Tacos in a bag, easy camping food ideas ⋆ Take Them Outside

Have you ever made walking tacos or tacos in a bag for your kids? If not, you ought to give them a try! They are super easy to make. And they’re so yummy your kids will absolutely love you!

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How to make Tacos is a Bag?

You might know them as tacos in a bag, walking tacos, or Frito pie. It seems that different geographical areas have different names, but the idea is basically the same.

The recipe is very simple: You take a personal sized bag of chips (preferably taco chips or Doritos), slice it open, throw in some cooked taco meat, black beans, salsa, guacamole, shredded lettuce, green onions, or whatever your favorite taco topping are. And, voila! Tacos in a bag!

Perhaps this isn’t the healthiest of meals, but it’s easy and fun and yummy. For our family, it’s the perfect group camping food. It’s not something we’d eat every week and the kids know it’s a special treat.

individual containers of taco in a bag toppings: guacamole, lettuce, ground meat, green onions

Ingredients for walking tacos:

The only absolute necessary ingredient for these is the bag of chips. We prefer to use a Dorito or Tostitos type chip for these. Fritos are also a popular choice.

You’ll need one small, personal-sized bag of taco-type chips for everyone who’ll want a serving.

More affordable and environmentally conscious option: Get a super large family sized bag of chips and dole these out into bowls – instead of using the individual bags.

Taco in a bag toppings:

Cooked and seasoned taco meat: ground chicken, turkey, beef, or pork – about ½ cup per chip bag (or person)
Canned black beans, rinsed
Shredded cheese
Chopped green onions
Guacamole
Sour cream
Diced fresh tomatoes
Shredded lettuce
Salsa
Cilantro

How to serve your walking tacos:

Assembling the bags can be a lot of fun for kids. These are easy to make while camping since most topping items can be prepared ahead of time.

We like to slice the belly of our chip bags down the middle and fold open the sides of the bag, making a bowl of sorts. We also set these onto plates to avoid spills and falls. But, the older kids and adults had an easier time managing with just the bags.

Then, the kids choose the toppings to add on top of the chips.

Alternatively, the chips can be spread out on a plate and the toppings spread over them there. You will save money doing it this way as you can just purchase a family sized bag of chips instead of all the individual ones.

Should you crumble up the chips first? Well, this is a hot topic in my family! Some people seem to prefer having the whole chips to use as scoops for the all the toppings. And, others preferred to have the chips in smaller pieces for easier eating with a spoon.

What’s your family’s preference?

Making the seasoned taco meat:

If you’re at the campsite or picnic spot you could have cooked and seasoned the meat beforehand at home. However, it is quite simple to brown up meat at the campsite over a cook stove or the campfire if you don’t mind the cleanup.

As for seasoning, add in your favorite pre-packaged taco seasoning blend while the meat is cooking. We tend to use this one since it’s the one our grocery store supplies. But, if you know your way around a spice rack, I’m sure you can come up with a yummy mix yourself!

Make them vegetarian:

Vegetarian tacos in a bag are just as yummy! Instead of meat, add some refried beans (we particularly enjoy this variety), whole black beans, or taco seasoned lentils for your protein. Making them without the meat might also means you also have an easier campsite cleanup (because you won’t have a greasy meaty fry pan).

Tacos in a bag, the perfect easy camping food

Great for groups!

This is an easy group meal to organize. When we had these a few years ago, we shared this meal with three families (and an army of kids).

One family purchased all the chips, one prepared the meat and a few toppings, and one family brought the remaining toppings. We set it all up buffet-style and had everyone assemble their own tacos.

This meal was a hit for all our kids – eating chips for supper, what? The kids couldn’t believe it! They all loved it and appreciated being able to choose their chip bag and personalize their own meal.

shredded lettuce, taco meat, and guacamole on top of an open bag of Doritos

Try them out on your next camping trip.

Really, these walking tacos are easy and a lot of fun. If you don’t have a problem with including a bag of chips with supper, than I suggest you add tacos in a bag to your camping meal plan.