I can’t remember where I first saw the combination of purple cabbage and ground beef – it may have been a Hello Fresh recipe – but I remember thinking almost immediately that I thought it would make a good taco filling. So, of course, I had to try it. And it did.
As it turns out this makes a quick and easy weeknight dinner. There a little chopping at the beginning, but most of the cooking time is hands off, just letting the meat simmer and the sauce thicken. Adding the cabbage helps stretch a pound of beef to make more filling (important when feeding hungry guys) and it adds some vegetable nutrition to what is usually a veggie-light dinner. It’s a super simple recipe that relies on a pre-made taco seasoning from Penzey’s, but you can make your own seasoning from scratch if you want. I’m just lazy. 😉
I use 1/2 of a medium sized purple cabbage, which comes to between 3-4 cups chopped. For me that’s the perfect balance between meat and veg for this purpose. Feel free to play around with the amount of cabbage to your own taste, though.
You could also skip the can of Ro-Tel or you could add plain canned tomatoes instead. If you don’t add a can of something, be sure to add a little more water to the pan for simmering.
In my house we all like our tacos a little differently. One person likes the traditional crunchy corn shells. One person (me) likes soft flour tortillas. And one person likes to toast the flour tortillas (using our taco rack that you see in the photos) to make crunchy flour shells. For that matter, I’ve been known to throw some tortilla chips in a bowl and top them with leftover filling to make a sloppy version of nachoes for lunch the next day. So go with whatever pleases you as far as presentation.
Finally, serve these with a wide variety of toppings. Shredded lettuce or cabbage, avocado, guacamole, cheese, crema, sour cream, diced fresh tomatoes, salsa … there’s pretty much no limit to how you can fancy these up.
And as I mentioned above, this makes great leftovers for the next day’s lunch.
Enjoy!
Beef & Cabbage Taco Filling
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 12 oz can Rotel tomatoes
- ½ head purple cabbage chopped
- 2 tbsp taco seasoning
- 1 cup water I use the Rotel can to measure
Instructions
- Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat1 lb lean ground beef
- Add the remaining ingredients and mix well1 12 oz can Rotel tomatoes, 1/2 head purple cabbage, 2 tbsp taco seasoning, 1 cup water
- Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered until reduced to a thick sauce, about 20-30 mins