You won’t even miss the meat in these Mexican potato tacos! Made with delicious, perfectly spicy Mexican mashed potatoes, these crispy tacos are sure to be a hit at your next fiesta or Taco Tuesday dinner at home!
Mexican food is a favorite in our family, and we’ve definitely ventured through the doors of our fair share of Mexican restaurants. From food trucks serving authentic Mexican food to fine dining Mexican restaurants to our favorite local Mexican spot that we visit once a week, we’ve tried them all!
And yet, we haven’t seen potato tacos on a single restaurant menu.
After all, mashed potato tacos just sounds odd, right? Like, who in their right mind would put mashed potatoes in a crispy corn tortilla shell and try to pass that off as a taco? But then I made these homemade potato tacos and my view was forever changed.
Mashed potato tacos are amazing! Why haven’t I had these before?! And why aren’t more Mexican restaurants serving this delicious and flavorful meatless taco option? So I’m sharing this recipe with you, so you can discover the magic of these simple and perplexing tacos, too!
*And be sure to check out these Mexican Street Corn Fritters or these Mexican Chorizo Potatoes next!
What are Potato Tacos?
Mexican potato tacos, or “tacos de papas” in Spanish, are a popular dish in many regions of Mexico. These meatless tacos consist of a mashed potato filling stuffed inside a corn tortilla. The folded tortilla then gets fried or baked until golden and crispy. The potato filling often includes cheese, spices, or onions to make these tacos de papas extra delicious!
Potato tacos are a fantastic option for vegetarians or anyone looking to try a different type of taco. The crispy tacos can be served as a main dish or a side and are often garnished with fresh ingredients like lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, and salsa.
What do I need for potato tacos?
Tacos de papas recipes vary widely from family to family, but the core idea remains the same. A mashed potato mixture inside a crispy corn tortilla. Here are the ingredients that we used to recreate this popular Mexican recipe:
- potatoes – If you have leftover mashed potatoes, then you can definitely add a few ingredients to make Mexican mashed potatoes for this taco recipe. If not, you’ll need a few baking potatoes to make your mashed potato base first.
- cheese – We used a block of Mexican style melting cheese, but feel free to substitute shredded pepper jack or shredded sharp cheddar. The important thing is to freshly grate it yourself for the best results.
- dried guajillo peppers – Look for these in the Hispanic aisle of the grocery store. If you can’t find the guajillo peppers, you can substitute 1-2 chipotles in adobo (the individual peppers from the can, not the whole can). Though if you haven’t used the real dried peppers, I recommend you give them a try!
- chipotles in adobo – You only need one pepper from the can, or half a pepper for a less spicy potato dish.
- other mashed potato ingredients – Butter, half and half, salt, and pepper.
- corn tortillas
- high heat cooking oil – To fry the crispy tacos. We prefer peanut oil for this recipe, but avocado oil or other high-heat cooking oils will work also.
- taco toppings – Tacos de papas are traditionally served with toppings such as thinly sliced radish, diced white onion, shredded lettuce or cabbage, sour cream, salsa, or sour cream. Add your favorite taco toppings.
Making Mexican Mashed Potatoes
The real star of this taco fiesta is the Mexican mashed potatoes! In fact, we’ll be making these deliciously spicy and flavorful potatoes again to serve as a side dish with our favorite Mexican main dishes – they are that good!
And while it may seem like there’s a lot of steps to make the homemade Mexican potatoes, trust me when I say, it’s worth it! And the process is actually very simple. Start by cooking Russett potatoes until fork tender, and then follow these steps:
- Seed and de-stem three dried guajillo peppers. Add the peppers to a saucepan with about 1 cup of boiling water. Rehydrate the peppers in the water for about 15 minutes or until tender.
- Add the rehydrated peppers and about 1/2 of the liquid from the pan to a blender cup with 1 pepper from a can of chipotles in adobo. Blend until a smooth but thick consistency.
- Mash the cooked and peeled Russet potatoes with cream, butter, salt, and pepper.
- Fold shredded cheese and the chipotle pepper mixture into the mashed potatoes.
Then try to save some of the delicious Mexican potatoes for your tacos… The mashed potatoes are so amazing straight from the bowl, that you may be tempted to just eat them plain!
*NOTE – We divided our mashed potatoes and only added the blended pepper mixture to about half of the potatoes. We made some potato tacos with the regular mashed potatoes for the kids, and they were still fantastic – though we did prefer the potatoes with the added peppers.
How to Make Potato Tacos
Once your mashed potatoes are made, this recipe is incredibly simple. Here’s a look at the steps to fill and fry the corn tortillas on the griddle or in a skillet:
Step 1: Fill the corn tortillas with the mashed potatoes.
Heat the corn tortillas in the microwave or on the griddle or skillet just until pliable, about 15-20 seconds. This helps to keep the tortillas from cracking when folded.
Add a scoop of the potato mixture to one side of the tortilla, and fold in half to form a taco shape. Continue until all of your tortillas are stuffed.
Step 2: Fry the potato tacos until crispy.
Next, add a few tablespoons of your favorite high heat cooking oil to a heated griddle or large skillet. Place the potato stuffed tacos on the first side to fry. Allow the tacos to cook on the first side for about 2-3 minutes, or until golden and crispy. The cooking time will vary based on the temperature of your griddle or skillet.
Use a spatula to flip the tacos to the second side to fry, adding more oil to the cooking surface if needed. Be careful that the hot oil doesn’t splatter up and burn you as you’re flipping the tacos.
