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    Home » Amish Recipes

    Amish Haystacks, Haystacks Recipe Taco

    05/23/2021 by Anna Leave a Comment

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Amish Haystacks

    What are Amish Haystacks? It sounds like something you would see out in the field as you drive through the Amish countryside.

    In this post, however, I am sharing a Haystacks Recipe that is similar to Tacos. This is an Amish Haystacks Recipe that you can make for dinner tonight. It is super easy to make, very versatile, and loved by all!

    Amish Haystack Dinner

    You simply take a lot of different ingredients and pile them onto your plate to create a haystack.

    Haystack Dinner

    I don't know exactly where this haystack dinner recipe originated, and it may not have originated with the Amish.

    However, this Haystack food recipe has become well-known among the Amish. And it is served frequently as a fundraiser meal in their communities.

    It's an easy meal for a group to put together because each family can bring a large dish with one ingredient. They arrange all the ingredients on the table and create a haystack by piling a little bit of each ingredient on a plate.

    The Amish haystack recipe is built on a lettuce base, followed by taco-seasoned hamburger, cooked white rice, red beans, tortilla chips, tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, and finally topped with a cheese sauce.

    It's like a taco that's piled on a plate. So it's less messy to eat than a taco but tastes just as great!

    I don't think I ever ate tacos growing up in my Amish home. But this was our version of Amish tacos.

    haystack ingredients

    Haystack Food Recipe

    This is a recipe for haystacks with rice. Obviously, tacos don't usually include rice.

    But rice is cheap, and I'm guessing that the reason this haystack recipe includes rice is that it helps to fill up your plate without using a lot of meat. Plus, it goes well with all the other ingredients.

    The Amish women often feed large crowds of people because they have large families. And they get together for meals quite frequently.

    When a few large families get together it's a crowd, and it can get expensive to feed a crowd. So they try to stretch the food as much as possible, by adding cheaper options.

    Amish Haystack Dinner - my kids' favorite meal

    Haystacks Recipe Tacos is literally one of my kids' favorite meals. And who doesn't love tacos, right?

    This is a great kid-friendly meal. Because most kids love tacos, and haystacks are less messy to eat than having to hold a taco in your hand.

    You may have to be careful though; I always end up with a bigger stack than I intended. I add a little bit of each ingredient, and it doesn't look like much. But by the time I have everything on my plate, the pile can get pretty big.

    Another thing that I love about this meal is that it is very versatile. You can add all the ingredients that you can imagine would go well together. And you can put them in any order that you please.

    I grew up using lettuce as the base, but my kids like to put all the hot ingredients (meat, rice, and beans) on the bottom. It's not a big deal, put it in any order you please.

    Amish haystack

    How do I make my Amish Haystack Recipe?

    Cooking Rice: I start by cooking the rice since it takes twenty minutes to cook. If you have a rice cooker, by all means, use it.

    But rice is easy to cook on the stovetop as well. Just put the rice, water, and salt into a saucepan and bring it to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to low temperature. Cover and set your timer for twenty minutes. Do not open the lid until your timer goes off.

    Brown hamburger: While the rice is cooking, I brown the hamburger and warm the beans. You can cook dried beans if you plan ahead far enough, but I often use canned beans.

    And I have recently started making my own taco seasoning as well.

    Lettuce: If you are limited on time, you can buy the shredded lettuce in bags, but I tend to stay away from bagged lettuce and cut up my own. Cut up the lettuce and tomatoes the same as you would for tacos.

    Cheese Sauce: You can buy a can of cheese sauce and warm it, or make your own. To make the cheese sauce, add 1/2 cup of milk and a Tbsp. of butter to a microwave-safe dish. Add about a 2 1/2" slab of Velveeta cheese (cut into slices). Warm in the microwave at 1-minute intervals, stirring in between, until it is melted and smooth.

    Guacamole: Some of us like guacamole on our haystacks. So I make guacamole by smashing two avocados with a fork. Add about 1/4 tsp. salt and 1 - 1 1/2 Tbs. of lime juice.

    How I Assemble my Haystack Dinner

    You can assemble your Amish haystacks in any order you please. You can add or subtract anything you desire.

    One nice thing about this meal is that everyone assembles their own stack, so your picky eaters can leave out the things they don't like.

    My oldest daughter is a vegetarian, so it's a great meal for her. She leaves off the meat but still gets protein from the beans.

    If you need an idea, this is the order I assemble mine in: lettuce, rice, meat, beans, chips, tomatoes, green onions, guacamole, sour cream, salsa, and cheese sauce. My husband likes more heat, so he adds hot sauce and jalapenos on top yet too.

    I know that some people use crushed crackers instead of chips. Some people add shredded cheese and use Ranch or Thousand Island dressing instead of cheese sauce.

