Spicy Potato Tacos are a quick, mega flavorful, and satisfying 30-minute vegetarian dinner. Tender, skillet-cooked potatoes seasoned with bold Mexican spices are topped with a creamy sauce and fresh pico de gallo. It is perfect for busy weeknights, it’s sure to become a staple in your dinner rotation.
The perfect meatless Monday recipe: Loaded spicy potato tacos, topped with fresh pico de gallo and a drizzle of tangy cilantro sauce that’s absolutely irresistible!
What are potato tacos? Also known as Tacos de Papa, these delicious tacos feature crispy, seasoned potatoes tucked into fried tortillas and topped with crumbled queso fresco, salsa, lettuce, onion, and fresh cilantro. Often made with leftover mashed potatoes, they’re a quick and satisfying option for a weeknight dinner.
Taco Bell version features crispy potatoes wrapped in soft flour tortillas, topped with fresh lettuce, tomato, cheese, and drizzled with their signature spicy chipotle sauce. What's not to love?
We kept it simple by making soft tacos with a flavorful, easy-to-make skillet-cooked Mexican-style potato filling. While the potatoes cook, you can quickly whip up the sauce, pico de gallo, and warm the tortillas, making this a fast and delicious vegetarian dinner—perfect for Meatless Monday or any night of the week.
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Why you'll love it?
- 30-minute vegetarian dinner
- Mega flavorful
- Perfect for busy weeknights
- Quick and easy
- Mexican-style potato filling
- Yummy meatless taco
Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and amounts.
- Potato - While I personally love using buttery Yukon Gold potatoes for this recipe, Russet or regular yellow potatoes will work just as well.
- Spices - A flavorful blend of chiili, coriander, cayenne and cumin powder.
- Garlic - I prefer using minced fresh garlic, but you can easily skip it and substitute with garlic powder if you prefer.
- Cilantro - A classic in all Mexican taco recipes.
- Jalapeno - Did we mention these potato tacos are spicy? With jalapeños in the sauce, pico de gallo, and a few extra slices on top after assembling, they’re a spice lover’s dream!
- Mayo - A creamy base, like our cilantro lime sauce, perfectly balances the tanginess of sour cream while adding a rich, luxurious finish.
- Sour cream - Feel free to use plain yogurt instead.
- Pico de Gallo - You can use our favorite pico de gallo recipe, or simply top the potato tacos with chopped tomato, onion, cilantro, and jalapeño, finishing with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
How to make potato taco filling?
You can find the full printable recipe below, but here is a quick overview of the procedure along with step-by-step photos.
Assemble potato tacos
👩🍳 Flour tortillas or corn tortillas? Taco Bell's "Tacos de Papa" are typically made with flour tortillas, which are often fried until crispy. However, these homemade potato tacos are soft and flavorful, featuring tender corn tortillas. For added variety, you can also use a mix of corn and flour tortillas if you prefer.
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👩🍳 How to char tortillas? If you're using a gas burner, set it to medium-low heat. Using tongs, place a tortilla directly over the flame. Once it begins to brown, flip it quickly to char the other side, then remove from heat. Alternatively, you can use a cast-iron skillet: Heat the skillet and cook each tortilla for 15 to 30 seconds on each side, until you see a few browned or darkened spots. Keep them warm by wrapping them in a clean kitchen towel.
Recipe tips
- Use plain yogurt instead of sour cream.
- Warm your tortillas on the stovetop or in the microwave.
- Skip the tortillas and serve the potato filling and all the toppings in crisp lettuce cups.
- Adjust the jalapenos based on your spice level.
- Potato filling can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
More spicy taco recipes
Spicy Potato Tacos
Ingredients
Potato filling
- 2 pounds potatoes
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 large garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
Sauce
- ¼ cup sour cream or use plain yogurt
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup finely minced cilantro
- ½ jalapeño pepper minced (remove seeds to make it less spicy)
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ⅛ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 2 to 4 teaspoons water
Additional ingredients
- 8 corn tortillas
- Pico de gallo
Instructions
Make potato filling
- Peel and chop potatoes into ½- inch dice.
- Place a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and add vegetable oil. When hot, add potatoes, garlic, chili powder, salt, cumin, coriander and cayenne pepper powder.
- Stir well to coat the potatoes evenly with the spices. Spread them into an even layer, cover the pan with a lid, and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Tip: Stir occasionally to ensure even cooking, and reduce the heat if the potatoes start to brown too quickly.
- While the potatoes cook, prepare the sauce, pico de gallo, and warm the tortillas.
Sauce and Assembly
- To make the sauce, simply stir all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl. If the sauce is too thick, add a small amount of water to reach your desired consistency, but be careful not to make it too watery.
- To serve, layer each warmed tortilla with a portion of the seasoned potatoes, then drizzle generously with the sauce and top with pico de gallo. Finish with a sprinkle of chopped cilantro and sliced jalapeños. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information, based on third-party calculations, should be seen as estimates, not guarantees, as various factors like product types, brands, processing methods, and more can alter the nutritional content in recipes.
All contents and images are my original work, unless and otherwise mentioned. Please do not use my recipes or images without linking back to www.kitchenathoskins.com. If you wish to republish a recipe, please rewrite in your own words and don’t forget to include a link back to the original recipe.
Melonie
thank you... it is all amazing. My biggest thank you though if for the fried potatoes, I have never been able to get them right and these are perfect!.
Maria Doss
That’s so great to hear! So glad you love it – Maria ♡
Jay
This has been my go-to recipe for potato tacos. I add some Cuban black beans along with the pico de Gallo and sauce, and the flavor combination is wonderful.
Maria Doss
That’s so great to hear, so glad you loved it - Maria ♡