Taco bar ideas? (1,963 views)

I did a taco bar for 30 and this recipe was a big hit. Served as the main filling for vegetarians and vegans and others ate it as a side. I really liked it and I am not a huge fan of lentils! It tasted like good refried beans.

Lentil Taco Filling
1 c chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp oil
1 c dry lentils, rinsed
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
14 oz veggie broth
1 cup salsa
Combine all and cook on high 8-12 hours, stirring and adding water if needed. Mine took 3 hours on high and no extra water added.

Fish/Seafood Tacos
Beer-battered cod, shrimp, crab, snapper, mahi mahi -- whatever you like.
Creamy Cabbage slaw, shrimp Pico de Gallo, mango salsa, avocado, limes, cilantro.
Ceviche.

Asian Tacos filled with char Sui and cabbage, etc.  Think food truck.

I noticed Old El Paso carries Taco boats that can be filled/stuffed. Thinking it would make a cool vehicle for ice cream tacos with toppings of choice i.e. chocolate syrup, nuts Etc.

Saw an interesting idea for middle eastern meets Mexican - Taco boats filled with falafel and salad fixin's.

Thanks for all the great ideas! I'm hoping this won't be unexpectedly difficult. There were will be a lot of people (maybe 40-50), but we will only need to do the taco part. Everyone else will be bringing side dishes, desserts, appetizers etc. 

I really want to do fish tacos, but I think that would be too much work. Therefore, does anyone have any good recipes for chicken or beef taco filling? 

Thanks again. 

For that large a crowd, "just the tacos" is still a very large undertaking. Not only do you have a lot of potential parts, you need a lot of them. But that does help. You might want to do some of the prep a day ahead -- the meat filling(s), shredding cheese, etc. Will you have beans and rice as sides someone else brings? Those can be done ahead and reheated. A lot of people will use those as fillings in tacos, burritos and such.

Items such as tomatoes, lettuce, pico and avocadoes or guacamole are best prepared closer to serving. When you buy and prep your lettuce, consider that some folks may not eat the tortillas or shells and opt for a bed of lettuce instead. I would have more lettuce than you think you will need, even if you don't have it all shredded in advance. You might have some bowls for those folks -- or not encourage the idea and let them use plates if so inclined.

I make my taco filling with ground beef, Fiesta brand taco seasoning (popular brand in Texas, but I don't know how available it is elsewhere)and follow their instructions but add 1 small can of tomato sauce per 1 to 1-1/2 lbs of ground beef (started that for my boys when they were younger and it stuck). The primary flavors are mild chili pepper, garlic and cumin. For chicken I have used the same seasoning but less, Penzey's Chicken Taco seasoning when I had it, or made it up. Ann Burrell has an oven roasted fish taco recipe on Food Network's site (looked to see if there was such a thing before suggesting the idea). Fish that you could roast on sheet pans in the oven rather than frying would be much easier for a crowd -- if you want to consider that (but then you get into the slaw too).