You have to try this combo – this is how to make taco smash burgers on a griddle! Cook it outdoors on the Blackstone Grill or Traeger Grills Flatrock Griddle, or inside on a cast iron skillet. Let’s griddle smashed taco burgers!
Thanks to Traeger Grills for sending over the griddle used in this demo – all opinions are my own. See my Traeger Flatrock Grill review.
TIP for your first time smashing burgers…
Have your toppings ready to go…
And make just 1-2 smash burgers at a time to get into the flow of it…
This recipe cooks fast!
Follow Sip Bite Go on Instagram and TikTok for easy griddle cooking tips…
What is a taco smash burger?
These are basically a smashburger, cooked into a soft tortilla shell…
And then topped with Mexican inspired toppings, or Big Mac toppings…
Or whatever you’d like to make classic burgers into a taco…
Why smash burger tacos are SO great…
- FAST recipe.
- Inventive new dinner idea to spice up your week!
- Make them inside in a cast iron skillet.
- OR griddle taco smash burgers outside!
- Smashed burgers cook fast.
- Make your own tasty hamburger patties.
- Serve as a main course, or as part of a taco bar.
- Never decide between burger night and taco night again!
New to cooking burgers?
Scroll to the bottom of this post for step-by-step video instructions.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make smash burger tacos.
Ingredients for taco smash burger base
- 1 LB ground beef, 80/20 (this will make 6 taco smashed burgers)
- 6 flour tortillas, 6-8” medium size
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 3 tbsp butter, salted, divided in 6 portions
- 6 slices cheddar cheese
Ideas for the toppings for taco smash burgers
- Pickles
- Lettuce
- Blackstone onions and peppers
- Smoked salsa
- Cotija cheese
- Sour cream
- Blackstone corn on the cob
- Cilantro
See popular smoked food recipes on Sip Bite Go…
How to make smash burger tacos
Now I’ll walk you through it…
Quick look at smash burger tacos recipe
- Prep burger patties by them into balls…(no seasoning yet)
- Heat griddle / inside pan to about medium high heat.
- Add butter to the griddle and let it melt.
- Add burger ball and season.
- Quickly add tortilla and smash it down into the beef ball to make a thin patty.
- Flip when ready…about 2 – 3 minutes.
- Top with cheese to melt and condiments of your liking.
- Enjoy.
See how to make smoked burgers…
Detailed recipe steps…
- Prep all toppings in advance. I like to set out a smash burger bar with all the Mexican-inspired or Big Mac inspired toppings ready to go. If you’re cooking anything else like onions and peppers, get them cooking before the smash burgers, since they take longer to cook.
- Get your equipment ready so you can cook ‘em fast! Also have your burger press or a large, heavy spatula ready to go so you can smash the burger quickly. And a dome if you want it to help melt the cheese in the final steps.
- Prep hamburger patties for taco smash burgers. To do this, divide the package of ground beef into 6 equal portions. Roll beef in hands to make each portion a circle that’s about the size of a meatball. You’ll season these later, on the outdoor griddle or in the cast iron skillet. Chill until you’re ready to cook.
- Prep smashed taco burger seasonings. In a small bowl, mix together the salt and pepper, and garlic powder. You’ll apply these seasonings, to taste, as you make the burgers.
- Preheat cook surface. I usually set a cast iron skillet to med-high or high, OR griddle grill to medium or med-high. (I find my Flatrock/Blackstone griddles get hotter faster than my inside stove, that’s why I say this, but use your judgment).
- TIP for your first time: make just 1-2 smash burgers at a time to get into the flow of it…
- Add one cube of butter to the hot griddle / pan.
- Quickly add the burger ball on top. Sprinkle the burger ball with a little seasoning.
- Quickly add a tortilla and SMOOSH it down with a burger press or large metal spatula until it’s as thin as possible.
- Closely monitor taco smash burger while it cooks. Once the bottom (where the beef patty is) appears cooked and browned, and is easy to lift off the hot surface with a spatula – when it doesn’t stick when you try to lift it…. Then it’s ready to…
- FLIP IT! And sprinkle a little more seasoning on top, if desired.
- Add cheese on top (optional: toss a burger dome on top to melt the cheese faster) and cook until the tortilla on the bottom lightly browns to your liking. You just want to lightly toast the tortilla so it’s easy to bend in half when it cools a bit and folds like a taco shell.
- Remove taco smash burger from griddle / cast iron pan when it’s cooked to your liking. Hopefully you smashed it thin enough that it cooked to your desired temperature. Smash burgers, since they are so thin, are typically served more on the medium-well to well-done side since they are thin, crispy burgers. You can use an internal read thermometer to cook them to your preference.
- Finish your trending viral taco smash burgers as you’d like!
See new griddle guides for the Blackstone Griddle Grill…
FAQs
I recommend using 80/20 ground beef for the hamburger patties. If you’d like a patty that’s less fatty, then go with 90/10 ground beef.
The trick to making a smash burger taco is to place the ground beef ball onto the flat top and using a flour tortilla and burger press, smash the tortilla against the beef to make it a thin crispy beef patty that’s formed into the same shape as the tortilla.
This is a really fast process. When cooking over medium high heat on your flat top, the smashburger tacos will be ready to flip within 2-3 minutes. The patty will be nice and crispy.
