Spicy Potato Soft Taco
Learn how to make a perfectly crispy spicy potato soft taco at home. These addictive little street tacos are loaded with crispy seasoned potato bites, crunchy lettuce, shredded cheddar, and a creamy chipotle sauce. When those cravings hit, I’ve got you covered!
I love a good spicy potato soft taco. These remind me of the ones from Taco Bell. They are simple, comforting, and filling. They make a perfect, easy dinner.
The potato taco filling is kid-friendly and great for picky eaters. My 3-year-old is obsessed with it because, well, it tastes like Taco Bell! These flavorful little tacos are better than Taco Bell if I do say so myself. And they are delicious. We are craving them around here!
The crispy potato taco filling takes a little while to cook. But it isn’t hard to make. And the chipotle sauce. Oh man! The chipotle sauce is so good and so versatile that I gave it it’s own post!
They are super cheap and vegetarian-friendly. A couple of easy modifications will make them vegan. Everyone loves potatoes!
Winner, winner, tater dinner!
Ingredients for Spicy Potato Soft Tacos
- Soft Flour Tortillas. I like to use 4.5-inch street taco-sized tortillas like these from Mission.
- Crispy Potato Taco Filling. The best potatoes to use for the crispy potato filling are Idaho or Russet. In the photo, I used some golden Idaho potatoes. Yukon gold or red potatoes will work but won’t get as crispy. Be sure to leave the peelings on these potatoes. They get crispy in the oven and are full of fiber and nutrients.
- We par-boil them. Then toss them in olive oil and a coating made from corn starch, all-purpose flour, and a blend of spices. Then bake them to get them extra crispy.
- Creamy chipotle sauce is easy to make in a blender. You only need a few simple ingredients.
- Canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce give this sauce a smoky flavor and a lightly spicy kick. You can find chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in most grocery stores in the Mexican aisle. You can adjust the spice level of this sauce by using more or less peppers. 1 pepper will make a mild, lightly smoky sauce. 3 peppers will result in a robust and bold chipotle sauce.
- Add mayonnaise, fresh squeezed lime juice, and a few more seasonings for a quick and delicious sauce!
- Finely shredded cheddar cheese. This is one of the few occasions I prefer to use pre-shredded cheddar cheese. It is simple, tastes great, and reminds me of Taco Bell!
- Iceberg lettuce is fresh and cooling. And it provides the perfect amount of crunch to the tacos.
Potato Taco Variations
Make a vegan spicy potato taco: Replace the mayonnaise with vegenaise and omit the cheddar from the tacos. You can add diced tomatoes to serve them fresco style.
Make a dairy-free, no-cheese spicy potato soft taco: Replace the shredded cheddar with diced tomatoes or pico de gallo.
Make it more spicy: Add more chipotle peppers to the creamy chipotle sauce. Then, top the potato taco with diced jalapenos. Oh, and hot sauce, douse it with a hot sauce such as Tapatio or something hotter.
Add more toppings to the potato tacos: Cilantro, diced onions, avocado, pico de gallo, and lime wedges for squeezing are delicious options.
How to Make Potato Tacos at Home
Start by making the potato filling
Cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Then partially boil them, until you can pierce them easily with a fork.
Whisk together the ingredients for the coating while the potatoes are cooking. Then transfer the potatoes to a large mixing bowl.
Drizzle in the olive oil and toss the potatoes to coat.
Then add the seasonings and toss until everything is coated. The potatoes will get a little roughed up in the process. This is a good thing! It will help them get good and crispy.
Transfer the potatoes to a baking sheet and bake until crispy.
Meanwhile, make the creamy chipotle sauce
Make your chipotle sauce while the potatoes are cooking.
Add all the sauce ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. All done 🙂
Now, warm up those tortillas
Wrap them in foil and heat them up in the oven.
Time to assemble the tacos!
Shred the lettuce by cutting it very thin slices with a knife.
First add a little bed of potato filling. Then, drizzle it with creamy chipotle sauce.
Make a neat little pile of crunchy shredded lettuce, and top it off with shredded cheddar.
Yum!
How to Serve Crispy Potato Soft Tacos
- I love serving a platter of these potato tacos as a stand-alone meal!
- Try serving them with bowls of extra toppings. You can’t go wrong with chips, black bean and corn salsa, and guacamole with tacos.
- Pair them with an ice-cold grapefruit margarita or a dressed Corona to finish off the meal.
More Mexican Inspired Recipes
These potato tacos are fun, versatile, and seriously delicious! Have you tried making a spicy potato soft taco at home? Let me know in the comments!
PrintSpicy Potato Soft Taco
Make your own spicy potato soft taco with crispy seasoned potato bites, crunchy lettuce, shredded cheddar, and a creamy chipotle sauce.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 12 street tacos 1x
- Category: Tacos
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
For the potatoes
- 2 pounds of potatoes (Russet or Idaho are best)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
For the creamy chipotle sauce
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- *1-3 chipotles in adobo sauce (depending on how spicy you want it)
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Other Taco Stuff
- 12 street taco size flour tortillas (4.5inch)
- 2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
- 3/4 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
For the potatoes
- Preheat the oven to 425℉
- Wash the potatoes and cut them into bite-size pieces. Do not peel them.
- Boil the potato pieces for about 8 minutes, until they can easily be pierced with a fork. Strain them and transfer them to a large mixing bowl.
- Meanwhile, Mix the cornstarch, flour, baking powder, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Toss the partially boiled potatoes in the olive oil. Then add the seasoning mix and toss until the potatoes are coated.
- Transfer the seasoned potatoes to a baking sheet and spread out in a single layer.
- Bake at 425℉ 40 minutes until golden and crispy. Use a spatula to remove them from the pan. If they are a little stuck, carefully scrape them up.
For creamy chipotle sauce
- Add all the ingredients for the sauce to a blender and blend until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Warm the tortillas
- Decrease the oven temperature to 300. Wrap the tortillas in aluminum foil and heat them in the oven for 10 minutes.
Assemble the tacos
- Add a layer of crispy potatoes to the bottom of each tortilla, then drizzle with the creamy chipotle sauce.
- Next, shredded iceberg lettuce.
- Top it off with a sprinkle of shredded cheddar.
Notes
*You can adjust the spice level of this sauce by using more or less peppers. 1 pepper will make a mild, lightly smoky sauce. 3 peppers will result in a robust and bold chipotle sauce.
Variations
Make a vegan spicy potato taco: Replace the mayonnaise with vegenaise and omit the cheddar from the tacos. You can add diced tomatoes to serve them fresco style.
Make a dairy-free, no-cheese spicy potato soft taco: Replace the shredded cheddar with diced tomatoes or pico de gallo.
Make it spicier: Add more chipotle peppers to the creamy chipotle sauce. Then, top the potato taco with diced jalapenos. Oh, and hot sauce, douse it with a hot sauce such as Tapatio or something hotter.
Add more toppings to the potato tacos: Cilantro, diced onions, avocado, pico de gallo, and lime wedges for squeezing are delicious options.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 taco
- Calories: 285
- Sugar: 2.4 g
- Sodium: 447.6 mg
- Fat: 17.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 27.5 g
- Fiber: 2.6 g
- Protein: 5.6 g
- Cholesterol: 13.9 mg
