With my quick, flavorful ground venison tacos, the meat is sauteed with a mixture of herbs and spices until perfectly cooked. Simply serve the venison taco meat on your favorite tortillas with the condiments you love, and dinner is served.
Serve tacos with a side of cilantro-lime rice and refried black beans. Or try some restaurant style Mexican rice and pico de gallo. For more ideas can check out my guide for what to serve with tacos.
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Taco night is always one of my favorites. It’s a great way to connect with friends or family! These tacos use ground venison, which makes them extra special.
I use an incredible seasoning mix for my ground venison tacos, including chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic, and onion. It really infuses the meat with a ton of flavor.
After browning the meat, I cook it down with tomatoes and lime juice, so the result is tender, tangy, and tasty taco meat that you’ll be sure to love.
Try looking for venison meat at a local butcher, specialty grocer, or any of your friends or family who hunt! It’s a delicious meat that’s so worth finding!
Check out my page on what to serve with tacos for some taco night inspiration.
❤️ Why I Love This Recipe
Perfect for Taco Night. These ground venison tacos are a great way to change up a basic taco night.
Packed Full of Flavor. I use a delicious, well-rounded seasoning blend to make these tacos incredibly tasty.
Super Quick. I love a fast and easy recipe to make for dinner. This ground venison taco recipe is just that – it’s ready in almost no time.
🥘 Ingredients
I recommend using the seasonings listed here, but you can also use a packet of taco seasoning if you’re short on time or ingredients.
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil – I prefer to use extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) in this recipe for its flavor and high-smoke point.
- ½ cup Onion – White or yellow onion is my preference for this dish. Be sure to dice the onion for these tacos!
- 1 teaspoon Garlic – 1 large clove is the equivalent of 1 teaspoon. Mince the garlic for this recipe.
- 1 pound Ground Venison – Using game meat like venison is a great way to switch up the normal taco recipe! If you don’t have access to venison, you can also use lean ground beef.
- Seasonings – These tacos use an amazing seasoning mix! Seasonings include 1 ½ tablespoon chili powder, ½ tablespoon cumin, ½ tablespoon paprika, ½ teaspoon salt & pepper, ¼ teaspoon garlic powder, and ¼ teaspoon onion powder.
- 1 large Roma Tomato – The tomato should be diced. I like to use Roma tomatoes for their sweet flavor, but you can use whatever tomato you can find.
- ¼ cup Cilantro – Fresh chopped cilantro adds fantastic flavor and color! ¼ cup of cilantro is about ½ of a regular-sized bunch.
- 3 tablespoons Lime Juice –Use fresh lime juice if possible! It has the best flavor.
- ¼ cup Water – A little water to help cook down the taco meat. You can also use broth if you prefer.
- 4-8 Tortillas – Depending on your preference you can use hard, soft flour, or soft corn tortillas for this recipe!
Be sure to see the free printable recipe card below for ingredients, exact amounts & instructions with tips!
🔪 How To Make Ground Venison Tacos
It couldn’t be easier to make these delicious quick ground venison tacos. I recommend preparing your desired condiments ahead of time to make dinner even easier. (*See tips & recipe notes)
- Sauté onion. In a large skillet or non-stick frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil begins to shimmer and gets close to smoking, add ½ cup of diced onion and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes or until the onion is translucent, tender, and fragrant.
- Sauté venison. To the onion, add 1 teaspoon of minced garlic and sauté for an additional 30 seconds to 1 minute before adding 1 pound of ground venison. Then, loosely break up the venison and stir into the onion and garlic. Allow the venison to sear for 2 to 3 minutes, then flip and break up the venison as it browns.
- Add seasoning. Once the ground venison is browned, add the seasoning, including 1 ½ tablespoon of chili powder, ½ tablespoon of cumin, ½ tablespoon of paprika, ½ teaspoon each of salt & pepper, ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder, and ¼ teaspoon of onion powder. Next, add ¼ cup chopped cilantro, 1 large diced Roma tomato, 3 tablespoons of lime juice, and ¼ cup of water. Stir the mixture until combined.
