Big Mac tacos, smash tacos, big mac smash tacos, smash big mac tacos, Tiktok big mac tacos, smash burger tacos – no matter what you call them, they are delicious!
If you love tacos, Big Macs, and smash burgers, this mash up smash taco recipe is going to bring a smile to your face and a hum in your tum. Crispy and soft flour tortillas, a juicy smashed burger patty, bright and zesty big mac sauce, briny pickles, and fresh crunchy lettuce all combine together into a perfect handheld bite.
If you’re on #foodtok you’ve definitely seen Big Mac Tacos. Maybe you’ve even made them but want to make them even tastier. We’re here to help! The marriage of Big Mac and taco is not something to just smash together. We’ve got all the tips and tricks for making the BEST big mac tacos out there.
What is a big mac taco?
It’s essentially all the perfection of a Big Mac in taco form: a juicy beef patty, special sauce, melty American cheese, shredded lettuce, a pickle slice, and diced onions, tucked into a crispy flour tortilla.
How to make big mac tacos
- Smash – portion out tiny balls of ground beef and smash/press them onto flour tortillas, so they’re super flat and thin. Lightly season the beef with salt and pepper.
- Grill – heat up a pan over medium-high heat and place the tortilla burger meat side down. The beef will cook through completely while pressed up directly against the hot pan. When the beef forms a golden brown crust and cooks through, lower the heat and flip the tortilla over so the tortilla crisps in the pan.
- Melt – while the tortilla is crisping up, add a slice of American cheese and cover the tacos so the cheese melts.
- Sauce – Mix together all the Big Mac sauce ingredients (mayo, ketchup, sweet relish, mustard, vinegar, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika).
- Finish – when the cheese is melty and the beef is ready, remove the tacos from the pan and top them with a slice of pickle, Big Mac sauce, shredded lettuce, diced onions, and an optional sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.
- Enjoy – fold them up, devour, and enjoy!
Big mac taco ingredients
- flour tortillas – mini flour tortillas are sitting in for buns. Flour tortillas are where it’s at for these tacos, they stay plush and soft, while getting a little bit golden and crispy in the pan.
- ground beef – you’ll want a standard 80/20 ground beef for your tacos so the patties stay juicy and moist.
- Big Mac sauce – it’s not a Big Mac without special sauce. You can make an amazing copycat recipe at home, more on that below.
- toppings – classic toppings for a Big Mac are: melty American cheese, sliced pickles, diced onion, and shredded iceberg lettuce. I added a tiny sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds to give it the sesame seed bun finish, but this is completely optional.
What kind of tortillas for Big Mac tacos?
Definitely use flour tortillas to emulate a bun. If you only have corn tortillas you could use those too, but I really feel that flour tortillas are perfect for Big Mac tacos. Street size flour tortillas, that are about 4.5 inches across are perfect.
Who invented big mac smash tacos
I’m not sure who invented them, but I think the first Big Mac smash taco that I saw wasn’t actually on Tiktok! It was on instagram on thenaughtyfork’s page. From there I’ve been seeing them pop up everywhere. If you know who invented them, let me know in the comments.
Big mac sauce recipe
Big mac sauce is what makes a Big Mac a Big Mac. That and well, the “two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, on a sesame seed bun”. Big Mac sauce is essentially a burger sauce made from regular condiments. If you’re really crazy, I think you can go to McDonald’s and ask them if you can buy some of their sauce.
McDonald’s Big Mac sauce ingredients include: sweet relish, sugar, vinegar, onion powder, mustard seed, garlic powder, paprika, and a bunch of preservatives and additives. Surprisingly there are no tomatoes or ketchup in it. For our homemade purposes, we’re going to use ketchup, because ketchup has a lot of the ingredients that is in Big Mac sauce (high fructose corn syrup, vinegar, and onion powder).
Big Mac sauce is creamy, sweet, and tangy. You can make an amazing copycat Big Mac sauce at home with pantry ingredients. You’ll need sweet relish, mayo, vinegar, yellow mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, and yes, in this case, the oh-so-controversial ketchup. Mix everything up, let the flavors meld, and enjoy your at home Big Mac genius.
What to serve with big mac tacos
To be honest, these guys are perfect on their own, but you could also serve them up with:
And you can also use that delicious homemade big mac sauce anywhere and everywhere!
