Crunchy Taco Salad Cups with Quick Pork Carnitas

A little late for Taco Tuesday, but oh well! Crunchy Taco Salad Cups are a nice twist on the classic, and a great way to entertain guests. Serve them as an appetizer or be like me – down them all before the crowd even arrives and make a second batch for the party. Hey, recipe testing is important! 

If the first thing that came to your mind when you saw this post was “Buzzfeed Tasty” or “Tasty Videos”, out relationship is ready to go to the next level. 

Inspo for this came from those endless hours I used to spend watching and saving tasty videos. 

This was pretty much every night back during the last couple months of senior year in college and when I just started my full-time job. My laptop was permanently on split-screen with me working on one half and having Tasty videos on auto-play on the other.

The original version was beefy and cheesy taco cups, but I wanted to keep it a little light. 

Used corn tortillas for the shell, stuffed some veggies in, used pork tenderloin, and dropped the cheese.

These cute little cups were just as I was hoping they’d be. Actually crunchy, full of that rich Tex-Mex flavor, and actually nutritious!

Don’t be surprised if you end up eating all 12.

Crunchy Taco Salad Cups with Quick Pork Carnitas

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Prep Time5 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

Servings: 12 3” cups

Calories: 71kcal

Course: Appetizer, Salad

Cuisine: Mexican

Crunchy Taco Salad Cups are a nice twist on the classic with authentic Tex-Mex flavored pork and veggies stuffed in crispy tortilla cups. A great way to entertain guests.

Ingredients

Pork Carnitas:

• 3.5 oz Pork Tenderloin, 100g
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• ¼ cup Chicken Broth
• ½ tsp Garlic, Minced
• ¾ tsp Chili Powder
• ¼ tsp Cumin
• ¼ tsp Paprika
• ⅛ tsp Dried Oregano, or Italian Seasoning
• ⅛ tsp Onion Powder
• ⅛ tsp Garlic Powder

Taco Cups:

• 12 6" Corn Tortillas
• Cooking Oil Spray

Filling:

• 1⅓ cup Romaine Lettuce, Chopped, 60g
• 1½ tsp Lemon Juice
• ¼ cup Black Beans, Canned (65g) or Cooked from dry (19g)
• ¼ cup Corn Kernels, Fresh or Thawed from frozen, 37g
• 2 Tbsp Red Onion, Chopped, 20g
• 2 Tbsp Tomatoes, Chopped, 30g
• Pinch Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Cook Pork Carnitas:

• Preheat oven to 275°F.
• Trim off excess fat from pork, cut into 1.5 inch pieces and season with salt and pepper.
• In an oven-safe bowl, combine chicken broth and spices.
• Add pork to bowl and cover with tin foil.
• Bake for around 20 minutes, until meat is tender.
• Transfer most of the pork juices to a small skillet heated on medium, and let it thicken for about 2 minutes.
• Shred the pork in the remaining juices using 2 forks.
• Add the thickened juices and mix well.

Make Taco Cups:

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Lightly spray a 12-cup large muffin pan with cooking spray and place a tortilla into each cup, folding the edges if necessary.
• Bake for 10-15 minutes until tortilla is crispy.

Assemble:

• Toss the lettuce together with the lemon juice.
• Combine black beans, corn, onion, tomatoes, salt and pepper in a small bowl.
• Divide the lettuce among the cups, and then the vegetable mix.
• Top each with 2 tsp of pork.
• Garnish with cilantro and serve with a side of guacamole and sour cream!

Notes

Nutrition:

• Servings: 12 3” cups | Serving size: 1 cup
• Calories: 71kcal
• Fat: 0.9g | Saturated fat: 0.1g
• Carbohydrates: 12.3g | Fiber: 1.6g | Sugar: 1.4g
• Protein: 3.4g