Sweet, salty, crispy, crunchy – there is SO much to love about these gorgeous little barbecue bacon cheeseburger smash tacos. Loaded with all the flavor of the iconic burger combination, these are so quick and easy to make. Perfect for weeknights, special occasions, or entertaining.
There’s something inherently comforting about a barbecue bacon cheeseburger. It hits all the best sweet and salty flavor notes and works beautifully in smash taco form.
I’m jazzing things up by skipping a simple salt and pepper beef topping and using the cheeseburger topping I use in these recipes for crispy cheeseburger dumplings and cheeseburger smash tacos. Stuffed with cheese, pickles, mustard and caramelized onions, it means you get that wonderful cheeseburger flavor in every bite.
The technique for the tacos remains as easy as ever. Press your topping onto your tortilla, pan-fry until golden and crispy, then load up your burger toppings.
These are fab for a quick weeknight meal, and are brilliant for entertaining. I love to cook a big batch on an outdoor barbecue or grill, then lay out all the toppings for everyone to help themselves.
Ingredients
- Ground beef. Lean beef is best, just so it doesn’t make your tacos overly greasy.
- Cheese. I like to use sharp cheddar, but you can use any cheese you like, as long as it melts well. Gruyere, mozzarella, Emmental or American cheese works well too.
- Bacon. Thin streaky (or American) bacon is best here as it fits perfectly into the taco and cooks quickly.
- Barbecue sauce. I’m using a very smoky, honey barbecue sauce, but just use your favorite.
- Mini tortillas. Use either flour or corn tortillas, both work! I’m using flour tortillas in the photos.
How to make them
Make your cheeseburger topping by mixing all your ingredients in a bowl – you want to make sure all the ingredients are evenly dispersed. PRO TIP: You can pan-fry a little topping if you like, to check the seasoning.
Press a heaped spoonful of the mixture onto each taco, then place two pieces of bacon on top.
Pan fry until golden and crispy, then scatter over the cheese. Remove from the pan and add your toppings and sauces, then dig in.
Watch how to make them
Got a question?
There are a couple of reasons this might be happening. Using a non-stick pan will help, as will making sure your pan is nice and hot before you add your tacos. You also want to really press down on the back of the taco with a spatula or fish slice to ‘smash’ it into the pan. This will help to seal it to the taco. But, if your topping doesn’t stick please don’t worry! It will still taste the same.
I recommend cooking the tacos when you want to serve them as they’re tricky to reheat (they’ll still taste great but your tortilla will likely end up quite soggy), but, you can top the tacos with the bacon cheeseburger mixture the night before you want to cook them. If you’re stacking them, make sure to layer the tortillas with parchment paper in between so they don’t stick together. Store them in a container in the fridge, covered.
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BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger Smash Tacos
Ingredients
Method
- Make the cheeseburger topping. Add the ground beef, caramelized onions (or relish), chopped pickles, 1 cup of chopped cheese, 1 tablespoon of mustard, crushed garlic, 1 tablespoon of pickle juice, ½ teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of fish sauce and a good grind of black pepper to a mixing bowl. Use a large spoon of spatula to mix into a cohesive topping, making sure the seasoning is evenly dispersed throughout the beef.
- Top the tacos. Place a heaped tablespoon of the cheeseburger topping onto your mini tortilla and use the back of your spoon to spread it out into an even, thin layer, going right to the edges of the tortilla. Press two pieces of the bacon strips on top. Repeat with the rest of the tacos and cheeseburger mixture.
- Pan-fry the tacos. Drizzle a little olive oil into an (ideally) non-stick pan and set it over high heat. When hot, place a taco, topping side down, into the pan. Use a spatula or fish slice to press down firmly on the taco, to 'smash' it into the pan. This will help the topping stick to the tortilla when you flip it. Cook for four minutes, then flip, add roughly 1 tablespoon of grated cheese, then cover and cook for another 30 seconds to let the cheese melt. Remove from the pan and repeat with the rest of the tacos.
- Add the toppings. Drizzle barbecue sauce onto each taco, then top with the shredded lettuce, chopped pickles and dollops of aioli or burger sauce. Enjoy while hot and crispy.
