How To Warm Corn Tortillas

How to Keep the Tacos Warm for a Crowd?

Tacos are always one of the go-to-foods during a gathering with friends and families. They can be the perfect snacks for carnivals, a random day out at the park or a family reunion.

Moreover, if you are having a party for a crowd and planning to serve tacos for them, then this article is for you. Also See our article on how to setup a taco bar.

Be it a corn tortilla, crunchy taco shells or homemade tortillas we will give you the best tips and techniques on how to keep them warm during the event.

Also, we will give a brief outline on how to get yourself and your kitchen prepared for the list of things that you will need to do.

How to Keep Tacos and Taco Shells Warm for a Crowd
How to Keep Tacos and Taco Shells Warm for a Crowd

Wrap up your tortillas or tacos in aluminum foil, then place them in a warm oven. When your guests are ready to eat, take them out of the oven, but leave them wrapped up in the foil, so that they don’t dry out before go-time and that will keep your tacos and tortillas warm.

See how to set up a Taco bar and serve tacos to a crowd

Another idea for a smaller group is to use a damp dish towel to keep those tortillas warm.

Now let’s look at a little more detail on how to warm taco shells for a crowd.

Also cooking taco meat for a big crowd – see 5 top methods here.

Also, see how to keep bread rolls warm and another top 11 food warming tips.

How to Keep Taco Shells and Tortilla wraps Warm for a Party?

Soft taco shells are very easy to maintain to keep them warm for a party. You can even buy your own tortilla warmers for a very affordable price to easily warm several pieces nice and hot for the party. See below for how to use a tortilla warmer.

Crispy Taco Shells are a quick and fast way to feed a variety of guests or party-goers as you can cater for meat lovers, vegetarians, and even vegans if you choose the right shell and use vegan homemade taco seasoning. However, keeping them warm and crisp can be more challenging than soft warm tortillas. Most people use pre-packaged taco shells. Some folks do make their own or create their own shells using tortillas.

For both cases, they are best heated just before adding the fillings because cold taco shells filled with warm toppings, beans or crock pot taco meat is not very enjoyable.

How to keep your crispy taco shells warm when you are camping?

Roasting crunchy taco shells over a campfire is a great way to keep them warm.

Let’s get back to a warm tortilla.

Best Way to Keep Tortillas Warm

These are the best ways to keep tortillas warm for a Taco Bar or just for a crowd coming for dinner or a party.

Tortilla Toppings
Tortilla Toppings

The Best Ways to Heat Tortillas

How to Heat Up Tortillas and Keep Them Soft while they are nice and warm let’s have a look.

Warming Tortillas in a Microwave

You can use a microwave to keep warm in your corn tortilla. For 10 tortillas – use 40 seconds in the microwave and you will have your guests happy. Do this 5 minutes before it is time to serve. Another way is to simply put your taco shells on a microwaveable plate and place it inside the microwave and heat for 15-20 seconds until your desired warmth and crispiness.

How to use a crock pot to keep Tortillas warm

Wrap the tortillas in a damp napkin to keep them warm: Tortillas can easily dry out as they cool down, so covering them in a clean, damp tea towel or napkin will help ensure that they stay moist. You can usually fit five tortillas to a napkin. TIP – Wring out the napkin well to get rid of any excess water before you wrap the tortillas. You want it damp but not wet otherwise you may end up with soggy tortillas.

A crockpot can then be set to warm and it will look after your warm tortilla easily for 2 hours.

Warming Tortillas In an Oven

Warming Crispy Taco Shells In an Oven

Using an oven method takes a little bit longer, but it will let you heat a good number of crunchy taco shells at once. It’s ideal if you have a crowd or a large group of friends and family over. First, you will need some foil. Preheat the oven to approximately 350 degrees F. Wrap a stacked set of five-six tortillas in aluminum foil and place the package in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes until they are heated through.

Warming Tortillas by Frying

You can have a fresh one ready to go, and give it 20 seconds, and then set it aside and move on to the next one.

Warming a Corn Tortilla On a hot iron cast skillet or griddle

Using a Comal is a great way to heat up both flour and corn tortillas. First heat the corn tortillas dry, then add a little butter when heating. Adding some butter to your hot skillet will turn nicer than if heated without the butter.

