This potato tacos recipe comprises crispy potatoes loaded with spices and your favorite toppings, making it a perfect vegetarian option.
When it comes to tacos, I can never have enough - from chicken mole tacos to sweet potato tacos to chorizo tacos to rolled chicken tacos to crispy chicken tacos.
And when I'm craving vegetarian, Mexican food is the first thing that comes to mind. I think it is just because you can add spices and flavoring and a lot of veggies just translate well.
And my latest are these potato tacos. It is almost like hash browns with spices in a taco with a ton of toppings. I mean what sounds wrong with that?
No you don't need to be vegetarian to enjoy these. Trust me I love some good old beef tacos, but I also like mixing it up.
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Ingredient Notes
- Potatoes - by cooking and adding a ton of spices you get a depth of flavor that is almost like meat.
- Cornstarch - helps crisp up the potatoes when cooking on the stove top.
- Spices - the combination of spices enhances the flavor of the potato tacos.
- Toppings - you can't have tacos without toppings. My go-tos are onion, corn, tomatoes, avocado, lime juice and cilantro. Oh and a little bit of cheese of course.
Ingredient Swaps
Like any recipe, you can mix up some of the ingredients. Some variations include:
- While it is called potato tacos for a reason, you can sub Yukon Gold, sweet potatoes or even butternut squash.
- While I like cornstarch to add crispiness, you can use all-purpose flour as well.
- Feta cheese has some saltiness that works well with these tacos, but cotija or pepper jack cheese can be used too.
- I'm a fan of corn tortillas, but you can use flour tortillas.
Step-by-Step Photos
Add the potatoes to cold water and bring to boil for 10-15 minutes, or until fork tender. Transfer the drained potatoes to a large bowl and toss with the cornstarch and spices.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook potatoes for 3 minutes before flipping and cooking another 3 minutes. Serve over warm tortillas with your desired toppings.
FAQs
Since they are diced, they cook much quicker. You know they are done when you can easily cut through one with a knife or fork.
Heat a small skillet over medium-high heat and cook for the tortillas 30 seconds on both side. You can also add a dash of olive oil when cooking them.
I like to have a little texture with these sweet potato and black bean tacos so I always use oil when cooking the tortillas.
Every taco should have cheese and I like feta. But you also want some fat, so avocado or even some homemade guacamole works well. You can also add some raw onion and tomatoes to get a sharp burst of flavor. And of course a squeeze of lime never hurts.
Types of Potatoes
The type of potato you use really affects the texture/flavor of the tacos. These include:
- Russet - very starchy and best known for baked potatoes. It is the most common potato and what I use.
- Idaho - very similar to Russets in that they are more mealy and starchy.
- Waxy - low in starch, but high in sugar and moisture so they hold their shape better. If you want more bite in your taco, these are the choice.
- Yukon Gold - considered the all-purpose potato. They are in between the more starchy and waxy potato varieties so they'll be less firm than waxy potatoes, but have a little more texture than starchy.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- Be consistent when cutting potatoes so it will cook evenly.
- I keep the skin on for added texture but you can remove the skin.
- Start potatoes in cold water and bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer. If you start in hot water, the potatoes will cook unevenly.
- Cook until just done and drain potatoes well to avoid a mushy, watery mess.
Other Taco Recipes
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Potato Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs Russet potatoes, scrubbed and diced into ½ inch cubes
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 10-12 corn tortillas
- onion, tomato, cilantro, avocado, cheese, limes, sour cream for topping
Instructions
- Add the potatoes to a large pot of cold water, making sure they are covered. Bring to a boil and cook for 10-15 minutes or until they are fork tender. Drain the potatoes.
- Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and toss with the cornstarch, cumin, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, salt and black pepper.
- Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add potatoes in a single layer and cook for about 3 minutes so they get crispy. Flip and cook for another 3 minutes.
- For tortillas, heat small skillet over medium-high heat and cook for 30 seconds on both sides. Serve crispy potatoes over warm tortillas with your favorite toppings.
Notes
- Be consistent when cutting potatoes so it will cook evenly.
- I keep the skin on for added texture but you can remove the skin.
- Start potatoes in cold water and bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer. If you start in hot water, the potatoes will cook unevenly.
- Cook until just done and drain potatoes well to avoid a mushy, watery mess.
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