Spicy Lamb Tacos

Name: Spicy Lamb Taco
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 6 corn or flour tortillas; 1 pound ground lamb; 2 small yellow onion; 5 garlic cloves; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds; 3/4 cup beer; ½-1 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste); ¼ teaspoon black pepper; 2 dried guajillo chiles; 1 dried ancho chiles; ½ 15-ounce can fire-roasted whole tomatoes; 1 bunch radishes (sliced into half-moons (about 1/4 cup)); 1 cucumber; 3 cups thinly sliced cabbage; 1 bunch cilantro or parsley; ½ cup Greek Yogurt; ¼ cup Feta cheese; 2 tablespoons minced fresh mint; 1 tsp fresh lemon juice; ½ teaspoon minced lemon zest; ¼ teaspoon minced fresh garlic; ½ teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon pepper

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Taco Tuesday just got a little bit more exciting! These Spicy Lamb Tacos are packed with flavors and are such a fun twist on regular beef tacos. Tender, juicy, and finger-licking good, these lamb tacos are going to be some of the best tacos you’ve ever had!

Cooked in an amazing homemade chile sauce made with dried guajillo and ancho chiles, you won’t know what hit you when you take a bite of these tasty lamb tacos. Topped with fresh vegetables like radish and cucumbers with a zesty yogurt sauce.

Overhead view of spicy lamb tacos on a serving board.

If you’ve never cooked with lamb before and you’re worried about gamey flavor, ground lamb is a super easy way to get started. When the lamb has been grounded up and crisped up in the pan, it tastes less gamey than a traditional lamb chop.

If you're a lamb lover like me, you're going to LOVE these tacos, but will also fall head over heels for these Instant Pot lamb shanks, sous vide lamb chops or teriyaki grilled lamb chops!

Packed with bold flavors thanks to the dried chiles and cumin seeds and served up with vegetables and a yogurt sauce, you’ll be wishing you’ve bought ground lamb sooner!

Jump to:

Why This Recipe Works
More Taco Recipes To Try
The Ingredients
Step By Step Instructions
Expert Tips
Common Questions
Recipe
💬 Comments

Why This Recipe Works

This recipe is the perfect combination of flavors — we are pairing bold spicy lamb with a cooling tangy yogurt sauce. You’re going to want to make every component of the recipe as they’re meant to be together!
Sometimes ground beef tacos get boring so ground lamb is an easy way to change things up. Ground lamb is a fatty protein which means it is FULL of flavor.
Tacos are always a crowd pleaser and is an easy recipe to scale up for a crowd!

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More Taco Recipes To Try

The Ingredients

Here are some of the key ingredients you need to make these spicy lamb tacos.

Overhead image of ingredients needed to make spicy lamb tacos.

Ground Lamb — You should be able to find ground lamb at any general grocery store.

Dried Chiles — This spicy lamb taco recipe uses dried guajillo chilies and dried ancho chilies. These two chilies work really well together as ancho's have an earthier, darker flavor, whereas the dried guajillo's have a sweeter, tangy, and smoky flavor.

Vegetables — I like to top my tacos with some cabbage, radishes, and cucumbers but you can use whatever you’d like.

Yogurt — Combining yogurt with lemon, mint, and feta cheese, the yogurt sauce is a must-have for this taco recipe.

The full list of ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Step By Step Instructions

Overhead image of preparing the chile pasta with dried chiles.

To make the chile paste: Cut the guajillo chiles, ancho chiles in half and remove seeds. Half-fill a saucepan with water and place the saucepan on the stovetop at high heat. Once the water is hot, turn off the heat.

Add the chili peppers and set them aside for 30 minutes. Puree the fire-roasted tomatoes and chilies. Set aside.

Pureed fire-roasted tomatoes and chiles.

Meanwhile, cut the onion into slices.

Mash the garlic and heat a pan over high heat. Cook the onion and garlic for a few minutes on high heat (5 to 6 minutes).

Add the minced lamb and add the dry spices. Reduce the heat and let the minced meat cook.

Ten minutes before the minced meat is cooked through, pour in the chili paste and beer. Cook on low heat until the liquid has evaporated.

Cut the cabbage into thin strips, radishes, and cucumbers into thin slices, coriander, or parsley (depending on what you choose) cut roughly. Combine in a large bowl, season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Overhead view of the cooked taco ingredients before assembling them.

To make the yogurt sauce: In a bowl, place the Greek yogurt, feta cheese (crushed), lemon sauce, lemon zest, garlic (pressed), and mint (finely chopped). Mix well to combine the ingredients. Sprinkle with more mint if desired and set aside.

To assemble the tacos: Pour the minced meat into a bowl. In the pan, where we fry the minced meat and spices, put the tortilla bread, and leave on high heat for 1-2 minutes.

Remove the tortillas from the pan and add the minced lamb at the bottom, followed by the fresh vegetables and the yogurt sauce on top.

Sprinkle with more coriander or parsley and serve warm with a side of Instant Pot Spanish rice.

Close up for three tacos filled with spicy lamb filling.

Recipe Variations

Both flour and corn tortillas work well with these lamb tacos.
Don’t have dried chiles? You can puree the fire-roasted tomatoes with chili powder instead. 1 guajillo chili is equal to 1 teaspoon of guajillo chili powder. 1 whole ancho chili = 1 heaping tablespoon of ancho powder.
Store doesn’t have ground lamb? In a pinch, ground chicken, beef, pork, or even tofu can work as your protein.

Expert Tips

When cooking the lamb in your pan, be sure to break up the pieces with a wooden spoon or spatula so you get crispy pieces that aren’t lumped together.
I heat up the flour tortillas in the pan before assembling the tacos as it makes them more pliable as well as more flavorful once heated. So don’t skip this final step!
Making sure the pan is on high heat and is hot really helps caramelize and crisps everything up. Stir frequently to avoid burning.
You can make the yogurt sauce ahead of time to cut down on the work you have to do before serving these spicy lamb tacos.

To Freeze

The ground lamb can be frozen after cooking. Once you’re done cooking the ground lamb, let the meat cool to room temperature and transfer to a freezer friendly container or bag.

With a freezer bag, you can push out all the air and freeze it flat so it takes up less room. When ready to eat, simply thaw in the fridge overnight and then reheat the spicy ground lamb on the stovetop or in the microwave.

A serving board with four spicy lamb tacos beside a dipping sauce and lime.

Common Questions

What can be made ahead of time?

You can make the yogurt sauce and ground lamb 2 to 3 days ahead of time. You can also slice the vegetables ahead of time to cut down on assembly time.

This is perfect to make ahead on the weekend so you can have this delicious spicy lamb taco on a busy weeknight with next to no work.

What other toppings can I use for tacos?

Try avocados, guacamole, shredded cheese, cotija cheese, pico de gallo, shredded lettuce, salsa, sour cream, pickled onions, or whatever your heart desires!

How do I make this less spicy?

If you love spicy food but can’t have too much heat, simply add less chile peppers to the chile paste. Alternative, you can make extra yogurt sauce as the cooling sauce will help counterbalance the heat.

Did you make this spicy lamb taco recipe? rate it and leave a comment below to let me know how it turned out!