At our local taqueria, carnitas are one of our go-to orders. After all, who can resist the rich flavor and tender texture of slow-roasted pork? Tonight, we’re creating a quick version with ground pork that uses carnitas-style seasonings: chili powder, garlic, and cumin, plus tomato paste for umami-packed richness and green pepper for smoky notes. It’s all stuffed into steamy tortillas with Monterey Jack cheese, pickled onion, tomato, and chipotle crema—basically, everything we crave on taco night and then some.
The quantities provided above are averages only.
Produced in a facility that processes eggs, milk, fish, peanuts, sesame, shellfish, soy, tree nuts, and wheat.
1 unit
Yellow Onion
1 unit
Long Green Pepper
¼ ounce
Cilantro
1 unit
Roma Tomato
5 teaspoon
White Wine Vinegar
10 ounce
Chicken Breast Strips
1 tablespoon
Southwest Spice Blend
1 unit
Chicken Stock Concentrate
1.5 ounce
Tomato Paste
23 g
Sour Cream
(Contains Milk)
1 teaspoon
Chipotle Powder
6 unit
Flour Tortillas
(Contains Soy, Wheat)
¼ cup
Monterey Jack Cheese
(Contains Milk)
2 teaspoon
Sugar
2 teaspoon
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
• Wash and dry produce. • Halve and peel onion; thinly slice one half and finely chop remaining. Core, deseed, and dice green pepper into ½-inch pieces. Dice tomato. Roughly chop cilantro.
• In a medium bowl, combine sliced onion, vinegar, 1 TBSP water, 2 tsp sugar, and salt (we used ½ tsp). Stir until sugar and salt have mostly dissolved. Set aside to pickle, stirring occasionally, until ready to serve.
• Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add pork* and season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up meat into pieces, until browned and cooked through, 4-6 minutes. • Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Swap in chicken (no need to break up chicken into pieces!) or beef for pork.
• Heat a drizzle of olive oil in same pan over medium-high heat. Add green pepper and chopped onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until softened, 3-4 minutes. • Return pork to pan along with Southwest Spice Blend, stock concentrate, half the tomato paste (all for 4 servings), and ¼ cup water (1⁄3 cup for 4). Cook, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pan, until mixture is thickened and saucy, 1-2 minutes more.
• While filling cooks, in a small bowl, combine sour cream, a bit of onion pickling liquid to taste (start with ¼ tsp and add more if desired), and a pinch of chipotle powder (add more to taste if you like things spicy). Stir in water 1 tsp at a time until mixture reaches a drizzling consistency. Season with salt and pepper. • Wrap tortillas in damp paper towels and microwave until warm and pliable, 30 seconds.
• Divide tortillas between plates; fill with pork filling, tomato, Monterey Jack, cilantro, pickled onion (draining first), and crema. TIP: Alternatively, put everything in individual serving bowls and let everyone assemble their own tacos!