These chorizo tacos are so easy to prepare and perfect for a quick weeknight meal. They are street taco style, which is my favorite way to prepare tacos. The fresh cilantro, onion, and lime juice balance out the rich chorizo sausage perfectly. They are ready to serve in just 25 minutes, including prep time!
How to make chorizo tacos:
See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for the full recipe.
- Cook the chorizo in a skillet over medium heat until cooked through and just beginning to char, then remove from heat. About 8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the tortillas - For corn tortillas, give a pair of tortillas a quick dip in water or chicken stock, shake off any excess, then place in a pan over medium heat (still stacked). Cook for about 30 seconds, then flip the stack and cook for about 30 seconds more. Keep the pair of corn tortillas together and use them to make one taco. Tent with foil to keep warm as you work through all the tortillas. I typically do two stacks at once.
- Divide the cooked chorizo evenly between the prepared double-stacked tortillas, then top with onion, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime to taste. Serve immediately with your favorite salsa or hot sauce (I love adding avocado salsa and/or jalapeño hot sauce).
About Street Tacos
"Street tacos" refer to a style of taco that is typically served from roadside stands or (less commonly) food trucks. They are common in Mexico, and in the southern California area, as well as other US border towns. Classic Mexican street tacos will contain finely chopped marinated meat and small, double-stacked soft corn tortillas. The typical toppings available for street tacos are chopped fresh cilantro, white onion, and lime wedges for squeezing. A few varieties of salsa are also available at most stands. What makes street tacos one of my favorite foods is the simplicity, amazing flavor of the meat, and the fresh ingredients.
Try my other street taco recipes!
Key Tips - Easy Chorizo Tacos
Try chorizo made from premium cuts of pork.
- Traditional Mexican chorizo is made from low quality pork byproducts, which taste great but do leave a little to be desired. You may be able to find "premium chorizo" or "chorizo made from premium cuts" which uses regular pork instead of byproducts.
- My grocery store carries premium chorizo, and it isn't too much pricer than the regular chorizo, so I usually pick that up if it's available.
Don't skip the toppings, but it doesn't need much else.
- The onion, cilantro, and lime may not seem like much, but they really help to balance out the flavor. Even the little squeeze of lime juice on top at the end really adds a lot, so don't skip the lime wedges!
- I like to serve these tacos with a bit of avocado salsa and/or jalapeño hot sauce. Some other delcious options are salsa verde, fresh pico de gallo, and fresh jalapeño. Red onions can be a great sub for white onion, but I don't reocmmend using yellow onion if you can avoid it.
Use street taco size tortillas if you can find them.
- Street taco tortillas are very small corn tortillas, they're even smaller than the "small" size tortillas at most grocery stores. Look for ones that say "street taco" sized, or "taqueria style". I use these Taqueria Style Mini Corn Tortillas. Using smaller tortillas really does make a difference, so it may be worth making a trip to a Mexican grocery store if you can't find them at your usual store.
- If I'm using flour tortillas, I typically go for these Flour Street Taco Tortillas.
Corn tortillas should be doubled up!
- Corn tortillas are typically thinner than flour tortillas, and street tacos are almost always served on a pair of corn tortillas. When you warm up the tortillas, keep the pair stacked together the whole time.
Heating up the tortillas makes a huge difference, especially for the corn ones. Don't skip this step!
- The method in this recipe is similar to what they do at my favorite taco stand, and it makes a huge difference. Give a pair of corn tortillas a super quick dip in stock or water, then let them cook in a pan briefly as instructed in the recipe.
Dietary Restrictions - Easy Chorizo Tacos
This dish is naturally Dairy-Free.
Make it Gluten-Free:
- Serve on corn tortillas rather than flour (this is the recommended option anyway!)
Make it Vegan and Vegetarian
- Use a soy chorizo, or other plant-based chorizo! There are lots of great options out there, like this Soy Chorizo, or this Plant Based Chorizo!
A Note On Serving Sizes
Serving sizes are a very personal thing, making it very difficult for me to select a serving size that suits everyone. This recipe makes 10 tacos, so the serving information is provided per 1 taco. Most people would like to have 3 to 5 tacos per meal.
Easy Chorizo Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 lb Mexican chorizo sausage ground sausage, see notes
- 20 extra small corn tortillas (I use "taqueira style") or 10 extra small flour tortillas (double up corn tortillas but not flour)
- ½ medium-sized white onion finely diced
- ~¼ cup fresh cilantro
- 1 lime sliced into wedges, for serving
- ⅓ cup chicken stock or water for heating up tortillas, use for corn tortillas only
Instructions
- Cook the chorizo in a skillet over medium heat until cooked through and just beginning to char, then remove from heat. About 8 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the tortillas - For corn tortillas, give a pair of tortillas a quick dip in water or chicken stock, shake off any excess, then place in a pan over medium heat (still stacked). Cook for about 30 seconds, then flip the stack and cook for about 30 seconds more. Keep the pair of corn tortillas together and use them to make one taco. Tent with foil to keep warm as you work through all the tortillas. I typically do two stacks at once. (Flour tortillas should not be doubled and don't need a dip in the water/stock, just warm them for about 30 seconds per side)
- Divide the cooked chorizo evenly between the prepared double-stacked tortillas, then top with onion, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime to taste. Serve immediately with your favorite salsa or hot sauce (I love adding avocado salsa and/or jalapeño hot sauce).
Notes
Nutrition
If you like this recipe, you may also like...
If you like this recipe, you may also like my Chicken Street Tacos, Tri Tip Street Tacos, Chorizo Burritos, or Steak Quesadillas.
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