The Old-School Ground Beef Dish That'll Take You Straight Back To Your School Cafeteria

While some taco cravings demand the nuanced deliciousness of juicy, low-and-slow barbacoa tacos, others are satiated by the simple, nostalgic flavors of childhood — particularly those reminiscent of many school cafeterias in the '80s and '90s. Back then, lunches served to students throughout the United States were fairly homogenous. The names and exact compositions of them may have changed, but almost every student remembers the comforting (if not cardboard-like) flavor of a rectangular pizza slice, or the crunch of tater tot casserole. That resounding fondness also extends to spoon tacos, aka taco salad. 

Some of these old-fashioned cafeteria foods deserve a comeback, and if you ask us, spoon tacos are also worthy of a second act. Spoon tacos go by a few different names, including walking tacos, but the basic structure is the same, regardless of what name was printed on the school cafeteria's weekly menu. Classic spoon tacos consist of corn chips smothered in seasoned ground beef, cheese, shredded iceberg lettuce, and tomatoes, often with a little plastic cup of salsa or taco sauce on the side.

Many school cafeterias opted for this deconstructed taco dish for several reasons. Spoon tacos are less messy than handheld versions, as kids have to use a utensil to eat them. It was also much faster for cafeteria workers to scoop taco components, rather than building multiple tacos for a lunch line of students — this likely yielded slightly larger serving sizes of ground beef and toppings, perfect for fueling growing bodies.

Possibly the best part of recreating the old-school lunches that sustained you through childhood is that most of them are easy to make at home. Spoon tacos and other throwback cafeteria meals had to be affordable, easy to prep for a crowd, and simple to serve. Now that you're an adult, these attributes translate to a breezy and delicious Taco Tuesday recipe. Making spoon tacos is as simple as dicing up some tomatoes, shredding iceberg lettuce, and browning ground beef with chili sauce and seasoning. These ingredients get layered up with a generous helping of Fritos or your favorite tortilla chips.

Of course, you can give the meal a twist (and harken back to family campouts) by serving spoon tacos in individual-sized chip bags. This is especially practical if you're looking for a quick weeknight meal the kids will love, or want something portable and filling to enjoy over the weekend. Plus, since you're in charge of spoon tacos now, you can enhance the dish with more toppings, including sour cream, chopped chives, and green or black olives.

If you don't have the time or energy to individually portion out your spoon tacos, you can keep everything together to make a loaded walking taco casserole. This recipe has all of the same components as spoon tacos layered in a single casserole dish — with the chips placed on top of the ground beef to prevent them from getting soggy.