The viral smash tacos get a very fun, festive makeover with these festive smash tacos. We’ve got a herby, garlic-packed ground turkey and sausage topping, lots of oozy brie cheese, cranberry sauce, crispy bacon, AND shredded Brussels sprouts for an easy, speedy twist on the viral favorite. Serve with cranberry egg-free garlic aioli for dipping.
Smash tacos continue to deliver, and these, inspired by classic Christmas and holiday season flavors, are great to try out if you’re looking for a holiday recipe that’s a little different from the norm.
Plus, they’re genuinely SO quick and easy – just press your lovely topping onto mini tortillas, pan fry until golden, then add your oozy brie and all the festive accompaniments.
These would be great for easy holiday entertaining, and they’re a fab one to serve up, family style, and let everyone add their own toppings.
Why You’ll Love Festive Smash Taocs
- It’s a super fun, super easy holiday-inspired recipe for entertaining.
- Quick to make – have them on the table in just 20 minutes.
- Simple, festive ingredients you won’t have trouble finding.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Ground turkey. You could also use ground chicken, pork, beef, or a plant-based alternative.
- Sausage meat. Try to go for good-quality, free-range sausages here. I’m using pork sausages flavored with caramelized onions, but any will do. Chicken sausages also work well.
- Brie. Brie and festive recipes go hand in hand, and it works wonderfully as the oozy, cheesy element here. You could use Camembert, Gruyere, mozzarella, or cheddar if you prefer.
- Cranberry sauce. You’ll use this as a topping for the tacos and the cranberry aioli dipping sauce. If you don’t like cranberry sauce (I know it can be divisive), use sweet chili jam, caramelized onions, caramelized onion relish, or another relish (this fig and tamarind chutney would be excellent) instead.
- Brussels sprouts. Another potentially divisive one! Swap them for chopped spinach, arugula (rocket), or white or red cabbage.
- Mini tortillas. Flour or corn tortillas work, or you could use soft, two-ingredient flatbreads if you prefer.
How to Make Festive Smash Tacos
- Add your ground turkey, sausage meat, chopped rosemary, garlic, and salt to a bowl and mix until combined.
- Smooth a heaped tablespoon of the mixture onto each mini tortilla.
- Drizzle a hot pan with a little olive oil, then press your topped taco into the pan.
- Cook until golden, then flip and add a couple of slices of brie. Cover the pan and let it melt for a minute or two.
- Top each taco with a little cranberry sauce, shredded Brussels sprouts, and crispy bacon.
- Serve the tacos with the cranberry aioli on the side for dipping.
Festive Smash Tacos FAQs
If you’re not a fan of cranberry sauce, try using caramelized onions, caramelized onion relish, or sweet chili jam. Skip the Brussels sprouts if you like – you could use chopped spinach or arugula leaves.
Make sure your pan is super hot when you add your tacos, and press FIRMLY down on the back of the tacos when you do. This will help to ‘smash’ the topping into the tortilla. If the topping doesn’t stick, though, don’t worry too much. It’ll still taste lovely.
You can! The ground turkey mixture keeps well in the fridge for up to 3 days. Then just top the tacos and cook when you’re ready.
You can also press the mixture onto the tacos up to 24 hours ahead of time – just make sure you place a piece of parchment paper in between each layer if you’re stacking them when you store them in the fridge.
Like this recipe? Try these smash tacos next
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a recipe rating and a comment below. And remember to tag @DishedByKate on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok if you’ve made one of my recipes. Seeing your recreations really makes my day 😊.
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Festive Smash Tacos with Bacon and Brie
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
The viral smash tacos get a very fun, festive makeover with these festive smash tacos. We’ve got a herby, garlic-packed ground turkey and sausage topping, lots of oozy brie cheese, cranberry sauce, crispy bacon, AND shredded Brussels sprouts for an easy, speedy twist on the viral favorite. Serve with cranberry egg-free garlic aioli for dipping.
Ingredients
- 4 slices of bacon
- 1/2 cup cranberry sauce
- 1/4 cup egg-free garlic aioli
- 8oz (250g) ground turkey (or ground chicken)
- 8oz (250g) sausages (or use ground sausage)
- 3 sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Black pepper
- Mini tortillas (approximately 12)
- Olive oil, for cooking
- 1 wheel of brie cheese, sliced
- 3.5oz (100g) Brussels sprouts, shredded
Instructions
- Cook the bacon. Set a frying pan you (ideally) have a lid for over high heat and add the slices of bacon. Cook until super crispy, flipping a couple of times (about five minutes). Remove from the pan and chop into small pieces.
- Make the cranberry aioli. Mix 1/4 cup of the cranberry sauce with 1/4 cup of garlic aioli, then set aside.
- Mix the taco topping. Slice down the skins of your sausages, then add the meat into a mixing bowl and discard the skins. Add the ground turkey, chopped rosemary, crushed garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt, and a very good grind of black pepper. Mix well to combine.
- Top the tacos. Scoop up a large spoonful of the mixture, then press it into a thin, even layer on your mini tortilla. Use the back of your spoon to press it right to the edges. Repeat with the rest of the mixture.
- Cook the tacos. Drizzle a little olive oil into the same pan you cooked the bacon in and set it over medium-high heat. Place the tacos, topping side down, onto the pan and use a spatula or fish slice to press firmly down on the back of the taco. Cook for four minutes.
- Add the brie. After four minutes, flip the tacos over and add a couple of slices of brie to each one. Pop the lid on (or use aluminum foil, a plate, or a wooden board) and leave for another minute, so the cheese melts. Remove the lid, then remove the tacos from the pan. PRO TIP: The cheese may have melted into the pan, but this is a good thing! Use the spatula to push the cheese back to the edges of the tacos before removing them from the pan. It will have created a lovely cheesy crust.
- Top the tacos. Spoon a little cranberry sauce onto each taco, then top with the shredded Brussel sprouts and scatter with the crispy bacon. Serve with the cranberry aioli on the side for dipping.
Notes
INGREDIENT NOTES: You could use ground chicken, pork, beef, or a plant-based alternative instead of turkey if you prefer. If you don’t want to use sausages, replace them with more ground meat. Swap the rosemary for sage if you like. If you’re not a Brussel sprout fan, use chopped spinach, arugula, white or red cabbage. The cranberry sauce can be swapped for sweet chili jam, caramelized onions or caramelized onion relish.
TOPPING NOT STICKING? Make sure your pan is SUPER hot when you add the tacos and make sure you’re pressing down firmly onto them when you add them. This will ‘smash’ them into the pan and help the meat to stick to the tortilla. But if the topping doesn’t stick, don’t worry too much. They’ll still taste the same!
PREP AHEAD: You can prepare the individual elements in advance, then just top and cook the tacos when you’re ready. The ground turkey mixture will keep for 3 days in the fridge. You can top the tacos with the turkey mixture 24 hours in advance, then store them in the fridge if you like. If you do, make sure you separate the tacos with parchment paper so they don’t stick.
STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Leftover tacos will keep for 3 – 4 days, stored in the fridge. They will be soft after storing them in this way, but they’ll still be delicious. You can crisp up the bottom of the tacos on the stovetop for a few minutes if you like.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: tacos
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: american
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 tacos
- Calories: 641
- Sugar: 12.7g
- Sodium: 1449.7mg
- Fat: 44.4g
- Saturated Fat: 16.8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 24.9g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 30.7g
- Fiber: 3.6g
- Protein: 31.1g
- Cholesterol: 127.6mg
LOVE!! These were so easy and a hit in our house. A fun way to use festive ingredients!