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If you love juicy, flavorful lamb but have never had Lamb Tacos, you’re in for a treat. Tacos are amazing, aren’t they? More than a dish, they’re a blank canvas for creativity. I’ve filled warm corn tortillas with everything from sliced avocado to scrambled eggs, but these tacos are something else entirely.
Inspired by the famous slow-cooked Mexican barbacoa, this greatly simplified version comes together in just 30 minutes with ground lamb. The meat is seasoned with lively spices that enhance lamb’s distinctly delicious flavor, then topped with crunchy vegetables and a zesty chipotle lime crema. It’s a hand-cradled piece of heaven that’ll have you rethinking your usual taco night.
“Fantastic recipe plus fast and easy! What more can you ask for? We love both Mexican and Mediterranean flavors, this is the best of both worlds. Don’t skip the lime and sour cream topping, it adds so much flavor.”
deanne
Table of Contents
Ingredients for Lamb Tacos
- Corn Tortillas: I prefer white corn for their slightly sweeter flavor, but yellow work great too.
- Ground Lamb: Look for meat that’s not too lean – a little fat keeps it juicy and flavorful.
- Dried Oregano: Mexican oregano if you can find it; it has a more intense, earthy flavor than Mediterranean varieties.
- Ground Cumin: The freshest you can find – it should smell pungent and earthy.
- Chipotle Chile Powder: This isn’t chili powder (a spice blend), but pure ground chipotle peppers. It adds a wonderful smoky heat.
- Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper: I typically use kosher salt for cooking and grind my pepper fresh.
- Mexican Crema: Milder and thinner than sour cream, but sour cream works too.
- Lime: Look for firm fruits that are heavy for their size – they’ll be the juiciest.
- Cabbage: I often use green cabbage, but red works too and adds a pop of color. Look for crisp, tightly packed heads.
- Radishes: Look for firm, smooth radishes. If they’re large, you might want to halve the slices.
- White Onion: If you find raw onion too strong, finely dice and soak in cold water for 15-30 minutes before using.
- Queso Fresco: A fresh, mild Mexican cheese. Cotija is a good substitute if you can’t find it.
- Cilantro: Just the fresh leaves are best as the stems can be bitter.
- Fresh or Pickled Jalapeño: Optional, for those who like extra heat.
4 Recipe Tips
- Toast your spices: For even more flavor, toast the cumin and oregano in a dry pan before adding to the lamb.
- Don’t overcook: Ground lamb can dry out quickly, so be careful not to cook it past medium.
- Prep ahead: The chipotle lime crema can be made a day in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
- Balance the heat: If you’re sensitive to spice, start with less chipotle powder and add more to taste.
Recipe Options
- Additional spices: Consider adding cinnamon or allspice to the lamb for more complex flavor.
- Cheese alternative: Crumbled feta is a good substitute if you can’t find queso fresco or cotija.
- Fruit addition: Diced mango or pineapple are a fun addition to optional toppings. Or try my Pineapple Salsa or Pineapple Mango Salsa.
- Time-saving shells: While I prefer homemade shells, sometimes I opt for store-bought crispy taco shells for convenience.
These Lamb Tacos have become a staple in my kitchen, perfect for those nights when I want something a little different but weeknight easy. The rich, slightly gamey flavor of lamb pairs beautifully with the smoky chipotle and bright lime, creating a taco that’s both familiar and excitingly new. Whether you’re a longtime lamb lover or trying it for the first time, I think you’ll find these tacos are a delicious way to shake up your usual taco night!
More Delicious Taco Recipes to Try
If you love lamb…
- Lamb Barbacoa (You could easily sub this juicy, shredded lamb into this taco recipe!
- A whole collection of delicious lamb recipes.
How to Make Lamb Tacos
Here’s how to make Lamb Tacos. Start with a warm corn tortilla, lightly fried or warmed in the oven. Fill it with a thick layer of hot, tender lamb spiced with cumin and smoky chipotle chile powder. Then, when you pile on the toppings, the magic happens.
The flavor of finely diced onions merges with creamy queso fresco. Crunchy shredded cabbage and snappy sliced radishes add freshness. A generous drizzle of Chipotle Lime Crema (or Cilantro Lime Crema), a scatter of fresh cilantro leaves, squeeze of lime, and a jalapeño slice or two and your tacos are ready to devour.
Lamb Tacos
Ingredients
- 8 corn tortillas
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder or 1/2 teaspoon for milder meat (recipe note #1)
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Chipotle Lime Crema
- 1/2 cup Mexican crema or sour cream
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice about 1/2 lime
- 1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh lime zest
- 1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
Toppings
- thinly sliced cabbage red or green
- thinly sliced radishes
- finely diced white onion
- queso fresco (fresh Mexican cheese) or cotija
- fresh cilantro leaves
- thinly sliced fresh or pickled jalapeño optional
- lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. (recipe note #2)
- Wrap 2 stacks of 4 tortillas separately in foil. Heat in oven 10 to 15 minutes until soft and warm.
- While tortillas warm, add lamb and oregano to a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir, breaking up the lamb with a wooden spoon until browned and nearly cooked through. Drain excess fat. Stir in cumin and 1 teaspoon chipotle chile powder (use 1/2 teaspoon if you prefer milder meat), cook and stir 2 to 3 minutes more until meat is cooked through. Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper.
