Ground pork tacos are an easy and flavorful meal to make on busy weeknights. Spicy ground pork is topped with homemade pineapple pico de gallo and wrapped in warm flour tortillas.
Tacos are a fan-favorite around here. We've got recipes for tacos made with black beans, shrimp, and chicken, plus a simple slow cooker taco soup. Time to make way for a new taco recipe: ground pork tacos.
Ground pork makes these tacos a cinch to pull together on a busy weeknight - you can have them on the table in twenty minutes or less! These crowd-pleasing tacos are topped with a fresh pineapple pico de gallo - the perfect spicy & sweet combination.
Serve ground pork tacos for a quick weeknight meal, like your next taco Tuesday! They're easy to customize with your favorite toppings like lettuce, sour cream, and crumbled cotija cheese.
Ingredients and substitutions
Pork tacos:
- Ground pork - I recommend using an 80/20 ground pork for this recipe, but any type of ground meat (beef, turkey, chicken) will work. If using a lean meat, you may want to add a tablespoon of olive oil to your pan to prevent sticking. Plain ground pork is needed for this recipe, not ground sausage (which is seasoned ground pork).
- Taco seasoning - Store bought or homemade taco seasoning works just fine in this recipe.
- Flour tortillas - Feel free to substitute with your favorite tortillas. Or, enjoy your pork taco meat and pico de gallo over a bed of lettuce for a lower calorie meal.
Pineapple pico de gallo:
- Fresh pineapple - Fresh produce will add the best flavor to your pico de gallo. However, fresh pineapple can be substituted with canned pineapple if needed. Be sure to drain your canned pineapple very well beforehand.
- Roma tomatoes - Any fresh, in season tomatoes will work in this recipe. I used two medium sized roma tomatoes. If your tomatoes look small, you may want to grab three.
- Jalapeño - For more heat, feel free to substitute with a serrano pepper. Keep in mind that most of the heat is found in the seeds and membranes. Remove them if you'd prefer a milder flavor.
- Red onion - White onions will work as a substitute.
- Cilantro - If you dislike cilantro, it can be substituted with parsley or omitted entirely.
- Lime Juice - Adds a bright, fresh flavor.
- Salt - More or less salt can be added to taste.
More taco toppings
Ground pork tacos taste very similar to ground beef tacos. If you're not into pineapple pico de gallo, add your favorite taco toppings instead. Here are a few options we've tried and loved:
- Shredded lettuce
- Crumbled cotija cheese
- Sour cream
- Diced red onion
- Pickled jalapenos
- Shredded cheese
- Salsa
Make ahead and reheating
Ground pork tacos are easy to make ahead and reheat later on. Cooked ground pork will keep for 3 to 4 days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator, and reheats easily on the stove top or in the microwave.
Pineapple pico de gallo is best served the same day it is prepared, but will keep for for about 3 days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.
Ground Pork Tacos
Ingredients
Pork tacos
- 1 pound 80/20 ground pork
- 1.5 tablespoons taco seasoning,
- 8 + flour tortillas
Pineapple pico de gallo
- 1 cup diced pineapple
- 2 roma tomatoes, diced, seeds removed
- 1 jalapeño, diced
- ½ small red onion, diced
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
Pork tacos
- In a skillet over medium heat, crumble ground pork into pan (if using a low fat ground meat, add one tablespoon of olive oil first). Allow pork to brown on one side. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, break meat apart into small crumbles and continue to cook until browned on all sides.
- Add taco seasoning and up to ¼ cup of water to pan, stirring to incorporate. Bring to a simmer and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, or until mixture has thickened slightly. Remove from heat.
- Warm your tortillas in one of two ways:Microwave: stack tortillas on a plate and cover with a damp paper towel. Microwave in 30 second bursts until warmed through.Stove top: in a dry skillet over medium heat, add tortillas one at a time and cook for 15-30 seconds per side.
Pineapple pico de gallo
- Add diced pineapple, tomato, jalapeño, onion, and cilantro to a bowl. Toss to combine. Add lime juice and salt and toss to coat. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Assemble your tacos - fill tortillas with ground pork and top with pico de gallo (or your favorite taco toppings!).
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Cooked ground pork will keep for 3 to 4 days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator, and reheats easily on the stove top or in the microwave.
- Pineapple pico de gallo is best served the same day it is prepared, but will keep for for about 3 days in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator.
- Ground pork can be substituted with any ground meat, like beef, turkey, or chicken. If using a lean meat, you'll want to add olive oil to your pan to prevent sticking.
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