Assemble Walking Taco Board

 

PREP

• Have a variety of bowls/containers to use for different size items.
• Line your surface if you are afraid items might stain or “sweat” onto your board.
• Set out all of your items in the containers you are using so you can see your options.
• Have some fresh garnish and cheese that can be used to fill in gaps/holes in your board.
• Have a good variety of colors in your ingredients, I like to use red onion instead of white or yellow, a bright red salsa and bright red chopped tomatoes, yellow cheese, all kinds of green vegetables in varying shades of green, black olives, etc. This makes the board more visually interesting.
• You can use all kinds of things for a board if you don’t have a large cutting board or marble/stone slab. Other options are parchment paper, a baking sheet or muffin tins.
• No board? Just arrange everything on a counter or table (I would suggest putting down parchment paper for this though).

ARRANGING THE BOARD

• Place your largest items first, your taco meat will probably be the biggest bowl you use. You can place it in the center, or in a corner. By placing these items in straight lines or slight curves makes it more visually appealing because the eye likes to travel in a Z pattern or in triangles. Also, odd numbers are more pleasing to the eye and brain to process. 
• After you arrange the large items place your medium sized items on the board.
• Next, place your smallest items on the board.
• Now it’s time to fill in any remaining space with loose or garnish items like cilantro bunches, piles of shredded cheese, sliced  and whole limes. These items may or may not get eaten as is, but they add to the visual esthetic of your board and keep the eye moving. You can pick up items already placed and put some of these fillers under them to keep the board flow and make sure each surface is covered.

TIPS FOR GROUPING AND ARRANGING BOARD!

• One option is in circles surrounding your main bowl of taco meat, if you have lots of containers of the same size this works nicely.
• Another option is in lines to add visual appeal.
• Or you could group them by cold or warm ingredient groupings i.e. cheese, sour cream, guacamole together/hot meat, melted cheeses, etc together; room temp items like garnish and chips in the middle.
• By color, so like colors are together creating color blocking patterns.
• If you are using a round board you can arrange ingredients as wedges, like pie pieces fanning out from the middle of your board.

Don’t forget to put your serving spoons, scoops, tongs, etc in each container too.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 310kcal (16%), Carbohydrates: 21g (7%), Protein: 16g (32%), Fat: 18g (28%), Saturated Fat: 5g (31%), Cholesterol: 51mg (17%), Sodium: 551mg (24%), Potassium: 284mg (8%), Fiber: 2g (8%), Sugar: 1g (1%), Vitamin A: 443IU (9%), Vitamin C: 2mg (2%), Calcium: 61mg (6%), Iron: 3mg (17%)

© Julie's Eats & Treats ®

We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box is calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.