    But I like mine with tortilla chips (or better yet Nacho Doritos) and cheese sauce. I love Doritos with Haystacks, but I don't often have them on hand, so I mostly use plain tortilla chips.

    This haystack recipe has a lot of ingredients, but trust me, it doesn't take very long to put together. And these Amish tacos are very filling and loved by everyone!

    And perhaps you'd like to serve a refreshing Mangonada (a spicy mango drink) with your haystack meal.

    More Amish Dinner Recipes

    Amish Beef and Noodle Dairy Casserole

    Pennsylvania Dutch Chicken Pot Pie

    Underground Ham Casserole Recipe

    Amish Shipwreck Casserole (7-Layer Dinner)

    I use my Pampered Chef meat chopper every time I cook hamburger, it is a great addition to your kitchen utensils. This is an affiliate link...

    Amish haystack dinner

    Amish Haystacks, Haystacks Recipe Taco

    Amish Haystacks are basically a taco that is piled onto your plate. This recipe also includes rice and is topped off with a delicious cheese sauce.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 25 mins
    Cook Time 20 mins
    Total Time 45 mins
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Amish
    Servings 8 people
    Calories 559 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    Taco Meat

    • 1 lb. hamburger
    • 1 clove minced garlic optional
    • 3 Tbs. taco seasoning (1 packet)
    • 1 c. tomato juice or water

    Rice

    • 1 c. uncooked rice
    • 2 c. water
    • 3/4 tsp. salt

    Beans

    • 1 can red beans
    • 1 Tbs. taco seasoning

    Cheese sauce

    • 1/2 c. milk
    • 1 Tbsp. butter
    • 10 oz. velveeta cheese, cut into slices (about 2" - 3" chunk from a 2 lb. block)

    Guacamole

    • 2 ripe avocados, mashed
    • 1 Tbs. lime juice
    • 1/4 tsp. salt

    Remaining Ingredients

    • 1 qt. shredded lettuce
    • 1 large tomato, diced
    • 3 stems green onions, chopped
    • 1/2 bag Doritos or tortilla chips slightly crushed
    • sour cream
    • salsa
    • hot sauce

    Instructions
     

    • Crumble and brown the hamburger, drain the fat. Add 1 clove of minced garlic, taco seasoning, and tomato juice. Cook for at least another minute.
      1 lb. hamburger, 1 clove minced garlic, 3 Tbs. taco seasoning, 1 c. tomato juice or water
    • Add the rice kernels, salt, and water to a saucepan and bring it to a rolling boil. Reduce heat to low temperature. Cover and set your timer for twenty minutes. Do not open the lid until your timer goes off.
      1 c. uncooked rice, 2 c. water, 3/4 tsp. salt
    • Warm a can of beans and add 1 Tbs. taco seasoning.
      1 can red beans, 1 Tbs. taco seasoning
    • You can buy a can of cheese sauce and warm it, or make your own. In a microwave-safe dish, add milk and cheese slices. Warm at 30-second to one-minute intervals, stirring in-between, until it is melted and smooth.
      1/2 c. milk, 1 Tbsp. butter, 10 oz. velveeta cheese, cut into slices
    • You can buy ready-made guacamole, or make your own. By simply mashing the avocados with a fork, add salt and lime juice.
      2 ripe avocados, mashed, 1 Tbs. lime juice, 1/4 tsp. salt
    • Arrange all your ingredients in the order you want to stack them, and let everyone pile their plates full. Usually, the cheese sauce gets drizzled over the top of the stack.

    Notes

    You can add or subtract any ingredients you want. My husband likes jalapenos on his yet too.
    A lot of people use regular onions instead of green, but I like the milder taste of green onions.
    Sometimes I don't have everything on hand and that's ok, as long as I have all the main ingredients. Some people use crushed crackers instead of chips. Some even substitute the cheese sauce for shredded cheese and drizzle Ranch or Thousand Island dressing on top.
    It is a very versatile recipe, so have fun with it.
    *Nutrition is approximate.
     

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1servingCalories: 559kcalCarbohydrates: 62gProtein: 28gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 8gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 57mgSodium: 1288mgPotassium: 1117mgFiber: 10gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 1593IUVitamin C: 19mgCalcium: 314mgIron: 4mg
    Keyword Amish haystacks, Haystack dinner recipe, Haystacks recipe taco
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    Hi, I’m Anna. I grew up Amish in the Lancaster County, Pa. area (the heart of Amish country). I currently live in a small rural town in Missouri and am a homeschool mom to 4 great kids. Some of my favorite things to do are spending time in the kitchen, (baking and preparing meals from scratch), gardening, and spending time with my lovely family.

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