The Best Frozen Tacos (If Taquitos Aren’t Your Thing)

In a popularity contest, frozen taquitos are always going to beat frozen tacos. There’s something highly pleasing about a tightly rolled little meat cigarillo. A flat, fried, folded taco just doesn’t have the same appeal. But hey, if you do ever want to mix things up—and you happen to be a fan of the mini tacos at Jack in the Box—we can help.

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During our most recent taste test of frozen taquitos, we went ahead and added all the frozen tacos and mini tacos we could find to the mix. There aren’t nearly as many options—as I said, taquitos are actively winning the popularity contest—but we bought as many as we could find and cooked them up in the ol’ air fryer. Here are four varieties of frozen tacos we can recommend. They may not fill the tube-shaped hole in your heart, but they’ll do in a pinch. 

Best Frozen Mini Tacos, Ranked

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Best Fast Food Dupe

Jose Ole Beef & Cheese Mini Tacos

Walmart

If you like Jack in the Box Tiny Tacos, you will love these Jose Ole mini tacos. They’re flat and oily and perfect for a night of gardening, if you catch my drift. They’re totally fine on their own, but they would be REALLY good as the base for a plate of nachos in lieu of chips. As a frequent gardener, I have pretty great ideas sometimes.

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

6.5/10

Sporks

Best Chicken Mini Tacos

Jose Ole Chicken & Cheese Mini Tacos

Walmart

When you bite into these tiny chicken tacos, it might take you a second for them to taste like anything. My colleague Justine and I both experienced—you take a bite, search for flavor for a sec, but then you finally find it. And it’s pretty good. These are a little less oily than the beef version, but they’d be just as good for cheesy, chicken nachos (and you don’t even have to cook any chicken). Arrange these suckers on a plate and top them with black beans, guac, pico, and sour cream and you’re gonna be one happy snacker. It’s really one thing frozen tacos have on taquitos: better utility!

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

7/10

Sporks

Best Rolled Not-Taquitos

Don Lee Farms Crisp Ups Rolled Tacos Original

Walmart

On the bag, these look like taquitos, but they really are more accurately rolled tacos. They’re kinda flat and they’re bigger than I thought they would be. I also thought they would be kinda bad! The tortilla is very thick, so if you’re actually expecting these to “crisp up” you’re going to be disappointed, but the filling is nice. It’s like stew—shredded, slow-cooked chicken in a tomatoey sauce with peppers and onions. It’s kinda like a tinga from a restaurant. I will admit that there’s something in the filling that tastes like it came from a can, but it’s not a dealbreaker. It is also objectively strange that these have American cheese inside, but we ended up liking the creamy flavor it contributes.

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

7.5/10

Sporks

Best of the Best

Don Lee Farms Crisp Ups Chicken Birria & Cotija Cheese Crispy Tacos

Walmart

As a brand, Don Lee Farms is pretty hit or miss. For our most recent taste test of frozen tacos and taquitos, we tried their Shredded Chicken & Cheese Crispy Tacos and they were mid at best—pretty limp and greasy, especially for a product with “crisp” in its name. But the chicken birria tacos? Those we love. As my colleague Ariana Losch put it, “The filling is light but satisfying, with tender shreds of chicken and tangy cotija. The mix of corn flour and cornstarch give the soft taco shells a nice, bubbly crisp out of the air fryer. They are really simple and fast-food adjacent, for sure, but that’s what makes them the perfect late night snack.” Also, they’re gluten free! 

Credit: Liv Averett / Walmart

Rating:

8.5/10

Sporks

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