- Simmer taco meat. Next, bring the ground venison taco meat to a boil, reduce heat to low, and then simmer for 5 minutes or until the taco meat reaches your desired consistency. When the taco meat is done, remove the pan from the heat and serve in about 4 to 8 of your favorite taco shells/tortillas. Top with desired condiments and serve!
💭 Angela's Pro Tips & Recipe Notes
- Serve with your favorite condiments: hot sauce, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, cheese, or all the above. See my post on taco toppings for ideas.
- Venison is super lean meat, so you can add an extra drizzle of olive oil to the pan if the meat starts to stick while browning.
- Warm the tortillas before serving! Either bake hard shells on a baking sheet at 350°F (175°C) until sizzling or wrap soft shells in damp paper towels and heat for 45 seconds until warmed through.
- Save some extra chopped cilantro to garnish the top of the meat before serving! It adds beautiful color and flavor.
🥡 Storing & Reheating
Taco meat always tastes even better the next day. Store the ground venison meat in an airtight container or storage bag for 3 to 5 days for the best quality.
You can also freeze the ground venison taco meat in an airtight container or in a heavy-duty freezer storage bag. The taco meat will have the best quality for up to 3 months.
Reheating
To reheat this on the stovetop over medium heat until thoroughly reheated. You can add a splash of broth or drizzle of olive oil if needed to prevent burning.
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❓ Recipe FAQs
Venison is most commonly the name for deer that’s been processed for eating! Originally the name referred to any game meat but now refers to deer. Venison has a distinctive gamey flavor with a super lean texture! Because of its low-fat content, it’s a great substitute for beef!
I love how lime juice balances the flavor of the taco meat and adds a delicious bright note to the venison taco meat – but if you prefer not to use it that’s okay too! You can also try half the amount of white or apple cider vinegar if that’s more your jam! Adding a little acid to the venison just makes it extra flavorful!
🌮 More Tacos & Taco Related Dishes
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📖 Recipe Card
Ground Venison Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (extra virgin)
- ½ cup onion (white or yellow onion, diced)
- 1 teaspoon garlic (minced)
- 1 lb ground venison
- 1 ½ tablespoon chili powder
- ½ tablespoon cumin
- ½ tablespoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon each, salt & pepper (to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 large roma tomato (diced)
- ¼ cup cilantro (fresh, chopped)
- 3 tablespoon lime juice
- ¼ cup water
- 4-8 tortillas (use your preferred hard or soft taco shells)
(Note: 2x or 3x only changes the ingredient list)
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet or non-stick frying pan to medium-high heat with the olive oil. Once the oil begins to shimmer and is just close to smoking, add the diced onion and saute for 4-5 minutes or until the onion is translucent, tender, and fragrant.
- Add the minced garlic and saute for an additional 30 seconds to a minute before adding the ground venison. Loosely break up the venison and stir it into the sauteed onion and garlic then allow the venison to sear for 2-3 minutes. Flip and break up the venison as it browns.
- Once the ground venison is browned, add the seasoning including chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Next, add the chopped cilantro, diced roma tomatoes, lime juice, and water. Stir until combined.
- Bring the ground venison taco meat to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 5 minutes or until the taco meat reaches your desired consistency. Remove from heat and serve in your favorite taco shells or tortillas and top with desired condiments.
Notes
- Serve with your favorite condiments: hot sauce, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, cheese, or all the above!
- Venison is super lean meat, so you can add an extra drizzle of olive oil to the pan if the meat starts to stick while browning.
- Warm the tortillas before serving! Either bake hard shells on a baking sheet at 350°F (175°C) until sizzling or wrap soft shells in damp paper towels and heat for 45 seconds until warmed through.
- Save some extra chopped cilantro to garnish the top of the meat before serving! It adds beautiful color and flavor!
Linda says
Can I use lemon juice instead of lime
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
Yes, that should be fine, although I would use half as much and adjust from there to taste:)
lois says
Where can I read the comments? They do appear on this site and I would like to hear what others say.
Angela @ BakeItWithLove.com says
They're under the recipe card. However, this recipe doesn't have any comments yet 🙂 Thanks for asking!!