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These Viral Smash Burger Tacos have become super popular on TikTok and Instagram – smashed crispy beef, cheese, and a delicious burger sauce. The magic thing about these Smash Burger Tacos is the way the meat cooks up so quickly and gets so crispy and flavorful.

You know we love burgers and sandwich style meals around here! (Click here to see all of our favorites.)

What Are Smash Burger Tacos?

Imagine the charred, crispy, ultra-flavorful crust of a smash burger—griddled to perfection—pressed right onto a warm, chewy tortilla instead of a bun. It’s beefy. It’s toasty. It’s juicy. It’s wildly fast to cook. And it makes you feel like you’ve gamed the entire system.

This is not your average taco night. This is cheeseburger energy wrapped in a tortilla hug.

Flavor Notes: Why You’ll Keep Coming Back

The Meat: Thin, smashed beef means maximum surface area, aka maximum flavor. Every bite brings you that golden, griddled goodness.
The Tortilla: It’s not just a vehicle. It’s half the experience. Crispy where it touches the pan, chewy everywhere else.
The Sauce: I created this sauce to hit all the flavor profiles – sweet, savory, tangy, and salty. It’s made up of mayo, ketchup, mustard, and BBQ sauce. Yes BBQ. It’s perfection.
The Cheese: American cheese melts like a dream and delivers that nostalgic diner vibe. No fancy stuff needed here—this is comfort food.
The Speed: From fridge to plate in under 15 minutes. Seriously. You’ll spend more time picking your toppings than actually cooking.

The sizzle science:

Why It Works

Here’s the twist: you actually press a ball of seasoned ground beef directly onto a tortilla while it cooks. Sounds upside-down? It kinda is. But the result is culinary sorcery.

As the meat sears against the hot skillet, it creates that coveted crust that’s smoky, salty, and just a touch caramelized. Meanwhile, the tortilla crisps up around the edges but keeps that perfect chewy center, like a taco and a flatbread had a delicious baby.

Add a slice of melty American cheese while the beef’s still sizzling, fold it in half, and boom—crispy, cheesy, beefy perfection in minutes.

Let’s Talk Toppings (Optional but Highly Encouraged)

This is where things get really fun. Classic smash burger vibes? Go for shredded lettuce, diced pickles, tomatoes, and lots of my burger sauce (mayo, ketchup, mustard, and BBQ). You can add anything you’d like – onions, jalapeños… anything you love on your burgers.

And of course, serve with napkins. Like, a lot of napkins.

Viral Smash Burger Tacos

Plum Street Collective

Ingredients

Burger Sauce

1/3 cup mayo
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons BBQ sauce
1 tablespoon mustard

Ingredients for Smash Burger Tacos

2-3 lbs. ground beef (I used 80/20, and used 3 lbs. for our family of 6 – we had 2 extra tacos with this amount)
6-10 flour tortillas, soft taco size (could use smaller street taco size too!)
garlic salt
sliced American cheese (or another cheese of your choice)
shredded lettuce (I used iceberg)
sliced tomatoes
pickles
(add any other toppings you'd like!)

Instructions

Burger Sauce

Start by whisking all these ingredients together in a small bowl. Cover and place in the fridge until ready to serve (or you can cover and leave on the counter if you'd prefer the sauce room temperature.)

Making the Smash Burger Tacos

Start by prepping your space. The tacos cook pretty quickly so I like to get everything else ready before cooking.
Slice and chop your lettuce, tomatoes, and any other toppings. Set aside.
Get out your cheese and get the slices removed from packaging and ready and lined up on a plate, so you can quickly add these to the tacos at the end of cooking. It goes fast so you'll want to have it all ready!
Also get out your garlic salt and set it next to the stove.
Get out 1-2 large pans (or a griddle) and place on the stovetop.
Get out the beef and tortillas, and Create a workstation to start smashing the meat onto the tortillas. I use several large baking sheets so I don't have to smash them directly on the counter.
Begin by heating the pans/griddle. You want them hot! So turn the heat up to high and let the dry pans heat while you form the tacos.
Lay out tortillas onto the baking sheets. Start the smashing process by taking a large handful of ground beef and rolling it into a ball on a tortilla. Then press/smash the meat with your hands onto the tortilla and flatten it until the meat is thinly smashed all the way to the edges of the tortilla.
You want to make sure the meat reaches all the way to the edge of the tortilla – even a little beyond it! The meat will shrink when cooking so press it as far as you can.
*Yes, this feels weird to be placing raw meat onto the tortilla, but trust me, it will cook through all the way. The meat should be very thin and it will cook very fast – and bonus the juices and fat from the meat will make the tortilla crisped on the edges and chewy inside.
Repeat this process and press all of the meat onto all of the tortillas. Have them all ready to go because they will cook quickly.
Lightly season each side of beef with garlic salt.
Using a large and sturdy spatula, place several of the patties meat side down onto the hot pans / griddles. They should sizzle.
Use the back of the spatula on the tortilla side to press the burger down and keep it's smashed shape.
Cook for about 3-4 minutes until the meat looks slightly charred and crispy.
Then, turn the heat down to medium, flip the taco over, and quickly add the cheese. Then cover and let it cook until the cheese is just barely melted.
Then remove from the pan and place onto a clean platter or baking sheet to rest.
Continue this process until all the tacos are cooked through!
Then, the easy part – top with your chopped lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, or any toppings you choose, and slather with the burger sauce.
ENJOY!
(note – we had 2 extra tacos and they stored well in the fridge – then we reheated in the microwave the next day and then added toppings. They were great!)

Final Thoughts: Weird? A Little. Worth It? Absolutely.

Smash burger tacos might seem like a recipe born out of fridge desperation—but they deliver like a gourmet cheat code. They are meaty, crispy, cheesy, fast, and straight-up FUN to make. So go ahead, smash that beef, toast that tortilla, and trust the process. Your skillet (and your taste buds) will thank you. I hope you love these Viral Smash Burger Tacos and scarf them down as quickly as our family did – Be sure tag me @plumstreetcollective if you make these!