Crunchy tacos are stuffed with creamy, cumin-scented potatoes and fiery hint of roasted poblanos in this addictively delicious dish. Traditionally vegetarian and gluten-free, these hearty tacos are built to please everyone.
This is a price performer that is an excellent choice when you’re cooking for a crowd. The recipe below easily makes 40-50 tacos depending on how much of the filling you eat while you’re cooking (no judgement!) and can be partially or entirely prepared in advance.
You can also scale it down for family dinners but honestly, even when it’s just Brad and me, I fry the whole batch and reheat for lunches later in the week. About 5 minutes in the toaster oven at 350F returns them to their original crispy golden deliciousness.
Serve slathered in sour cream and salsa verde and be prepared to serve seconds and even thirds.
Ingredients
- 5 lb russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2" cubes
- 3 poblano peppers
- 1 stick butter
- 1/2 c milk
- 1-1/2 c sour cream, plus more for serving
- 2 c shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 48 corn tortillas
- oil for frying
- salsa verde, for serving
- cilantro, optional
Instructions
Prepare the Filling
Place poblano peppers on the top rack of the oven and broil on high, turning periodically, until skin is charred, about 10 minutes per side. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap to steam. When cool enough to handle, remove seeds and peels. Chop coarsely and set aside.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add potatoes. Return to a simmer and cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes.
Drain cooked potatoes and return them to the pot over low heat. Add butter and milk. Using a potato masher or wooden spoon, mash until fairly smooth. Stir in chopped roasted poblano, sour cream, shredded cheese, salt, cumin, and pepper.
Filling can be made up to two days in advance.
Assemble and Fry
Heat 2-3 inches of oil over medium high heat in a dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot.
Spread 3-4 tbs of potato filling into the center of each tortilla and fold in half. Fry in small batches, turning once, until each taco is golden, about 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate.
Serve tacos with sour cream and salsa verde. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.
https://www.homesweetjones.com/2016/12/crispy-tacos-de-papa-roasted-poblanos/
These are so good. Salsa verde gets slopped up with every bite. Maggie made these around Christmas and they’ve been feeding us for various lunches and dinners this week. We recently attended our first Las Posadas at a friend’s house and I think these would have fit right in!
Oh! These look so, soooo good!! Love that they are gluten free and vegetarian!
Thank you so much! These really can please most eaters! =D
Oh man, I love tacos and I love potatoes, so potatoes IN tacos?! Count me in. These look fantastic!
Sorry but are they supposed to be completely covered in the oil? Like deep ? ?
Yes, it’s deep fry. If you can’t completely cover them with the oil (often they float) just flip them halfway through.
Deep Fry?
I love these tacos. They are so good. It’s like a street food vendor came to our house!
Whole or ground cumin?
Ground – thanks!
What kind / brand of tortillas did/do you use?
Thanks!
Hi Nancy! Brand doesn’t matter but you definitely want to make these with corn tortillas. Enjoy!
Wow these look amazing! I can’t wait to try these.
Yay! I hope you love them!
How did you keep them from opening up and spilling out?
Hi Maggie! The filling is sticky and acts like a glue holding the taco together. Some little bits may come out during frying but it’s the same with any other kind of frying. Enjoy!
My husband and I have recently become vegetarians. I made these for Christmas Eve and the group at them all! Great recipe, thank you for sharing!
What a fun idea for Christmas Eve dinner! I love it!!
What kind of shredded cheese is preferred? Thanks!
I personally like a sharp cheddar with lots of flavor but a safe bet is a milder cheddar, colby or Mexican blend. As I write this I suddenly really want to try pepper jack… mmmm…. next time.
We put in 1/2 sharp cheddar and half smoked sharp cheddar. That slight smokiness was yummy!
Oh yum!!
Can you freeze these? If so, would you freeze before frying?
You know, I’ve never tried to freeze these but I think it would work beautifully if you freeze before frying. Just stuff the tortillas and keep them separated with a piece of parchment or wax paper so they don’t stick. I’d let them thaw slowly at room temperature before frying. Hope it works as well as I think it will!
I made these last night for two, and so I just used cold mashed potatoes from the deli to start with. Turned out fantastic! Great recipe. My corn tortillas were a little big so I’ll get a smaller size next time.
Oh yum! What a brilliant trick to save time, too!
Have you ever added ground beef to these?
I’m a veggie so no beef for me but I bet it would be tasty for those that eat it!
I have made these with potato and ground beef as well. They are delicious. My sister-in-law would make a spicy creamy-peanut salsa to go with it.
These look delicious, I’m definitely gonna make them. Funny story: I used to make tacos all the time when my kids were small. A friend invited us to come over for some “tacos”. My son, loved tacos, takes a scrumptious, big bite. Politely eats all on his plate. We get home, I can hardly wait to see what he’s gonna say. 😂😂
Turns out, they were potatoe tacos-my son says, potatoe tacos are a cruel joke. Thank you for sharing this recipe, definitely gonna try. My son does not live with us anymore. 😝😝
That story is too funny! I hope you like them more than your son did. =D
What kind of oil is best for really crunchy tacos?
Disaster. I ended up having to bake them because when you fold the corn tortillas they tend to break which made the filling disintegrate when frying. Filling tasted okay it was a little boring.
Bummer! My one bit of advice is to use fresher tortillas so they don’t break. A few more chiles might punch up the flavor, too.
Corn tortillas
Can you use yogurt instead of sour cream?
Absolutely! I’ve actually made it with Greek yogurt myself and it turned out great. Not as rich and insanely delicious as regular, full-fat sour cream, but great 🙂
Have you ever made this up and had tons leftover for a following day or two? I’m wanting to make these and then eat more a different day to go along with posolé I’m planning on making.
I always have leftovers! I like to heat them up in the little toaster oven but however you do it is good – I just don’t think they’d be good cold.
Make sure your corn tortillas are not cold!! They will def break when you try to fold them if they are. I heat mine in the microwave for about 20 seconds before I fry them!! I learned the hard way lol
Great trick!
Love making meatless tacos, I go meatless as much as I can for hubby’s sake, he has Parkinson’s and is allowed to eat meat a few times a month. Meatless tacos goes way back even before my time; my mother brought this tradition forward into my generation and is very well enjoyed.
That is so lovely! In the time since I posted this I’ve gone completely plant-based myself. The health benefits are too excellent to ignore!
I like using the yellow corn tortillas.
Yes! These definitely require corn tortillas in my book. Personally I like either yellow or white. Flour tortillas will soak up too much oil for me. Perfect for corn, though!!
My daughter is vegetarian and the rest of the family are big meat eaters. But when I make potato tacos or enchiladas, everyone is happy. I like to leave the potato in larger pieces and not mash them. I also saute onion and garlic to add to the potatoes. I use monterey jack cheese as the binder instead of the butter and sour cream. The cheese gets all melty and gooey.