Walking Tacos (Easy Party Food for a Crowd)

What is a Walking Taco Recipe?

A walking taco is a snack-size bag of chips, crushed up, then piled high with taco-seasoned, warm, ground beef and a host of toppings. It’s the ultimate crowd-pleaser, customizable by the eater, easy to make and has minimal clean-up, eaten right out of the bag with a fork and no plates.

In fact, this recipe has become one of my go-to crowd-pleasers. It’s been to football watch parties, sports team end-of-season parties and has been hailed as my son’s favorite food to serve for his birthday parties.

How This Recipe Earned Its Spot

My son’s number one favorite taco filling? Shrimp.

When he requested shrimp tacos for his 8th birthday party I knew that shrimp tacos weren’t going to happen. Cooking shrimp for 30 wasn’t in my budget of time.

Walking tacos however, were. We made a compromise because he got to choose from all of his favorite taco toppings and I got to avoid cooking shrimp for an army.

Everybody won.

What other names are there for walking tacos?

I’ve seen this recipe referred to as tacos in a bag, a taco in a bag and portable Frito pie. Whatever you call them, they’re delicious and I’m betting they’ll become a party-favorite of yours as well.

Recipe Tips for success:

• I’ve used regular or flavored chips. We like the flavors of the beef and the Doritos combined so that’s why we’ve gone with those. You could make a batch of regular and a batch of flavored so there’s something for everybody.
• We’ve served this recipe with romaine and shredded lettuce. Both are delicious, however, I find the shredded lettuce to be easier to manage. The romaine pieces are quite bulky and stiff. You know how romaine can get into places, right? It’ll poke your friends and family in the face as you’re trying to enjoy your taco. Shredded lettuce slips into the bag with ease.
• For this specific party there were 18 adults and 12 kids. I made 7 lbs of meat and still had 2 lbs leftover. The kids ate their tacos while running around the yard and the adults hovered over the toppings. Either way, everyone loved them and nobody complained about being hungry. That’s what’s important, right? 🙂

Walking Taco Party Ingredients: servings are approximate, I’d rather have extra than not have enough

• 5-6 lbs seasoned ground beef, browned and drained – see below for more on seasonings
• 40 1-oz individual tortilla chip bags
• about 3 Tbsp shredded cheddar cheese per person, or about 6 cups of shredded cheddar or about 1.5 lbs of cheese
• 2 (16 oz) containers of sour cream – some people love sour cream and will go through a lot of it.
• shredded lettuce – I’d get two of the smaller bags just in case. Unless you’re planning on having lettuce for a month, you don’t need the giant warehouse sized bags.
• salsa – about one (24 oz) jar per 15 people

Ingredient Notes

If you’re looking for some simple party foods that will feed a lot of people and allow you to actually participate in your own party, walking tacos are perfect. Not only are walking tacos crowd pleasing, the majority of the work can be completed in advance and it’s a super easy to follow along and assemble yourself kind of food.

All you have to do is set out the toppings and allow your guests to create their own chip bags of happiness.

Meat prep: One pound of seasoned ground beef will make about 6 walking tacos. For about 30 people, I’d cook up about 5 lbs of seasoned meat.

Of course, if all of your guests are adults with hearty appetites you could go up to 6 lbs but if you’re throwing a party for kids, 4 lbs may be enough. For slow cooker use, I like to use 80/20 beef because it will stay nice and juicy and won’t turn out dried out.

After the beef is cooked, drain well so they don’t make your tortilla chip bags too greasy.

Taco Seasoning

I just use the packets of taco seasoning, one per pound of meat. Old El Paso brand taco seasoning is good and so is McCormick brand.

Chips: For about 30 people, I’d get 40 of the little 1-oz chips. My favorite are the variety pack that has the Nacho Cheese and Cool Ranch flavors.

Salsa: Put the salsa in a bowl with a spoon to make it easier for guests to help themselves.

How to Make Walking Tacos for a Crowd

When cooking for a crowd, make sure to double or triple these walking taco recipe instructions as necessary. Here are a few tips to make sure everything comes together just right:

For taco seasoning, it’s easiest to use the packets, especially when making a lot of meat. If you’d rather use your own seasoning, use chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and cayenne pepper to taste.

We used the small, 1 oz. bags of Doritos in this recipe because the bag will hold its shape as you’re eating the chips, making them easy to fill with toppings. We’ve seen lots of walking taco recipes that call for Fritos, and they work fine, especially if you like something with a bit of a crunch to stand up to wetter toppings, so go with the original or the chili cheese.

Avoid any of the big bags of chips, though, which defeats the whole purpose of a walking taco.

Use the bags of shredded lettuce from the store, as romaine hearts are much harder to work with and the lettuce pieces are too long and stiff to fit nicely into the chip bag.

To avoid soggy sour cream, use the full fat version since the light sour cream will turn to soup quicker, and consider keeping it on some ice if you’re expecting your party to last more than an hour.

Cook the meat in batches if necessary, spreading it out in a single layer so it’ll brown instead of turn grey and get steamed. Once the meat is browned and the fat drained, add the rest of the seasoning and water, then transfer to a slow cooker on warm or low once cooked.

