Combine premade crescent rolls and a filling made from scratch to get deliciously savory Taco Pockets! They make the perfect appetizer for Game Day, a potluck, or when you’re feeding a large crowd! Serve with sour cream or Greek yogurt for the perfect bite!
Taco Pockets are a fun appetizer you can eat with your fingers. Since you control the amount of spice, these are family-friendly, and using premade crescent roll dough makes this a great easy recipe!
You can even use my Homemade Taco Seasoning.
SAVE THIS RECIPE FOR TACO POCKETS TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!
Why you’ll love this Crescent Roll Appetizer
- This is a new way to use up ground beef. Cheesy taco pockets are a hit with everybody!
- It’s just as easy and cheaper to make these yourself than to buy a pre-made appetizer at the store!
- You can double the batch and freeze some for quick lunches or an easy dinner throughout the week!
- These things are compact but pack a lot of flavors with beef and pepper jack cheese.
The cilantro is a great addition that gives that perfect fresh taste, too.
Easy Taco Pockets Ingredients
To make these easy taco pockets, you need eight simple ingredients:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 medium onion
- Homemade Taco Seasoning or 3 tablespoons from 1 packet of Taco seasoning
- ½ cup water
- 8 slices pepper-jack cheese, you’ll cut these into 4 triangles per slice
- 2 cans of 8 ounce / 8 count crescent rolls
- 3 plum tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
Flavor Variations
If you want a lighter meat, you can make these little hot pockets with ground turkey instead of beef. Also, this recipe calls for pepper-jack cheese, but you could use sliced cheddar cheese or any other kind of cheese instead.
Spice up the taco fillings by adding green pepper! Or make this meatless by using black beans or refried beans instead of meat.
How to make Taco Pockets
These tasty treats are easy to make and come together fairly quickly!
First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a large baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper. Dice your onion into very small pieces and set aside.
Place the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble the beef while cooking, and cook until the meat is no longer pink. Add diced onion and cook until soft, then drain grease if needed.
Add 3 tablespoons of your own homemade taco seasoning (or from a taco seasoning packet) and 1/2 cup of water. Stir to thoroughly combine. Cover and simmer on low while preparing crescent rolls.
On a piece of parchment paper, unroll the crescents. You can also do this on a clean surface. I just found it easier to do on parchment so they wouldn’t stick, and I would have less clean-up.
Separate the triangles and cut each in half diagonally to make two smaller triangles. Know that the triangles will not all be the same shape, so you may have to cut the edges of the cheese as you wrap to make them fit and not hang over the edges. For you math lovers, you’ll have both Isosceles and Scalene shaped triangles. Stack the cheese slices and cut them diagonally to the corners so that there are 4 piles of smaller triangles. Place one triangle of the cheese onto a crescent triangle.
Place about 1 1/2 -2 teaspoons (depending on the size of the triangle) of ground beef mixture on top of the cheese. Put a few pieces of chopped tomato on top and sprinkle with some cilantro. Fold dough at the points over to the center so that it wraps up like a diaper. Try not to get your fingers wet as you fold the dough because the corners won’t stick together. The wrapping will take a bit of time and can be tricky, but it’s definitely doable, and the result will be both delicious and visually appealing.
Place the taco pockets on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes in the preheated oven, rotating the sheet halfway through baking, until golden brown.
Storing Taco Pockets
Leftover taco pockets can be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to four days. You could also make these ahead of time and store them in the fridge until ready to bake.
If you have leftover taco filling, use it for tacos, on top of a salad for Taco Salad, or buy more crescent rolls and make this again to keep in the freezer!
Can I freeze these for later?
Leftovers are perfect for freezing! They’re easy to reheat in the microwave, too, making them perfect for quick and easy lunches.
Store the taco pockets in a freezer bag or other airtight container. Remove one or a couple at a time and reheat in the microwave, or place on a cookie sheet in a 350-degree oven for 20 minutes or hot. If it is getting too brown, just place a piece of foil over the top to keep it from burning.
Mexican-Inspired Recipes
I love Mexican food! Here are some Mexican-inspired dinners you should try next time:
- Taco Braid
- Chicken Tostadas
- Taco Casserole
- Slow Cooker Carne Asada Boats
- Mexican Breakfast Casserole
- Loaded Huevos Rancheros – for breakfast, too!
Delicious Appetizers
- Buffalo Chicken Cheese Ball
- Pepperoni Bread
- Cranberry Meatballs
- Easy Homemade Guacamole Recipe
- Cream Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms
- Texas Caviar {aka Cowboy Caviar}
- Cranberry Pecan Goat Cheese Bites
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Taco Pockets
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Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 medium onion minced
- 3 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning
- ½ cup water
- 8 slices pepper-jack cheese
- 16 ounces refrigerated crescent rolls (2) 8 ounce canisters
- 3 plum tomatoes chopped
- 2 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F, and prepare a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.
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In a skillet over medium-high heat, cook ground beef until no longer pink, crumbling while cooking.
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Drain the fat and return to pan. Add onion and cook until soft. Add your homemade taco seasoning and water, and stir thoroughly to combine.
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Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer while preparing crescents. On a piece of parchment paper, unroll one package of crescents.
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Cut each triangle in half, to make two smaller ones. Gently separate them and arrange on parchment so that they are easy to access.
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Stack the slices of cheese and cut them diagonally so that they form four stacks of smaller triangles.
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Place a piece of cheese onto each crescent triangle. Place 1 1/2 – 2 teaspoons of ground beef mixture on top of the cheese. Add some diced tomato.
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Sprinkle with cilantro. Fold the points of dough over, securing them together so that the result resembles a diaper.
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Bake for 13-15 minutes until golden. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Notes
Store leftover taco pockets in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days. Or, freeze leftovers and reheat in the microwave for a quick weekday lunch!
Nutrition
This post was originally published on 12/24/11 and was Day 295 of my original 365 Days of Baking. It has been updated in format and with updated pictures on 1/6/23.
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