11 Ways To Upgrade Your Tacos, Because We All Need It

Tacos are one of those foods that will never be boring. From Baja fish tacos to crispy carnita tacos, there so many ways to make and eat a taco that we could chow down on a different variation every day of the week and never get tired of it. Still, even if they're your favorite thing, you could be getting taco fatigue. Maybe one simple taco recipe has become your go-to weeknight dinner or you've been returning to the same taco stand for so long that you've forgotten about the endless possibilities out there.

As major taco fans, we at HuffPost Taste are constantly on the lookout for unique tacos and ideas for keeping them fresh. Since we understand the tendency to get stuck in a routine, we've gathered up some ideas to make sure your tacos stay out of a rut. We spoke to chef Andrew Field of Brooklyn's trendiest taco shop, Rockaway Taco, and found inspiration from some more of NYC's hottest Mexican cocinas, from Empellon to ABC. We even checked out what our favorite bloggers were up to and we thought about our own personal favorite toppings.

For all your taco-eating pleasure, here are 11 ways to upgrade your tacos.

Put an egg on it.

Renee Kohlman

We're big fans of putting eggs -- fried, poached or otherwise -- on everything from asparagus to ramen, and we think tacos deserve the egg treatment, too. You can make your taco breakfast with an egg, but we think a runny yolk goes great with dinner. Get a breakfast tacos with avocado salsa recipe from SweetSugarBean.

Fry 'em.

Globetrotter

The real question is, why wouldn't you fry your taco? You can either fry a flour tortilla for a crispy crunchy shell, or you can try making your own fry bread, a Navajo tradition. Get a fry bread taco recipe from Food52.

Smash a charred tomato.

Jeremy Hudson via Getty Images

Andrew Field, the chef at Rockaway Taco, recommends charring a tomato and then smashing it onto your taco for a really quick and satisfying topping. If you want to go one step further, you could char a jalapeño and some garlic as well, and smash all the ingredients together in a bowl for a really basic but awesome salsa. Get a charred tomato salsa recipe from Food Republic.

Make your salsa with blackberries.

How Sweet It Is

Everyone's familiar with mango or peach salsa, but blackberry salsa has yet to become mainstream. Don't be skeptical -- be excited to discover your new favorite kind of salsa. Blackberries' sweet and tart flavor go really well with some heat, like jalapeños, and herbs, like cilantro or mint. They also provide a refreshing kick to grilled meat or chicken. With blackberries in season, summer is the perfect time to try out blackberry salsa. Get a blackberry salsa recipe from How Sweet It Is.

Make a shell out of cheese.

The Food in my Beard via Tablespoon

You can use shredded cheese to make a crispy taco shell. Yes, you're taco shell will be entirely made of cheese. Get a recipe for cheese shell tacos from The Food in my Beard via Tablespoon and a recipe for crispy all-cheese taco shells from Serious Eats.

Make a shell out of bacon.

Dude Foods

Yes you can, and Nick Chipman of Dude Foods can show you the way.

When it comes to cheese, think outside the box.

How Sweet It Is

You could just use cotija and cheddar and be a happy taco eater for the rest of your life, but you'd be missing out on all the other great cheeses that can enhance your tacos. New York hot spot Mission Cantina sells a short rib taco with gorgonzola and Empellon Cocina, another New York favorite, has a mashed spring peas taco with Parmesan. Get a smoky roasted chicken tacos with spicy goat cheese queso recipe by How Sweet It Is.

Grill your fruits.

mccun934 via Getty Images

Grilled fruits are one of summer's easiest desserts, but they can also make excellent taco fillings. Try grilling pineapple, mango or peaches and you may never eat fruitless tacos again. You can either put whole pieces of grilled fruit directly into your taco, or you can can add it to salsa or guacamole first. Get a grilled pineapple and tomatillo salsa recipe from Food52 and a grilled pineapple guacamole recipe from Annie's Eats.

Try duck confit, and never look back.

Quentin Bacon from Food & Wine

You've rolled Peking duck in a pancake, so now try rolling duck confit in a tortilla. Everything in your life will change. Get a duck confit taco recipe from HuffPost Taste.

Switch up your crema.

Getty Images

Everyone's heard of chipotle crema or cilantro and lime crema, the amazing creamy sauce that you want to pour all over your fish tacos. But you can get creative with your crema flavors. At Le Fooding's Fruitstock food festival this past weekend, Rockaway Taco chef Andrew Field made a preserved lemon crema for a cornmeal crostini sope (pictured here) that would go great in a taco. Get a recipe for avocado crema from Williams-Sonoma and a recipe for jalapeno crema from How Sweet It Is.

Go Nuts!

Edsel L/Flickr

Try making salsa out of nuts. The rich, buttery flavor of nuts like cashews and almonds make for some excellent sauces to drizzle on your tacos (or douse them in, we won't judge). Nut salsa can also be great vegan alternative to creamy, dairy-based sauces. Get a smoked cashew nut salsa recipe from chef of Empellon Cocina Alex Stupak.

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