While you could use either corn tortillas, I definitely recommend using a flour tortilla on top of the beef patties because flour tortillas will be a bit more pliable during the cooking process. Even after toasting the tortilla after flipping, you’ll still be able to fold a flour tortilla like a taco.
Try these easy griddle recipes…
- Smashed breakfast burgers
- Griddled bacon
- Griddled onions
- Griddled chicken breast
- Griddle corn on the cob
- Quesadillas on the griddle
- Onion smashed burgers
- Philly cheesesteak smash burgers
- Steak fajitas on griddle
- GUIDE: seasoning Blackstone Griddle grills for the first time
See new griddle recipes for beginners…
Griddle cooking tools in the SBG setup…
Main griddle equipment
- Outdoor flattops: Blackstone Griddle + Traeger Flatrock (gifted).
- Indoor griddle: Lodge Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Grill Pan
Other helpful grilling tools, accessories, ingredients…
- Heavy-duty Traeger tongs
- Traeger Tray (love for prep and to carry ingredients to the grill)
- Meat Church Texas Sugar BBQ
- California Avocado Oil Blend
Traeger Flatrock guides
- Traeger Flatrock grill review
- Tips for seasoning Traeger Flatrock grills
- Guide to Flatrock grease bucket
- See demos for the Traeger Flatrock grill cover
- Check out popular Flatrock accessories and the Flatrock smash burger kit
Meat thermometer recommendations
Every home chef needs a reliable meat thermometer to cook food perfectly.
On Sip Bite Go, you’ll often see me using:
- Meater thermometer – a fancy wireless thermometer that connects to a phone app – gifted to me from a Traeger partnership.
- ThermoPro digital thermometer – which has a wire that connects the thermometer to a display box outside the oven/grill.
It’s like being psychic! The great thing about either of the thermometers above is that I don’t have to take the food out of the oven to know the temperature.
How to use ‘em… What I do is stick the digital thermometer in steak, pork, chicken, whatever… Then put the food in the oven, on the smoker, or grill.
While the meat cooks, it reads the temperature so I know exactly what temp meat is as it’s cooking. Without having to take it out and check. It’s really difficult to overcook food when you know exactly what temp it is inside!
Are you a foodie, too?
Hey home chef, hope that answers all your questions about making taco style smash burgers.
I’ll be sure to add to the Sip Bite Go burger recipe collection here with any new Instagram smash burger recipes / trending Tik Tok burger recipes I test out!
Enjoy cooking and chat soon on Instagram / TikTok / YouTube.
– Jenna
Next, browse the Sip Bite Go recipe collection…
VIRAL Taco Smash Burger Recipe | Sip Bite Go
Equipment
Ingredients
Ingredients for taco smash burger base
- 1 LB ground beef 80/20 (this will make 6 taco smashed burgers)
- 6 flour tortillas 6-8” medium size
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 3 tbsp butter salted, divided in 6 portions
- 6 slices cheddar cheese
Ideas for the toppings for taco smash burgers
- Pickles
- Lettuce
- Blackstone onions and peppers
- Smoked salsa
- Cotija cheese
- Sour cream
- Blackstone corn on the cob
- Cilantro
Instructions
- Prep all toppings in advance. I like to set out a smash burger bar with all the Mexican-inspired or Big Mac inspired toppings ready to go. If you’re cooking anything else like onions and peppers, get them cooking before the smash burgers, since they take longer to cook.
- Get your equipment ready so you can cook ‘em fast! Also have your burger press or a large, heavy spatula ready to go so you can smash the burger quickly. And a dome if you want it to help melt the cheese in the final steps.
- Prep hamburger patties for taco smash burgers. To do this, divide the package of ground beef into 6 equal portions. Roll beef in hands to make each portion a circle that’s about the size of a meatball. You’ll season these later, on the outdoor griddle or in the cast iron skillet. Chill until you’re ready to cook.
- Prep smashed taco burger seasonings. In a small bowl, mix together the salt and pepper, and garlic powder. You’ll apply these seasonings, to taste, as you make the burgers.
- Preheat cook surface. I usually set a cast iron skillet to med-high or high, OR griddle grill to medium or med-high. (I find my Flatrock/Blackstone griddles get hotter faster than my inside stove, that’s why I say this, but use your judgment).
- TIP for your first time: make just 1-2 smash burgers at a time to get into the flow of it…
- Add one cube of butter to the hot griddle / pan.
- Quickly add the burger ball on top. Sprinkle the burger ball with a little seasoning.
- Quickly add a tortilla and SMOOSH it down with a burger press or large metal spatula until it’s as thin as possible.
- Closely monitor taco smash burger while it cooks. Once the bottom (where the beef patty is) appears cooked and browned, and is easy to lift off the hot surface with a spatula – when it doesn’t stick when you try to lift it…. Then it’s ready to…
- FLIP IT! And sprinkle a little more seasoning on top, if desired.
- Add cheese on top (optional: toss a burger dome on top to melt the cheese faster) and cook until the tortilla on the bottom lightly browns to your liking. You just want to lightly toast the tortilla so it’s easy to bend in half when it cools a bit and folds like a taco shell.
- Remove taco smash burger from griddle / cast iron pan when it’s cooked to your liking. Hopefully you smashed it thin enough that it cooked to your desired temperature. Smash burgers, since they are so thin, are typically served more on the medium-well to well-done side since they are thin, crispy burgers. You can use an internal read thermometer to cook them to your preference.
- Finish your trending viral taco smash burgers as you’d like!
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