Mini tacos made out of Tortilla chips! Yes, these ARE as amazing and simple as they look. It’s an ingenious hack to an appetizer that you don’t have to fry yourself. The secret is softening the chip with refried beans, layering with cooked ground beef, and sprinkling with Colby cheese. Baking them melts the cheese and helps you smash the sides together to create tacos. Those Tiktoker’s come up with some great ideas.

My first thought when I saw these was, “this would be so easy I can just use cold refried beans. I don’t have to warm anything!” Well, I first tested this recipe using refried beans directly from the can. It does work, but it doesn’t soften the chips as using hot beans. The tacos only bake for up to 8 minutes, which doesn’t give it enough time to soften the chip enough or melt the cheese.

The two key flavor components of this recipe are the tortilla chip and the taco meat. The standard taco meat recipe I’ve included here will work great, but obviously the longer simmering taco meat or the family favorite taco meat recipe will take these above and beyond great.

The tortilla chip is the other factor in how your taco tastes especially if it’s a flavored chip. Use your favorite or what looks good at the grocery store. All tortilla chips work as long as they’re round. Sorry Doritos.

As soon as these come out of the oven, you must start folding. They shouldn’t be too too hot, but they are hot so be careful and use a pair of tongs if you have to. The tacos will cool quite fast and that’s how they set up. You could probably rewarm these or cook them in advanced for a party by sprinkling them with cheese and baking them. They do tend to stay moist and delicious even after they cool to warm. These remind me of those classic bowling alley tacos from the snack bar, but so much better.

These make for a great party snack, gameday appetizer, or even late night treat. Mini tacos have never been easier than this trick and I couldn’t be happier.