Written in partnership with La Victoria. This year, the LA VICTORIA® brand celebrates 100 years of providing authentic, flavorful salsas, taco sauces, enchilada sauces, and chiles in the U.S.
Founded in 1917 by the La Baca family, the LA VICTORIA® brand created the first-ever jarred salsa, also known as their SALSA BRAVA® and heat thermometer (now ubiquitous with packaged Mexican foods).
Part of the anniversary festivities include an exclusive 100-person dinner at the Junipero Serra Museum in San Diego. It’s part of a series of dinners to honor the brand’s West Coast roots and they’ve enlisted the help of local chefs, artists, and musicians to help bring the celebration to life, in addition to people like me to help spread the news.
I’m celebrating by sharing a recipe for two-bite taco cups featuring two popular LA VICTORIA salsas: Mango Habanero Salsa and Salsa Verde.
Recipe: Easy Taco Bites
I’ve seen people make taco and other various cups out of wontons so have always wanted to try it myself. Basically, what you need to do is think about what you’d like to put in a taco and just do it… in a wonton.
It works, really.
Wonton skins can typically be found in the refrigerator section of major grocery stores that also sell the likes of tofu. In our case, this is VONS. Asian grocers sell wonton wrappers, too.
Cook the turkey or lean beef as directed by your favorite taco seasoning packet. (As an aside, we have made these without the taco seasoning and they are nowhere near as good so don’t skip it.)
Spray a mini muffin tin (or a larger muffin tin if you want a bigger version) with spray oil. This is important because it helps the bottom of the wonton wrapper turn from soft to crispy.
Slide a wonton wrapper into the mini muffin tin and let the sides fall as they may, leaving enough room to stuff taco meat and cheese inside.
Bake at 375°F for about 10 minutes or until the edges of the wonton wrapper are golden brown.
I would suggest rotating the pan by 180° halfway through if your oven has a reputation for uneven cooking. Pull out a wonton or two in the middle of the pan to see if the bottom has browned and hardened a little before removing the pan from the oven completely.
In my experience, the bottom will never fully brown or get as crispy as the edges but some golden brown color is preferable.
Next, carefully remove each taco bite from the pan and top with salsa. Because I had jars of both the LA VICTORIA Mango Habanero and LA VICTORIA Thick’N Chunky Salsa Verde salsas, I decided to make half of the mini taco cups with one and half with the other.
Which tastes better depends on you, as they are both very good. My husband is not usually keen on sweet flavors so he preferred the salsa verde taco bites. I personally thought the mango habanero was better. It’s sweet and spicy, which is a unique combo in a taco especially when it has a won ton wrapper. Love it.
Then, add sour cream and chives. I really like it with a wedge of lime and cilantro leaf but put these out on the side for people to add, if they please.
Serve immediately as they do taste better warm. It’s a two-bite experience.
If you’re not going to serve them warm, think about baking only the won ton wrappers first as LA VICTORIA does here in a similar recipe that I discovered after making these!
Recipe: Easy Two-Bite Taco Cups
Ingredients
- 1lb lean ground turkey or beef
- 1 packet of taco seasoning
- 11/2 cup of sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 cup of LA VICTORIA Habanero Mango Salsa and/or LA VICTORIA Thick'N Chunky Salsa Verde
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- spring onions
- spray oil
- cilantro (optional)
- lime wedges (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 °F
- Cook the meat using your favorite taco seasoning's instructions.
- Spray a mini muffin tin with spray oil
- Place won ton wrappers in a mini muffin tin.
- Put roughly 1 tsp of meat into the won ton wrapper
- Top it with a pinch of cheese.
- Bake for about 10 minutes or until the won ton wrapper browns. Check the bottom of the won ton wrapper to be sure it is also slightly browned and hardened.
- Remove taco bites from the pan.
- Top with LA VICTORIA Mango Habanero Salsa or LA VICTORIA Thick'N Chunky Salsa Verde.
- Add a small dollop of sour cream.
- Top with chives for color.
- Serve warm.
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You could also kick up the spice a notch with LA VICTORIA SALSA BRAVA if you prefer hot sauce to a medium salsa. The SALSA BRAVA products were the first jarred salsas sold in the U.S. All of LA VICTORIA’s salsas are made in California, which is cool.
The ticket giveaway that was initially associated with this post is closed.
Katie Dillon is the managing editor of La Jolla Mom. She helps readers plan San Diego vacations through her hotel expertise (that stems from living in a Four Seasons hotel) and local connections. Readers have access to exclusive discounts on theme park tickets (like Disneyland and San Diego Zoo) and perks at luxury hotels worldwide through her. She also shares insider tips for visiting major cities worldwide like Hong Kong, London, Paris, and Shanghai that her family has either lived in or visits regularly (or both).
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