Seriously, these air fryer smashburger tacos are so good. The smash burger tacos are a viral recipe sensation on Tik Tok and we just had to try it. They’re also called big mac tacos. With the homemade sauce, these really do taste like burgers or bic macs. Give these air fryer big mac tacos smashburger-style a try!

holding air fryer smash burger tacos

What are Air Fryer Big Mac Smash Burger Tacos?

They’re so fun to make and eat. These burger tacos a super popular and crazy delicious taco that tastes like a big mac. It’s essentially burger meat that’s smashed onto the tortilla and cooked on a hot pan. So it’s like a thin burger patty that’s in between the tortillas. The fillings are exactly what you would see on a cheeseburger or big mac. The burger sauce that’s like a thousand island dressing is what really takes the flavors to being like a big mac. But instead of being in a hamburger bun, this viral sensation is like an animal style burger but in taco form. So we just had to make an air fryer version of the smashburger tacos, of course!

air fryer smash burger tacos with cheese on top

Video: Air Fryer Smashburger Tacos or Big Mac Smash Burger Tacos

How to Make Burger Sauce from Scratch (Fry Sauce)

This quick and simple homemade burger sauce or fry sauce takes 5 minutes to make. It’s crazy easy and it’s going to be a favorite condiment that lives in your fridge. Guaranteed. It’s basically like a chunky thousand island dressing or fry sauce. Best of all, the flavors really do resemble that of the popular burger chain hamburger. You can customize the sauce to your preferred texture and flavors. Here’s some basic ingredients that you can add or omit when making the fry sauce:

  • Mayo: Mayonnaise is the base of the sauce. But if an alternative is using greek yogurt or even sour cream.
  • Mustard for tangy flavors: Mustard give some color and tang to the flavors. You can use vinegar to replace the mustard.
  • Ketchup gives the pink color and the sweetness. You can replace it with some tomato sauce if you don’t want the sweetness.
  • More sweet: Add some brown sugar if you want your sauce sweeter.
  • Minced onions gives a nice zesty flavor. If you don’t like onions, leave it out.
  • Pickles or relish for texture: Use some relish or minced pickles. This gives a nice bite.
  • A splash or two of Worcestershire sauce gives more umami. You might even like a splash of soy sauce.
  • Love spicy? Add some hot sauce to it.

Tips on Making Big Mac Smash Burger Tacos

  • You really want a hot pre-heated air fryer. Make sure to pre-heat your air fryer so the meat can get a great sear.
  • When smashing or spreading the raw meat on the tortillas, make sure they’re not too thick. And the meat will shrink during air frying, so spread the meat all the way to the edges of the tortilla.
  • You don’t need any extra oil because when cooking the beef so no oil spray or oil brush is needed.
  • Quick melting cheese: Use a thin slice of American cheese if you want it to melt faster. You can use thicker artisan cuts of cheese, but it’ll take a little longer to melt. You might need to actually air fry the cheese slightly rather than just using the residual heat to melt the cheese.
  • Other sauce: you don’t have to use the homemade sauce we list below. Use bbq sauce, ranch or any of your favorite burger sauces.
  • All air fryer smash burger tacos recipe details are in the recipe box below. And there’s step by step photos too for you to follow along during cooking.
holding air fryer smash burger tacos

Air Fryer Smash Burger Taco (aka Big Mac Smash Burger Tacos)

Yield: 6 Servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Using flour tortillas gives a better crisp texture. If you want to use corn tortillas, you must spray the bottom side of the tortilla with a generous amount of oil. If not, the corn tortilla could be very hard. But that’s ok if you’re looking for more of a “tostada” texture.
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Ingredients

  • 1 lb. (454 g) ground beef
  • 1 teaspoon (4.93 ml) garlic powder , or to taste
  • 6 (5-6 inch) (13-15 cm) flour or corn tortillas
  • Salt , to taste
  • Ground black pepper , to taste

Burger Toppings (all optional)

  • Burger Sauce (see recipe below)
  • 6 slices American cheese , or cheese of choice
  • Shredded lettuce
  • Tomato slices
  • pickles
  • sliced onions
  • ketchup, mustard , mayo, bbq sauce, thousand island, etc.

Burger Sauce Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup (60 ml) ketchup
  • 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) mustard
  • 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) minced onion , optional
  • 2 Tablespoons (30 ml) pickle relish , or minced pickles

Equipment

Instructions 

  • Preheat air fryer to 400°F/205°C for 5 minutes.
    Touching the Air Fryer panel
  • Add beef in bowl and combine garlic powder. Stir to combine well.
    mixing ground meat
  • Spread about 1/4 cup of beef on a tortilla. Press or “smash” the meat into the tortilla until it reaches the edges of the tortilla. Repeat this process for all the meat and tortillas.
    pressing beef on tortilla
  • Season top of meat with salt and pepper.
    seasoning beef
  • Place tortilla in air fryer with meat side facing up (air fry in just a single layer, you'll need to cook in batches for most air fryers).
    tortilla in air fryer
  • Air fry at 400°F/205°C for 5 minutes or until beef is cooked to your liking and tortilla slightly crispy.
    cooked smash burger taco
  • For a Smash Cheeseburger Taco: Top with a slice of cheese and place air fryer basket/tray back in air fryer. Allow to sit in the residual heat for about 1 minute to melt cheese.
    cheese on top of smash burger taco
  • Immediately remove from the air fryer and top the meat side with your favorite burger toppings. Gently fold the taco over. Repeat for all the tortillas and meat. Enjoy!
    air fryer big mac taco with toppings on it

Burger Sauce Instructions

  • Combine all the burger sauce ingredients (mayo, ketchup, mustard, optional onion, and relish or minced pickles.) Stir until evenly combined. Store in the fridge until ready to use.
    burger sauce with spoon

If your air fryer is preheated or if you are cooking multiple batches, you may need to reduce timing by a few minutes (unless preheating is called for in the recipe).

Video

YouTube video

Nutrition Information per Serving

Calories: 372kcal, Carbohydrates: 2g, Protein: 18g, Fat: 32g, Saturated Fat: 10g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 80mg, Sodium: 527mg, Potassium: 262mg, Fiber: 0.1g, Sugar: 1g, Vitamin A: 211IU, Vitamin C: 0.01mg, Calcium: 234mg, Iron: 2mg
Course: Main Course, Sandwiches, Snack
Cuisine: American
Calories: 372
air fryer smash burger tacos

Best Tortillas for Air Frying SmashBurger Tacos?

For air frying, we like using flour Tortillas because they crisp quickly in the air fryer. Also, they’re softer so they can fold into the taco shape easier. But if you’re a fan of corn tortillas, that’s great too! You will need to add a spray or brush of oil on the tortillawhen you flip to the tortilla side on the pan. The extra oil will help make the corn tortilla crispier. But also another warning, if you flip to have the tortilla side up during air frying, the meat might separate from the tortilla. Also, it might overcook the meat too. Hope you enjoy this big mac smashburger!

Different burger toppings to try

There’s so many different possibilities to make each air fried smash burger unique. When customizing any burger, the same rules apply to this hamburger smash taco. Add what ever favorite toppings that you want. Treat it as it’s a regular burger and you’ll love it! toppings for burger tacos

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