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Taco Salad Wonton Cups
These adorable Wonton Taco Cups are a quick and easy appetizer everyone is sure to love. Tiny, elegant, and delightfully crispy baked wonton cups hold all of your favorite taco salad ingredients for a delicious two-bite snack. Best of all, they only take 25 minutes to make!
Table of Contents
Why We Love This Recipe
When it comes to hors d’oeuvres and finger foods, my personal rule is one piece should never exceed 2 bites. When you’re trying to pack a lot of flavor into such a small package, things can get a little tricky to layer. Luckily, wonton cup appetizers hold everything in one neat, tidy package.
These taco salad wonton cups are no exception! Filled with deliciously seasoned ground beef, melty cheese, crunchy lettuce, fresh salsa, cool sour cream, AND rich guacamole, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more flavorful nibble.
In addition to being downright crave-worthy, these taco wonton cups are also:
- Quick & Easy. They’re done in just 25 minutes, even if you make your own homemade pico de gallo.
- Easily Customizable. Feel free to swap in different meats or toppings to make the taco salad of your dreams.
- Made With Just 9 Ingredients. With an ingredient list this short, you don’t even need a grocery cart!
Ingredients For Wonton Taco Cups
As promised, you don’t need much to make some seriously delicious mini taco salad appetizers. Here’s your shopping list:
- Wonton Wrappers – Found in the refrigerator aisle of most major grocery stores, these little guys are awesome to keep on hand in the freezer for last-minute apps. I used Nasoya brand vegan wonton wrappers. Feel free to swap in gyoza or egg roll wrappers as needed, though you may need to cut them to size.
- Ground Beef – This recipe was developed using 85/15 ground beef, but you can easily swap in ground Mexican chorizo, ground chicken, ground turkey, or meatless crumbles.
- Taco Seasoning – Those pre-blended packets are one of my favorite conveniences, but you can also feel free to make your own. I used Taco Bell brand for this recipe.
- Mexican Blend Cheese – Buying a pre-grated cheese blend makes prep (and clean-up) a snap, and it’s fine for topping tacos or salads. Feel free to use any finely grated cheese you prefer.
- Iceberg or Romaine Lettuce – For that irresistible salad crunch. If using romaine lettuce, remove the center rib of the leaves first. Stack up the leafy greens and slice very thinly.
- Pico de Gallo – I’ve included the recipe to make your own pico, but you can easily swap in your favorite store-bought or homemade salsa. To make your own you’ll need tomatoes, onions, cilantro and limes.
- Sour Cream – For cooling richness. Feel free to use full-fat plain Greek yogurt instead.
- Guacamole – Make your own or use your favorite store-bought brand.
- Cilantro – If you’re not much of a cilantro person (guilty as charged!), feel free to use parsley instead. If you’re making your own pico, make sure to grab enough for both.
How To Make Wonton Taco Cups
Be sure to check the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions.
- Shape Wonton Cups. Preheat the oven to 350℉. Press a wonton wrapper into the bottom of each well of a mini pan. Ensure that the wonton wrapper is flat so the finished cups have a flat base to stand up on.
- Bake Cups in the preheated oven until golden brown. Remove baked cups from the muffin tin and allow to cool.
- Brown & Season Meat. Brown the ground beef in a large pan, breaking up meat into very small pieces. Drain any grease from the pan. Add the taco seasoning and water and simmer until the sauce has thickened and most of the water has evaporated. Cool at least 10 minutes.
- Make Pico de Gallo. While the meat cools, combine all pico de gallo ingredients in a small bowl with a fork, taste for seasoning and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
- Assemble Taco Wonton Cups. Place cheese in each cup, followed by taco meat. Top cups with shredded lettuce, a tiny dollop of sour cream and guacamole, and pico de gallo or salsa. Garnish with cilantro leaves if desired. Serve immediately.
- Alternatively, you can fill the wonton cups with just cheese and meat on a serving platter, then allow your guests to build their own taco salad cups with their chosen toppings.
FAQs
Can I use another type of ground meat?
Yes! You can use ground chicken, turkey, or pork. If using pork, it will likely be very greasy, so be sure to drain thoroughly. You can also use ground Mexican chorizo, though you should note that you’ll probably need to cut back the taco seasoning since it will already have been spiced and salted.
Is this recipe scalable?
Yes! Remember that one pound of ground meat will yield enough to fill at least 36 cups.
