What's the best ground beef to use?

I'm using lean (5% fat) ground beef here and it worked really well, but you can use beef with a higher percentage of fat if you like. You could also swap it for turkey or chicken mince if you prefer.

Can I make them in advance?

These tacos are best eaten right after they're made. You can reheat them (either in the pan for a couple of minutes or in the microwave), but they won't be as nice. You can chop your lettuce and pickles ahead of time (they'll be fine for at least 5 days in the fridge).

What else could I add to the tacos?

You could add sliced tomatoes or raw diced onion (like in the classic Big Mac), and scallions or red pepper would also work well.

Easy Big Mac Smash Burger Tacos

Name: Easy Big Mac Smash Burger Tacos
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Cuisine: american
Ingredients: ½ cup garlic aioli (or regular mayo); 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard; 1 garlic clove, crushed (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder); 3 pickle slices, finely chopped; 1 teaspoon pickle juice (or white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar); 2 teaspoons smoked paprika; 500g/1lb ground beef (beef mince); 12 mini flour tortillas; Salt; Black pepper; 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (or use cheese slices); 1/4 cup olive oil; 1 Romaine/Cos lettuce, shredded (or another crunchy lettuce); 12 pickle slices, finely chopped; 12 slices of pickled onion (optional)

Description

These super easy Big Mac Tacos are taking Tik Tok by storm, for good reason. It takes 20 minutes (tops) to make a stack of tacos, and they’re full of classic, nostalgic Big Mac flavours. They’re a wonderful combination of a smash burger and a taco and are seriously easy to eat.

Want more Big Mac flavour? Try these low-carb Big Mac salad bowls.

Ingredients

Units Scale

For the Big Mac sauce –

1/2 cup garlic aioli (or regular mayo)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, crushed (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
3 pickle slices, finely chopped
1 teaspoon pickle juice (or white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
2 teaspoons smoked paprika

For the Big Mac tacos –

500g/1lb ground beef (beef mince)
12 mini flour tortillas
Salt
Black pepper
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese (or use cheese slices)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Romaine/Cos lettuce, shredded (or another crunchy lettuce)
12 pickle slices, finely chopped
12 slices of pickled onion (optional)

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Instructions

Make the Big Mac sauce. Add 1/2 cup of aioli, 1 tablespoon of yellow mustard, 1 crushed garlic clove, 3 finely chopped pickle slices, 1 teaspoon of pickle juice and 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika to a small bowl. Mix with a small spoon to combine, then set aside.
Press the beef into your tortillas. Spoon about a golf ball-sized amount of ground beef into the middle of each tortilla, then use the back of a spoon to smooth it out and press it into a flat, even layer, covering the whole tortilla. Sprinkle over a little salt (roughly 1/8 of a teaspoon) and a good grind of black pepper, then use the spoon to press the seasoning into the meat. PRO TIP: It’s easiest to prepare all the tortillas at once, then you can just cook each one quickly right after the other.
Cook the tacos. Place a large frying pan or skillet that you have a lid for over medium-high heat, and add a drizzle of olive oil. Once hot, place a tortilla, beef side down, onto the pan. Use a spatula to press the tortilla into the pan so that the beef cooks evenly. Cook for 2 minutes, then flip the tortilla over and scatter over 1 tablespoon of the grated cheese. Pop the lid on your pan and cook for another 2 minutes, just to let the cheese melt. Depending on the size of your pan, you may be able to do 2 or 3 at once. PRO TIP: If you don’t have a lid for your pan, use a plate or a wooden board.
Assemble the tacos. Transfer the cooked tacos to a wooden board (or straight onto a serving plate), then scatter with the shredded lettuce, diced pickles, pickled onion and a good drizzle of that Big Mac sauce. Eat right away, while the cheese is gooey and the taco is nice and crispy.

Notes

INGREDIENT NOTES: I’m using cheddar cheese, but you could use sliced American cheese or another cheese that melts easily (gruyere or mozzarella would be good). Skip the pickled onions if you like (a classic Big Mac has diced white onion which you could use).

THE SAUCE: There are lots of versions of copycat Big Mac sauce, and one of the most debated ingredients is tomato ketchup. According to an ex. McDonalds corporate chef, the red hue in the sauce comes from paprika, rather than anything tomato based, so I’ve skipped it here. Lots of recipes also include sweet pickle relish, but I struggled to find that, so have used pickle juice instead. If you can find it, go ahead and add 1 teaspoon, but otherwise, I think this sauce is a pretty delicious dupe of the iconic sauce.

STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: These are really best cooked and eaten right away – though they’ll still be delicious if they get a little cold. You could reheat them in a hot pan for a couple of minutes if you like too.

SHOP YOUR INGREDIENTS ON THE CHERRYPICK APP: If you’re in the UK, you can use the all-in-one meal planning app, Cherrypick, to shop all the ingredients you need for this recipe, in one click. Then, Sainsbury’s will deliver them straight to your door.

Prep Time: 10
Cook Time: 10
Category: fakeaways
Method: stove top
Cuisine: american

Nutrition

Serving Size: 2 tacos
Calories: 521
Sugar: 6.5g
Sodium: 1351mg
Fat: 31g
Saturated Fat: 6.4g
Unsaturated Fat: 22.7g
Trans Fat: 0.2g
Carbohydrates: 34.4g
Fiber: 1.7g
Protein: 25.9g
Cholesterol: 64.9mg