Get ready for Cinco De Mayo or any Taco Tuesday with these adorable and delicious taco cupcakes! They might be too cute to eat, but I promise they taste as good as they look!
Are taco cupcakes a real thing?
Yep! But, they are not what you think they are.
We are putting a faux taco on top of cupcakes to help you celebrate summer, Cinco de Mayo, or any Taco Tuesday! Not only is it creative and looks gorgeous, but these cupcakes are tasty too.
If you are a taco lover like I am, I know that you’ll want to take a bite of one of these cute taco-inspired cupcakes! Plus, these taco cupcake toppers are deceptively easy to make. You might just need to make them every Tuesday. 😉
Note: If you love cupcake recipes, be sure to check out my Summertime Orange Cupcakes, Star Wars Cupcakes, and Unicorn Cupcakes!
How To Make This Taco Cupcakes Recipe
It’s time to grab some ingredients and pay homage to the taco! Here’s what you’ll need to have on hand.
Ingredients Needed
- 13 cupcakes
- 2 to 3 cups vanilla frosting
- 24 Nilla Wafers (2 for each cupcake)
- Yellow jimmies
- Green frosting (I used canned frosting with the leaf tip, similar to Wilton Tip 67)
- Red Mini M&Ms
- Large open star tip (Wilton 1M Open Star Piping Tip)
- Piping bag
- Cupcake liners
Instructions
These cupcakes are easier to make than you may think! Here’s how to create your very own “taste as good as they look” taco cupcakes.
Step 1
Use a piping bag and the star tip to pipe frosting on top of the cupcake in a circular direction. Working your way from the outer edge of the cupcake towards the center. Do this for all but one of the cupcakes.
Step 2
Take the cupcake you didn’t put frosting on and gently crumble it into pieces. Set it aside.
Step 3
Take two Nilla Wafers and place them on the top of each cupcake. Make sure you push them down into the cupcake at an angle so they look like a taco shell.
Step 4
Now, it’s time to build your “taco!”
Add about 1 teaspoon crumbled cupcake. This will be the “meat” of your taco.
Step 5
Next, use the leaf tip to make your green icing look like a leaf of lettuce and add it on top of your taco “meat.”
Step 6
Top the “lettuce” with yellow jimmies or sprinkles (cheese) and red Mini M&Ms (tomato).
Then, serve up your taco cupcakes to your loved ones!
Taco lovers rejoice! There is finally the perfect dessert just for you. Grab your supplies and whip up a batch of taco cupcakes. You know you want some!
What To Serve With Cupcakes
Taco Tuesday just wouldn’t be the same without tacos! Before you dig into these taco cupcakes, have dinner first. 😉
Try our:
Taco Cupcakes Tips & Tricks
Although these taco cupcakes are super easy to make, here are some tips to make them even easier so they’re a no-brainer! They may even become part of your Taco Tuesday tradition.
- Use your favorite cupcake box mix or save time by using pre-made cupcakes from your local bakery or grocery store.
- You can use your favorite homemade frosting or save time by using store-bought frosting. I chose to use store-bought.
- Full-sized Nilla Wafers for ideal for these tacos.
- Go ahead and pull out the red mini M&M’s from the others before you start decorating the cupcakes.
FAQs
Here are a couple of questions that I see readers ask about making these taco cupcakes. If you have a question, please check to see if it’s already answered below. If it isn’t, leave it in the comments so I can answer it!
Can I make taco cupcakes ahead of time?
Unfortunately, you can’t make them very far in advance. You could make them a few hours before you want to serve them, but any further out and you’ll risk having your “tacos” lose their “luster.”
The frosting could melt and lost its shape. And, over time, the Nilla wafers will get soggy and could fall over to the side.
How do I store my taco cupcakes?
If you make them a little ahead of when you want to serve them, keep your decorated cupcakes in the fridge so that frosting doesn’t melt. After you have served them, immediately replace any leftovers in the fridge and use them within 1 day.
If you need me on any given Tuesday, I will be eating tacos. And maybe a few other days of the week as well. I swear I could basically live off of tacos – yum!
So, now these taco cupcakes give me a reason to add dessert to my taco diet as well!
More Delicious Recipes You’ll Love
Love this recipe for taco topped cupcakes and want more ideas? Try the links below!
- Fruit Dessert Pizza with Brownie Crust
- 3 Minute 3 Ingredient Cream Pie Recipe
- The Best Soft Sugar Cookie Recipe
- Octopus Cupcakes
Equipment
- Large open star tip (Wilton 1M Open Star Piping Tip)
- Piping bag
- Cupcake liners
Ingredients
- 13 cupcakes
- 2 to 3 cups vanilla frosting
- 24 Nilla Wafers 2 for each cupcake
- Yellow jimmies
- Green frosting I used canned frosting with the leaf tip, similar to Wilton Tip 67
- Red Mini M&Ms
Instructions
- Pipe frosting over cupcake in a circular direction with the star tip working from the outer edge of the cupcake towards the center. Repeat this step for 12 of the cupcakes.
- Gently crumble one cupcake into pieces and then set aside.
- Place two Nilla Wafers into the top of each cupcake, pressing down into the cupcake at an angle to resemble a taco shell.
- Inside the Nilla Wafer “shell”, add about 1 teaspoon crumbled cupcake. This will be the meat of your taco.
- Over the crumbled cupcake (taco meat), decorate with green icing to create the look of lettuce. Use the leaf tip for this step.
- Top the “lettuce” with yellow jimmies (cheesand red Mini M&Ms (tomato).
- Then serve up your taco cupcakes to your loved ones!