Happy taco-ing!
xoxo steph
Big Mac Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef lean or extra lean preferred
- 12 flour tortillas street/mini size preferred
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 12 slices American cheese
- 2 cups lettice shredded, iceberg preferred
- 12 slices pickles
- 1/4 onion chopped
- toasted sesame seeds optional
Big Mac Sauce
- 1/4 cup mayo
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp sweet relish
- 1 tsp yellow mustard
- 1/2 tsp white vinegar
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
Instructions
- Mix together the mayo, ketchup, relish, mustard, vinegar, sugar, paprika, garlic powder, and onion powder in a small bowl. Cover and place in the fridge to let the flavors meld. The longer the sauce melds, the tastier, but you can use it right away after the tacos are ready.
- Make the smash tacos by dividing the beef into 12 equal portions that are ball shaped. You can eyeball it or use a scale to divide it into 1.3 ounce portions. Lay out a tortilla and place a portion of beef on top.
- Use clean or gloved hands to press the meat onto the tortilla, flattening it out to the edges. Alternatively, you can use the bottom of a glass that’s lightly moistened with water or a burger press to press the meat flat. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add a touch of oil, swirling to spread it out. Add as many tacos as you can, without crowding too much, beef side down. Cook without moving for 2-3 minutes or until the beef gets a good golden brown crust. When the patties are ready, flip them over and lower the heat to medium low.
- While the beef is cooking, remove the slices of American cheese from the wrappers. Top the cooked patties with a slice of cheese each, then cover with a lid and cook for another 1-2 minutes, or until the cheese melts and the tortillas are gold and crisp. Remove from the pan and keep warm in a low oven or top immediately and enjoy.
- To finish the Big Mac tacos, add pickles, Big Mac sauce, shredded lettuce, diced onions, and an optional sprinkle toasted sesame seeds. Enjoy immediately!
ha, better than a big mac, at least I know what’s in it and much prefer the tortilla anyway, and a nice bonus breaking down the sauce, thank you!
These came out soooooo good, but medium-high heat on my stove was way too hot, the tacos got too crispy and burnt — so the second time around, I lowered the heat to medium-low and they came out much better. Probably a good idea to test one taco first to figure out the right temperature for your stove! :)
Thanks for the recipe
They were excellent! Quick and easy recipe! Will definitely make again by
DE-LISH! Made these for dinner and we devoured them. I ran out of small tortillas, so I ended up making a quesadilla. I thought it was actually a little easier to eat than the tacos. Also, I only had dill pickles so chopped those and added to the sauce with a little extra sugar and it was perfect. Will definitely make again!
Turned out awesome!
The best!
I made these for dinner today and they were amazing. I couldn’t find the really small taco shells so I used 6” so in turn a little more ground beef per but otherwise I did not deviate from the recipe. My family loved them and said they’re even better than a regular Big Mac. Definitely going in the dinner rotation!!
I made this tonight… delicious! But I did not use your big Mac sauce recipe… Because the original does not have ketchup… It gets its color from paprika. All the other ingredients look pretty good. Love your blog :)
I made these tonight and they were extremely delicious! Thank You for the extreme detail in your recipe!!!
I haven’t had McDonald’s in years but decided to make these. SO good. The sauce was great. Super easy recipe!
We literally have this now at least 3 times a month so delicious and quick and filling big hit in our home!!!
I’ve been dyeing to make these since I first saw the,Sooooo Good!!!😋👍
The sauce! OMG this is amazing. I agree with some others on cooking at a lower temp to avoid burning. My fry pan could only fit 1 at a time so I stored them in the oven as I went.
Everyone said it was better than the real thing.
Best Big Mac ever! (Except the one that caught on fire.)
ha, better than a big mac, at least I know what’s in it and much prefer the tortilla anyway, and a nice bonus breaking down the sauce, thank you!
When you’re browning the hamburger, what are you doing about the grease. Are you draining the grease before flipping over to brown the tortilla?
the beef i use is pretty lean, but if there’s a lot of grease, i would definitely drain it first!
I’m getting ready to try it but 😰I just discovered I have white corn mini tortillas
you can use those too!
Amazing easy to follow format truly a gift to the culinary world.
Easy and so delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
I NEVER comment on anything, but these were so quick and delicious that I just had to. Don’t hesitate. Try these tonight!