Continue to fry until the tortillas are crispy and golden brown. You may need to add a bit more oil or flip the tacos multiple times so that the tortillas cook evenly and crisp up. You can also add a sprinkle of salt to the outside of the tacos right before you take them off the griddle, while the crispy shells are still moist from the oil.
Step 3: Serve the potato tacos with your favorite toppings.
When the tacos are done, transfer to a serving plate. Garnish with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sliced avocado, salsa, crumbled queso fresco or cotija cheese, and fresh cilantro. Then serve hot.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Choose the Right Potatoes: Russet potatoes are ideal for this recipe due to their high starch content, which results in fluffy mashed potatoes. However, you can also use Yukon Gold or red potatoes for a slightly different texture and flavor.
- Make the Filling Ahead: The Mexican mashed potato filling can be prepared a day in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
- Keep the Tortillas Warm and Pliable: To prevent tortillas from cracking when folded, keep them warm and covered with a damp cloth. You can also steam them briefly before filling.
- Baking Option: For a healthier alternative, you can bake the assembled tacos at 400°F for about 15-20 minutes, or until crispy, turning them halfway through.
How to Store and Reheat
Store any leftover tacos in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat them in the oven at 350°F for about 10-15 minutes to regain their crispiness. Or you can also reheat in a toaster oven on a medium to high toast setting.
How to Make Homemade Corn Tortillas
When we made these tacos for the first time we used homemade corn tortillas, and they were amazing! The scratch-made tortillas really give your tacos a more authentic taste, and they only take two ingredients – instant corn masa and water.
We followed these instructions on the bag of Masa Brosa Instant Corn Masa:
- Add 2 cups instant corn masa to a large mixing bowl. Pour in 1 1/4 cup water.
- Mix thoroughly for 2-3 minutes until a firm dough ball forms. (It may have a similar texture to wet sand.) If the dough feels dry, add 1-2 tablespoons of water.
- Divide the dough into about 16 small dough balls. Each ball should be slightly larger than a golf ball. Cover the dough balls with a damp paper towel to keep them moist while you roll out one tortilla at a time.
- Use a tortilla press or a rolling pin to flatten each ball into a tortilla shape, about 5-6 inches in diameter.
- Cook the tortillas on a very hot, un-greased skillet or griddle about 30 seconds per side. Once cooked, keep the tortillas warm so that they remain pliable.
Can I use flour tortillas instead of corn tortillas?
Yes, you can use flour tortillas if you prefer. They will have a different texture and taste but will still be delicious. Flour tortillas might need a bit less frying time as they tend to crisp up faster.
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Mexican Potato Tacos (Tacos de Papas)
Ingredients
For the Mashed Potato Filling:
- 3 large russet potatoes
- ¾ stick butter
- ¼ cup half and half *Or substitute milk or cream.
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ½ tablespoon black pepper
- 3 dried guajillo peppers stems and seeds removed
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo (1 individual pepper from the can, NOT the whole can)
- 8 ounces Mexican melting cheese, freshly grated *We used a block of queso – or substitute pepper jack or sharp cheddar.
For the Tacos:
- 16 corn tortillas
- high-heat cooking oil for frying *Enough to shallow fry the tacos.
- shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, salsa, crumbled Mexican cheese, chopped cilantro, or your favorite taco toppings for garnish
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes. Rinse the whole potatoes to remove any dirt. Place in a large pot and cover with cold water, about 1" above the potatoes. Bring the water to a boil, and then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover the pot with a lid and simmer the potatoes until fork-tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. (The potatoes should be done when the internal temperature is about 196-200℉.) Remove potatoes from the water and allow to cool slightly.
- Prepare the pepper mixture. While the potatoes are boiling, add 3 dried guajillo peppers to a small saucepan. Add 1 cup of boiling water. Let the peppers sit in the boiling water for about 15 minutes until tender. Transfer the rehydrated peppers, about half of the liquid from the saucepan, and 1 chipotle pepper in adobo to a small blender cup. Blend until smooth.
- Make the mashed potato filling. Remove the skins from the potatoes. Add the potatoes to a large mixing bowl with butter, half and half, salt, and pepper. Use a hand mixer to mix until smooth. Fold in the shredded cheese and the pepper mixture until well combined.
- Assemble the potato tacos. Heat corn tortillas just until pliable, about 15-20 seconds. Place a spoonful of the mashed potato mixture on one half of a corn tortilla. Fold the tortilla in half to form a taco. Repeat until all tacos have been assembled.
- Heat a skillet or griddle. Preheat large skillet or griddle to about 400-425℉. Add 3-4 tablespoons of high-heat cooking oil, enough to shallow fry the tacos.
- Fry the potato tacos. Carefully place the folded tacos in the hot oil, a few at a time, and shallow fry until golden brown and crispy on both sides, about 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels to drain off excess oil.
- Serve and garnish. Garnish with shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sliced avocado, salsa, crumbled queso fresco or cotija cheese, or your favorite toppings. Serve hot.
Notes
- Russet potatoes work best for this recipe because of their higher starch content, which results in fluffier mashed potatoes.
- You may make the mashed potato mixture ahead of time and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- To prevent the tortillas from cracking when filling, keep them warm and covered with a damp cloth. You can also steam them briefly before filling.
- Store any leftover tacos in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat them in the oven at 350°F for about 10-15 minutes to regain their crispiness. Or you can also reheat in a toaster oven on a medium to high toast setting.
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