- Meanwhile, make Chipotle Lime Crema by stirring ingredients together until smooth: Mexican crema (or sour cream), lime juice and zest, chipotle chile powder, and kosher salt. Set aside (refrigerate if making well ahead of time).
- To assemble tacos: top each warm tortilla with 1/8 of lamb, desired amount of toppings, finishing with Chipotle Lime Crema, cilantro leaves and fresh or pickled jalapeño slices if desired. Serve with fresh lime wedges.
Notes
- Chipotle chile powder is a smoky spice made with only smoked and dried chipotle peppers, not a standard chili powder that is a blend of spices.
- Warming tortillas in the oven is easy and great for feeding several people at once, but you can also lightly fry tortillas in oil if you prefer a crunchy taco. (Tacos pictured have lightly fried tortillas.)
- Note that topping amounts are ‘to taste’ and are not included in nutrition information.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
The lamb tacos were delicious. I had everything on hand so that was a plus. At first I thought it was going to be too spicy, but once all the accoutrements were added it was perfect. I used sour cream for the sauce. Served the tacos with refried black beans and Mexican beer. I will definitely make these again.
I love to hear this! So glad you’re enjoying the recipe and appreciate you coming back to let me know.
Made for dinner last night – it was delicious! I loved the lime chipotle crema – so good! And the topping ideas are perfect!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these, Dianne! Thank you for coming back to tell me!
Fantastic recipe plus fast and easy! What more can you ask for? We love both Mexican and Mediterranean flavors, this is the best of both worlds. Don’t skip the lime and sour cream topping, it adds so much flavor.
I’m so glad you enjoyed these, Deanne! Thank you for coming back to let me know.
Going to make these tonight! Lamb is a favorite in our kitchen, and we’re using lamb steaks, marinating using the spices, then roasting before slicing. Thank you for the spice combination, sounds great, esp with the crema. I’m partial to Peruvian green sauce, but will start to add the crema into rotation.
My pleasure, C! Hope you love them.
Love love love! Quick to make and delicious 😊
That’s wonderful to hear, Andrea! Thank you for coming back to let me know.
Has anyone made these and had a good outcome? Just curious as all reviews say “they look good, can’t wait to try them”. Would love to hear how it actually worked out. Thanks!
After reading that first line – “If you love juicy, flavorful lamb but have never had Lamb Tacos, you should remedy that ASAP” – I feel like you are speaking DIRECTLY to me! 😉 Indeed-y, I LOVE juicy lamb, but (shamefully) I’ve never had a lamb taco! Feel free to judge me… I know this lack of lamb taco-ing isn’t my best look. BUT, you better believe I plan on remedying this situation pronto! These tacos look amazing, Marissa!!! I can’t wait to try them!!
I love to hear that, Cheyanne. Thank you!
We love lamb but thinking back, I don’t think I’ve used it in a Mexican dish before. The tacos sound great, thank you for the inspiration.
My pleasure. You’ll love it, Karen!
Love the new website Marissa! And these lamb tacos sound fabulous. Nice way to change up Taco Tuesday! I don’t often think of using lamb. Great idea.
Thanks so much, Mary Ann!
How delicious! We actually just planned a “taco night” for this Sunday. I will throw lamb in the mix for sure! The crema mixture looks particularly amazing! Have a great weekend, Marissa. 🙂 ~Valentina
Thanks so much, Valentina! I hope you’ll give these a try.
I love queso fresco and it would go so well with these lamb tacos! Excited to give them a try! PS – I love your new website! 🙂
Thank you, Katherine! I hope you and your family will love these.
Well, I do love lamb, and don’t think I’ve ever had lamb tacos. Greek lamb burgers or kabobs are probably the closest thing. I love what you did here. The crema, and all of the lovely toppings.
We love lamb burgers and kabobs too, Mimi! It’s fun to add tacos to the list. I hope you’ll give them a try.
I love lamb, but somehow I don’t eat it often. These tortillas look and sound so splendid that they made me crave some right away! The combination of flavours is spot on (Just not a fan of cilantro but it can also be left out!) And you know what? I am thinking of the addition of crumbled feta and yogurt-tahini sauce as an alternative to the Chipotle Lime Crema (Which sounds awesome, too!) for some Mediterranean vibes – that should be delicious, too.
Also, I see you’ve updated the look of your blog – beautiful.
Thank you! Love your suggestions for a recipe twist, Ben! We’ll have to try them that way next time.
You are totally cracking me up with the “hand-cradled piece of heaven”…I mean, I don’t know a better way to describe a taco! I’m totally going to drop that line at the dinner table next time we make tacos. Haha!
Speaking of tacos, these sound amazing. I’ve never had lamb tacos, but I have some ground lamb in the freezer right now. I should pull it out! And that Cilantro Lime Crema? Might need a double batch of that one!
P.S. I love the new site!
It’s what tacos are, right! Thanks so much, David!
I adore lamb! Have never tried it on tacos though. The comb of juicy tender lamb mince and chipotle lime crema sound and look terrific.
Thank you, Angie!