Serving Suggestions + Pairs Well With
These taco salad wonton cups are an excellent addition to nearly any appetizer spread. They’re particularly well suited to pairing with other Mexican and Tex-Mex treats like:
- Garlic Shrimp Taco Bites
- BBQ Pulled Pork Nachos
- Cream Cheese Salsa Dip
- Baked Chicken Empanadas
- Mezcal Margaritas
Variations
- Vegetarian Taco Salad Cups. Swap out the ground meat for meatless crumbles, or use black beans or refried beans as your base.
- Tortilla Chip Taco Cups. Swap out the wontons for Tostito’s Scoops.
- Make spicy pico de gallo. You can add a diced jalapeño for a bit of a kick. If you only want medium heat, be sure to remove the seeds and membranes before chopping.
- Other topping ideas: Olives, jalapeno, diced tomato, diced avocado, black beans, salsa con queso cheese sauce, queso fresco, cotija cheese crumbles, salsa verde, refried beans.
Storage
- You can make the taco meat a day or two ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator. Just warm it up gently in a saute pan over low heat when ready to use.
- Store any leftover unused taco meat in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- You can bake wonton cups a day ahead of time and store them at room temperature in an airtight bag, preferably with a leftover silica packet from beef jerky or new shoes. If moisture does get to them, just pop them in the oven for two or three minutes to re-crisp before filling.
- Baked wonton cups will only stay crispy for an hour or two once filled.
- Pico de gallo is best if eaten within one day.
Expert Tips
- Your life will be easier if you have two mini muffin tins, so you don’t have to work in batches.
- Keep the stack of unused wonton wrappers covered with a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying out as you fill the muffin tins.
- To make filling the wonton cups even easier, keep the cups in the muffin pan to stabilize them.
- When making pico de gallo, soak the diced onions in ice water for 10 minutes to take some of the “bite” out of them.
More Bite Size Appetizers
If you’ve made this recipe, please come back and leave us a star rating or a comment below.
Taco Salad Wonton Cups
Wonton Taco Cups are a quick and easy appetizer. Crispy baked wonton cups hold all the best taco salad toppings for a delicious 2-bite snack.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 24 refrigerated wonton wrappers
- Non-stick cooking spray
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- ¼ cup water
For serving
- Finely shredded Mexican blend cheese
- Finely shredded iceberg or romaine cheese
- 1 recipe pico de gallo or store bought salsa
- Sour cream
- Store bought or homemade guacamole
- Cilantro for garnish chopped
Pico de gallo
- 2 roma tomatoes seeded and finely diced
- 2 tablespoons yellow onion finely diced
- 2 tablespoon cilantro chopped
- Juice of ½ fresh lime
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Pinch freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Press wonton wrappers into the bottom of a mini pan, making 1 fold in the middle of each long edge of the wrapper. Ensure that the wonton wrapper is flat against the bottom of the cup so the finished cups have a flat base to stand up on. Keep the stack of unused wonton wrappers covered with a damp paper towel to prevent them from drying out.
- Spray cups lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Bake in the preheated oven for 5-7 minutes. Or until golden brown. Remove baked cups from the muffin tin and allow to cool. To make filling them even easier, keep the cups in the muffin pan.
- Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat, add a small drizzle of canola oil, and add the ground beef. cook the ground beef, breaking up meat into very small pieces with a wood spoon as it cooks, until no longer pink. Drain any grease from the pan. Add the taco seasoning and ¼ cup water, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan, reduce heat to low and simmer until sauce has thickened and most of the water has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Cool at least 10 minutes.
- While the meat cools: If making pico de gallo; combine all pico de gallo ingredients in a small bowl with a fork, taste for seasoning and adjust salt and pepper as needed.
- Place 1 teaspoon of finely shredded cheese in each cup, followed by 1 heaping teaspoon of taco meat. Top cups with shredded lettuce, a tiny dollop of sour cream and guacamole, and pico de gallo or salsa. Garnish with cilantro leaves if desired. Serve immediately. Or you can place the wonton cups filled with just the cheese and meat on a serving platter, and put your favorite taco toppings in small bowls alongside the cups and allow your guests to build their own taco salad cups.
Notes
- You can make the taco meat a day or two ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator. Just warm it up gently in a saute pan over low heat when ready to use.
- Store any leftover unused taco meat in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- You can bake wonton cups a day ahead of time and store them at room temperature in an airtight bag, preferably with a leftover silica packet from beef jerky or new shoes. If moisture does get to them, just pop them in the oven for two or three minutes to re-crisp before filling.
- Baked wonton cups will only stay crispy for an hour or two once filled.
- Pico de gallo is best if eaten within one day.
Nutrition
Calories: 157kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 8gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 33mgSodium: 264mgPotassium: 228mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 712IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 91mgIron: 1mg