Method- put your tortillas into the skillet and let them warm for about 30 seconds on each side. When you see the tortillas bubble up you know they are ready to enjoy.

How to keep your taco meat and fillings warm for a crowd

First and foremost, you need not worry about having taco meat leftovers during your party since it freezes easily. So, let’s get into the process of heating your lean beef for the tacos.

Using a slow cooker for heating your taco meat is the best solution for it because it doesn’t burn easily and it doesn’t give any scorches to the beef. Also, a slow cooker can keep your meat hot for several hours and would even help absorb all the beef juices from the pot., hence it will bring more flavor to your tacos.

Here are the important tips to follow:

1. Make sure to clean your slow cooker and remove all the food leftover so that the unnecessary flavor will be discarded.

2. Set the power-sourced slow cooker for 25 minutes when heating the taco meat.

3. Keep the meat warm for less than an hour if you have around 8 lbs of meat to warm.

4. Keep your taco meat in a covered container or bowl to prevent the heat from evaporating.

An alternative thing to do in keeping your taco meat warm is by putting it into a pan over medium heat for 15 minutes and do not forget to brush a teaspoon of oil to prevent it from getting dry.

Using a microwave is another option that you can choose when reheating the beef. To effectively do it without getting dry, add a little bit of water just enough to be absorbed within a couple of minutes. Make sure to add a dash of extra seasoning when you add water to retain the beef’s flavor.

What Goes With Tacos Other Than Rice?

You may have guests that do not eat rice because of their diet. So, we have prepared some alternative side dishes for you:

  • Corn salad
  • Watermelon
  • Guacamole side
  • Refried beans
  • Corn on the cob
  • Black bean and corn salsa salad
  • Corn casserole
  • Grilled Zucchini
How To Top A Warm Taco
How To Top A Warm Taco

What to Have for a Taco Night?

You might be planning and wondering what to buy for your taco night with friends. We got you covered for that! Of course, the most important thing is to have perfectly cooked tacos.

Here are the essentials that you need:

Taco Ingredients

1. Fresh taco toppings

  • chopped cabbage
  • white onions
  • sliced tomatoes
  • cilantro
  • lettuce
  • jalapeno peppers
  • bell peppers
  • avocado

2. Taco shells (soft or hard)

3. Seasoned lean ground beef

4. Grated cheddar cheese

5. Sour cream

6. Salsa

7. Mexican Rice

8. Charro Beans

Equipment

1. Crockpots

2. Tortilla warmer dish (a dish with a top) for soft tortillas

3. Small containers or bowls for the toppings

4. Warming dish for rice and beans

So, let us teach you how to set up your own tacos for a crowd. In an orderly way, arrange and lay each ingredient and utensils on your table or in the taco bar. Follow these steps:

1. Plates, bowls, containers, flatware, napkins

2. Soft tortillas, hard tortillas

3. Taco meat (lean ground beef)

4. Mexican rice

5. Charro Beans

6. Grated cheddar cheese

7. Sour cream

8. Chopped cabbage and lettuce

9. Sliced tomatoes

10. Onions, cilantro, bell peppers, and jalapenos

11. Salsa and avocado

How to Cook Tacos for a Crowd?

Servings: 16

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 8 lb ground lean beef
  • 8 cups diced white onion
  • 8 packs taco seasoning

Instructions

1. Saute the beef on medium heat until golden brown.

2. Add onion and cook until translucent.

3. Add taco seasoning and follow its directions on the packaging.

4. Let it simmer or transfer it into a crockpot or whatever warmer you have to keep it warm until served

5. Warm or fry your taco shells.

How to Use a Tortilla Warmer

The easiest is a cloth warmer – which looks a little bit like a potholder- or a bit fancier is a ceramic one like you see in Mexican restaurants. Just warm the holder up and insert your tortillas.

Final Thoughts On How To Keep Tortillas Warm For Party

If all the details mentioned above are overwhelming for you. But worry not, a taco bar for a big crowd is always the guest’s favorite dish to eat. 
So, you need not think about how to serve hundreds of them since self-service is the norm, you just have to provide the ingredients, plates, and serving spoons. They can even warm their own taco shells.