You can keep the meat there for a couple of hours without issue. For the full 5 lbs recipe, double up on slow cookers or get yourself a 6 quart.

To keep things moving along at the party, have all of the toppings set out and ready to go in individual bowls with spoons, since no one wants to be fighting for the sour cream lid.

Then it’s a party! Guests simply crush the chips by squeezing the chip bag and then tear off the top of the bag.

Add taco meat and toppings and eat right out of the chip bag, fork optional. Don’t forget that you have to walk while you’re eating.

How to Set Up a Walking Taco Bar

You’ll need the following to create the ultimate Walking Taco bar:

• taco meat
• shredded cheese
• sour cream
• salsa
• lettuce

Other options include red onions, olives kept separate from the salsa, sliced jalapeños, guacamole/diced avocados and hot sauce.

We like to put out the jalapeños and hot sauce on the other end of the toppings line. That way, if we’re serving kiddos that don’t care for spicy foods, they won’t get a little accidental spice.

If you’ll be serving a large number of guests, we’ve been successful with a party of more than 50 using one meat station with two identical topping bars set up on opposite sides of the serving table. This cuts the lines and wait times in half.

Make-Ahead Tips

Taco meat: You can make the taco meat up to 2 days ahead of time and store in the refrigerator. Place meat in slow cooker approximately 1 hour ahead of party and set on low.

If needed, add a splash of water or beef broth if the meat is a little on the dry side. Tip: Refrigerating taco meat for 1 day actually makes the flavors even better as the taco seasoning will really infuse with the meat.

Other ingredients: Shredded lettuce and diced tomatoes can be made up to 1 day ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. Same goes for most of the ingredients, except for avocado.

We recommend making guacamole the same day and adding plenty of lime juice to prevent browning.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use Fritos instead of Doritos?

You definitely can. We’ve used Fritos as well as Chili Cheese Fritos as bases.

We find that the Fritos hold up better (stay crispy) when they’re mixed with the other ingredients, like salsa, sour cream and the juice from the meat. Doritos are very tasty but have a lot of flavor on the chips themselves so the combination of Dorito seasonings plus taco seasonings can be a little much for some folks.

How do you keep the meat warm for a party?

Yes, you can keep meat in a slow cooker on the “low” or “warm” setting, or in a chafing dish on Sterno for up to 3 hours for parties. Just stir the meat every hour or so, adding a splash of water or beef broth if needed.

This will keep the meat from drying out.

Can you use turkey?

Yes, I’ve made this recipe using 93/7 ground turkey. Just brown and season the ground turkey the same as you would the ground beef.

You can then transfer the turkey to a slow cooker on “low” or “warm” just as you would with the ground beef. Ground turkey is lighter than ground beef.

It also has a milder flavor than beef. That said, my family members couldn’t tell the difference given the seasonings in the recipe, the Doritos, and the toppings.

Most people shouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

How many walking tacos should I make for my family?

For a family of 4, I’d make 1 pound of meat. We have about 6-8 bags of chips.

To avoid buying a jumbo sized box, I’ll buy a variety pack.

Where do you get individual bags of chips?

We can find single serve bags of chips in our local grocery store in the chip aisle next to the full sized bags. Some grocery stores also have a section for variety packs.

They contain multiple lunch-sized bags. Warehouse stores such as Sam’s Club and Costco usually have jumbo sized boxes as well.

If you can’t find single serve bags, small paper cups can work as bowls.

Are walking tacos Mexican?

Surprisingly, I found that walking tacos are not a Mexican recipe. Instead, it’s an American recipe that originated in the Midwest as a church potluck dish.

They’re also common in concession stands. However, I found a similar Mexican street snack known as tostilocos or dorilocos.

They’re made by adding cucumber, jicama, peanuts, chamoy, a fruit paste, and hot sauce to a bag of Tostitos or Doritos. Although different than walking tacos, I love the creativity and simplicity.

Just like walking tacos, tostilocos use a chip bag as a bowl.

More Party-Friendly Recipes

Copycat Chili’s Skillet Queso – this creamy, velvety queso with meat is amazing. Keep it in a slow-cooker and it’ll stay warm for hours – perfect served right next to your line of walking tacos or set-up your own party dip station.

Corn and Black Bean Salsa with Avocado – this salsa is great as a walking taco topping OR serve it as a dip with chips. It’s a crowd-pleaser with beautiful colors and has a nice chunkiness that makes it stand out at parties.

Seven Layer Dip – love party dips but want something cold? This is the ultimate crowd-pleaser party food that doesn’t require cooking the same day.

Made With Fresh Ingredients Salsa – take about 5 minutes to make this deliciously flavorful blender salsa that’s better than store-bought. It’s amazing on your walking taco.

Make sure to really drain the beef or your walking tacos will be very greasy.

Taco meat can be made ahead of time (2 days max). Just add a little water or broth when reheating if necessary.

Meat can be kept in the slow cooker for 2-3 hours for party tacos, walking tacos, and more.

For large groups, set up 2 taco topping lines so guests can move through the process a little quicker.