Taco Balls with Cream Cheese and Tortilla Chips
Meatballs are a classic party snack. But why serve plain meatballs when you can take the flavor up a notch with the help of taco seasoning? These quick and easy taco balls are packed with Mexican flavor. And since they’re filled with crushed tortilla chips and two types of cheese, they’re sure to be a popular gluten free appetizer at your next party!
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Whether you’re looking for super bowl appetizers or gluten free party food ideas, these taco meatballs are perfect! The’re bite-sized snacks packed with flavor!
And since they’re super simple to make, these taco balls also make a fun dinner idea! No matter how you serve them, this gluten free recipe is sure to be a hit.
Taco Balls
Since these taco meatballs are made using classic taco night ingredients, you probably already have everything you need to make them in your kitchen right now!
To prepare these taco flavored meatballs, you’ll need:
- Ground beef. I suggest using lean ground beef to prepare these meatballs to keep them from getting too greasy as they cook.
- Cream cheese. Start with softened cream cheese to help bind the meatball ingredients and add some cheesy flavor to each bite.
- Shredded taco blend cheese. You can’t serve tacos without cheese! Mix in shredded cheese to give these meatballs tons of taco flavor with extra cheesiness.
- Tortilla chips. While most meatballs use breadcrumbs to bind the ingredients together, these taco meatballs use tortilla chips. Make sure to finely crush your chips to avoid any large pieces of chips in your taco balls.
- Taco seasoning. Add even more taco flavor to your meatballs with the help of taco seasoning. Use your favorite brand or make your own seasoning from scratch.
- Taco sauce. Make sure your meatballs don’t dry out as they cook with the help of some taco sauce on the top of each piece.
How to Make Taco Balls
You won’t believe how easy it is to make your own taco meatballs from scratch! And since they’re so simple to make, this flavorful finger food recipe is going to be your new go-to appetizer for parties.
The first step to making your taco balls is to mix all the ingredients together. But before you add your meatballs ingredients to your bowl, take a few minutes to get them ready for mixing.
Crush the tortilla chips. Place the tortilla chips in a gallon size zip top bag and use a rolling pin to finely crush the chips into a powder. You can also place your chips in a food processor. You only need to pulse the blades a few times to finely crush your tortilla chips.
Soften the cream cheese. To make stirring and mixing a little easier, it’s important to use softened cream cheese when making your meatballs. You can take the cream cheese out of the refrigerator around two hours before you plan on preparing your meatballs. Or place the cream cheese in them microwave for 30 secons to 1 minute to soften it. Make sure to cover the cheese with a paper towel to catch any splatter that might happy while you’re softening the cheese.
Once all you ingredients are ready, place the crushed chips, softened cream cheese, ground beef, taco seasoning, and shredded cheese together in a large bowl. Use your hands to squish the ingredients together until they’re well combined.
Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon to scoop out the meat mixture. Roll the meat into a ball between the palms of your hands. Then, place the meatballs in a large baking dish.
Brush the top of each meatball with taco sauce, then place the pan in the oven to bake for 20 minutes. Once the meatballs are finished cooking, serve them immediately.
Taco Meatball Recipe Ideas
See how easy it is to make these amazing taco meatballs? Try these recipe ideas to adjust your own appetizers to suit your tastes.
Since this recipe is so easy to make, it’s also easy to adjust. Try these recipe ideas as you’re preparing your meatballs to create some amazing appetizers for your next party.
- Make the meatballs with turkey or chicken. While ground beef is the best option for these taco meatballs, there are a couple of substitions you can make if you don’t have any beef on hand. Your meatballs can also be made with ground turkey or ground chicken, depending on which type of meat you prefer.
- Substitute corn chips. Tortilla chips make the perfect breadcrumbs for these meatballs, but if you don’t have any on hand, you could use corn chips instead. Make sure to finely crush your corn chips before mixing them in with the rest of your meatball ingredients.
- Serve with dip. Add to the flavor of your taco appetizers with the help of some dip. These meatballs would taste amazing when dipped in sour cream, salsa, guacamole, queso, or ranch dressing.
Taco Balls Recipe
Bring some Mexican flavor to your appetizers with this simple recipe for taco balls featuring two kinds of cheese and crushed tortilla chips.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup shredded taco blend cheese
- 1/2 cup finely crushed tortilla chips
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 1/3 cup taco sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Combine the ground beef, cream cheese, shredded cheese, and taco seasoning in a large bowl.
- Use a small cookie scoop or tablespoon to form the mixture into 24 small balls.
- Place the balls in a baking dish and brush the tops with taco sauce.
- Bake for 20 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 99Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 25mgSodium: 175mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 7g
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Emily is a midwestern mom of two boys. She loves all things DIY — from home renovations to kids birthday party planning. Whether she’s making a new farmhouse craft for her home or helping her kids with a cool activity, you can bet she’s in the middle of some kind of DIY project (or three) right now!
