Greek Tacos

Greek Tacos are a delicious Mediterranean taco twist made with seasoned ground meat folded into a warm tortilla with feta, tomatoes, cucumber salsa, fresh herbs, and more. Ready in 30 minutes.

Jump to:

• Why You Will Love these Tacos with a Twist
• Greek Taco Ingredients
• How to Make Greek Tacos
• Substitutions
• Storage
• Top Tip: Sauce It Up!
• More Greek-inspired Recipes
• What to Serve with Greek Tacos
• Greek Tacos

Why You Will Love these Tacos with a Twist

Looking for something new to serve for Taco Tuesday? If you're tired of the same ol’ same ol’ and looking for a something your family will love, allow us introduce you to Greek Tacos! This easy, budget-friendly recipe marries Mediterranean flavors with the ease of weeknight tacos: seasoned ground meat, crumbly feta, juicy tomatoes, and a zesty cucumber salsa, all wrapped in a soft, warm tortilla.

Greek Tacos are seriously one of our favorite lazy dinners. These unique tacos are truly a lifesaver; especially when it's too hot out, or we're just too tired to cook. Simple and adaptable, you can have these tacos on the table - start to finish - in under 30 minutes.

This easy twisted taco recipe is a tasty option year round, but late summer is a particularly good time to make them, when garden-ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, and greens push all those fresh flavors over the top. They taste a lot like a regular gyros, but the ground meat (or "loose meat," as they say in the Midwest) makes them so much faster and easier to make. Swapping out pita for a tortilla makes them taste lighter, too.

Greek Taco Ingredients

• Ground Meat: Greek tacos can be made with ground beef, ground turkey, or ground chicken; all with good results. Optimally, choose meat that is about 85% lean. You can use a lighter ground meat (i.e., 93% lean/7% fat), but the meat mixture won’t be as flavorful.
  • If using ground chicken, you will probably need to use significantly more Greek seasoning.
• Tortillas: Use store-bought or homemade flour tortillas.
• Feta: We recommend using full-fat or low-fat feta.
• Arugula: Arugula is an amazing leafy green! Lemony, peppery, and bright, it can stand up to the heat of the meat mixture, and makes a great lettuce bed for these tacos. Use baby or regular arugula, based on your preference. Baby arugula has smaller, more tender leaves and a milder flavor.
• Cucumber: We prefer to use an English cucumber when they are available, but any cucumber will do. Be sure to seed the cucumber before you dice it.
• Tomatoes: Use quartered or halved cherry tomatoes, or diced regular tomatoes.
• Onions: You can use any combination or red and sweet onions for the meat mix and the cucumber salsa.
  • We use a sweet onion in the meat mixture because the onion doesn't completely break down in this preparation, and the onion retains some of its sweet flavors.
  • We like to use a red onion in the cucumber salsa because it has the right sweet-to-bite ratio, and it looks pretty.
• Greek yogurt: Use a good, whole milk plain Greek-style yogurt.
• Garlic: Fresh is best.
• Basil: Fresh basil makes an aromatic garnish.
• Greek seasoning: We've included a simple Greek seasoning as part of this recipe. The homemade seasoning takes just minutes to mix up, and it makes enough for 3 to 4 batches of Greek taco meat.
  • If you don't want to make your own, we recommend using Cavenders All-purpose Greek Seasoning.

How to Make Greek Tacos

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together salt, garlic powder, basil, oregano, cinnamon, dill, black pepper, onion powder, rosemary, and nutmeg.

If you own an electric spice or coffee grinder, pour the mixture into the grinder and pulverize it so everything has a similar texture; however, this is totally optional.

This makes more than enough Greek seasoning! (You only need 2 to 3 teaspoons for the taco recipe.

In a medium mixing bowl, toss together diced red onion, diced cucumber, and red wine vinegar. Cover and set aside.

Tip: You can add some chopped fresh basil to the cucumber mix if you would like; however, we prefer to sprinkle it on as garnish.

Heat a large, heavy skillet over high heat until a drop of water sizzles away immediately. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan.

Into the hot pan, break off the ground meat a bit at a time until the entire amount is covering the bottom of the skillet. For optimal flavor, allow the meat to sizzle and caramelize for a couple minutes before you release it and break it up.

Once the the ground meat has gotten that first sizzle, stir in the chopped onions and garlic. Season the mixture with 2 teaspoons of Greek seasoning. Continue to cook until the meat has fully browned, stirring occasionally to break things up.

Drain off any excess fat in a colander if needed. (DO NOT rinse the meat!) Taste meat and season with additional Greek seasoning, salt, and pepper as desired.

For nearly effortless assembly, serve everything up Taco Bar Style, and let everyone make their own tacos!

Layer filling down the middle of one flour tortilla, in order:

• arugula
• seasoned ground meat
• plain yogurt
• cucumber-onion salsa
• tomatoes
• feta
• fresh basil
• Squirt of lemon

This is only a suggestion. Assemble tacos according to your own preferences.

Substitutions

• Feta: You can substitute in any mild, crumbly cheese, but once again, it may significantly impact the overall flavor of the dish. Greek halloumi, queso fresco, goat cheese, and ricotta are all good substitutes. If you use a cheese that you love, chances are you will love the tacos just as much.
• Arugula: Substitutes include fresh spinach, fresh basil, or any lettuce or leafy green you have on hand.
• Greek yogurt: You can substitute any plain yogurt, but there will be a trade-off in the flavor and texture. You can also substitute sour cream, or make some Creamy Tzadiki Sauce or Yogurt Dill Sauce.

Storage

Refrigerate taco components separately (i.e., meat filling,cucumbers salsa, arugula, tortillas).

To store cooked meat filling, allow it to cool completely, then place in an air-tight container. The filling for can be refrigerated for 3-4 days, or frozen for up to 3 months.

Top Tip: Sauce It Up!

Plain Greek yogurt is a simple, easy sauce option for Greek tacos. However, if you'd like to give your sauce-game an extra boost, try one or more of these dips and sauces:

• Creamy Tzadiki Sauce
• Creamy Yogurt Dill Sauce with Feta
• Garlic Hummus
• Easy Sriracha-Garlic Yogurt Dip (Exactly what it sounds like: to each half cup of yogurt, mix in a half-teaspoon of minced garlic and a teaspoon or more of Sriracha.)
• Muhammara (Red Pepper Walnut Dip)

More Greek-inspired Recipes

We love the fresh, bright, herby flavors of Greek cuisine! Some of our favorite Greek-inspired recipes include Greek turkey burgers, spanikopita, creamy dill sauce, and our delicious stuffed grape leaves.

What to Serve with Greek Tacos

Greek tacos make a satisfying stand-alone, but they also pair well with many simple sides for a more complete meal. Greek lemon rice or couscous are quick, easy choices. If you have a little more time, grilled eggplant tomato stacks make a delicious pairing.

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