The Best Carnitas Tacos Recipe
Hands down, these are some of the most delicious tacos I have ever had. I’m not trying to toot my own horn, (or maybe I am), I’m just speaking the truth. The carnitas is so, so good. And the toppings, just yum! You really need to try these.
Tacos are the ultimate finger food. They are customizable to just about anything you can think of to put in them. The traditional taco is has some type of meat in it, topped with just cilantro and diced onion and a spritz of lime juice if desired. A common street food in Mexico, or antojitos, tacos are beloved world wide. It’s easy to see why.
These tacos are made with my carnitas recipe. I can’t even begin to tell you how delicious it is. I don’t think I will ever cook roast pork any other way. So you can imagine how good these tacos are. Add the cilantro, onions, lime crema, and feta and you have found your new favorite taco. If you want to take it over the top, add my Salsa Verde and my Guacamole.
Ingredients
- Corn tortillas– I love corn tortillas, though they tend to fall apart. I have found that microwaving them in between paper towel for 30 seconds helps to soften them and make them more pliable, thus reducing the amount the break apart. Their flavor is unmatched; flour can’t even come close, though it can manage to stay together.
- Carnitas– the best shredded pork ever to grace your plate.
- White onion– a little bit goes a long way for this mildly sweet onion.
- Cilantro– the citrusy, peppery flavor or cilantro goes perfectly with tacos.
- Lime Crema– tangier than sour cream, this lime crema adds some great flavor to these tacos.
- Cotija or feta cheese– if you can’t find/don’t have cotija, feta is an excellent substitute.
Let’s Make This
There really isn’t much to it. A serving of carnitas is about 5 ounces. Divide that onto three corn tortillas evenly. Add cilantro and onion. Add lime crema and feta or cotija cheese if desired. Add salsa verde and/or guacamole if desired. Enjoy! I couldn’t eat these fast enough!
What is lime crema? It is just sour cream, a little bit of lime juice, a tiny bit of jalapeno brine (optional) and some cumin. It’s like a thinner, more flavorful sour cream and it goes really well on anything you could use sour cream on.
Other Recipes to Try
If you enjoy these tacos, you may want to give a few of my other recipes a try:
Recipe Notes
In your mouth! Oh, you mean you actually will have some left. If you’re not planning to eat these immediately, I would keep the ingredients separate until ready to make and eat.
The whole taco? No. You can however freeze the carnitas that way you can have tacos whenever you want. I would freeze the carnitas in 5-10 oz portions, which is about a serving size for 1-2 people. This way to don’t have to unfreeze all of the meat at once, just what you need. Store carnitas in the freezer in airtight freezer containers for up to two months.
Although the word, taco, has become synonymous with ‘throw whatever you want in a tortilla shell’ I much prefer a traditional taco, or very close to it. A traditional taco contains some type of flavorful meat, like carnitas or carne asada, cilantro, white onion and a spritz of fresh lime to bring out the flavors, all on a corn tortilla. If you use an ingredient such as ground beef rather than carnitas or carne asada, you are missing out on some big flavor!
On a traditional taco, no cheese is used. However, many recipes you find will call for cheese, as does this one. Cotija cheese is a great cheese to use as it is an authentic, Mexican cheese. I also like to use feta cheese. No, it is not Mexican, but it has a similar crumbly texture and mild, salty flavor like cotija. Whatever you do, for all that is good in this world, do not use Velveeta Cheese! Just, no!
The Best Carnitas Tacos
Ingredients
Tacos
- 3 5 inch corn tortillas
- 5 oz carnitas
- 3 tbsp cilantro, torn
- 2 tbsp white onion, chopped
- 3 tbsp lime crema
- 3 tbsp feta cheese
Lime Crema
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1/2 tsp jalapeno brine
- 1/2 tsp cumin
Instructions
Lime Crema
- Mix the 1/2 cup sour cream, 1 tbsp lime juice, 1/2 tsp jalapeno juice and 1/2 tsp cumin in a small bowl until fully combined. Refrigerate until needed.
Tacos
- Warm up three corn tortillas in the microwave for 30 seconds. Be sure they are placed in between two paper towels.
- Arrange the tortillas on a plate so you are easily able to add the ingredients to each one.
- Divide the carnitas up evenly between each tortilla. Top with cilantro, onion, feta and lime crema. Add salsa verde and guacamole if desired.
- Enjoy your delicious tacos!
Notes
Nutrition
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