How to Make a Clay Taco

Taco 'bout a fun craft! This polymer clay taco craft is perfect for both kids and adults, offering a fun, hands-on project for all ages. Whether you're crafting solo or with a group, you'll love how easy it is to follow along with our detailed step-by-step tutorials.

Active Time20

Baking Time20

Total Time40

Yield: clay taco

Author: Debbie Chapman

Cost: $1

Equipment

Materials

Polymer clay (tan, brown, orange, green, red)
Chalk pastels

Instructions

Step 1: Find what you need

Gather your supplies and materials.

Step 2: Make the clay taco shell

Begin by setting up a clean/dust free surface to work on. We used a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.
Then break off a small piece of tan coloured polymer clay and condition it, rolling it and squishing it between your fingers until it's easy to work with. Roll the clay into a ball.
Place a small piece of parchment paper on top of the clay ball and use the bottom of a drinking glass to flatten the clay into a round tortilla.
The circle should be about 1/16 inch thick and have a 1-1/4 inch diameter.
Wet a paintbrush and transfer some water onto an orange-yellow coloured chalk or soft pastel. Use the brush to pick up some colour.
Brush the colour onto the clay, spreading it around evenly on the top and sides of the clay circle.
Then layer on a smaller amount of terracotta brown pastel, creating a corn tortilla colour.
Finally, use a dotting tool to pick up a bit of darker brown pastel. Use the dotting tool to add flecks of colour and texture to the tortilla.
Set the tortilla aside so the colour can dry while you work on the toppings.

Step 3: Make the clay toppings

Break off a tiny bit of dark brown clay and roll a ball between your fingertips.
Then roll the ball along a textured tool to create pieces of ground beef.
Repeat, making at least 5 or 6 pieces for each taco.
(Yes, they look like something else at this point, but we promise they look good once they're in the taco!!)
Flatten out a piece of orange clay until it's about 1mm thick. You can roll it out or just squish it flat with your fingers.
Use a plastic knife to cut pieces of shredded cheese. We found it easiest to do this on a separate piece of parchment that can be lifted up.
Peel the cheese off the parchment. It should thin out and lengthen a bit as you remove it.
It's okay if the clay breaks off as you pull it up - it just makes the cheese look more realistic!
Repeat, getting at least 7 or 8 pieces of grated cheese. You can also twist the pieces and pull them thin, leaving some pieces longer and others shorter.
Squish a piece of green clay flat, about the same thickness as the orange clay.
Use a textured knife to cut thin pieces of lettuce (6 or 7 pieces will do).
To make tomatoes, roll a tiny ball of red clay and then flatten it between your fingertips.
Use a toothpick to create lines going into the center, like spokes on a wheel. Repeat, making 5 or 6 tomato pieces.

Step 4: Put the clay taco together and bake

Lift the tortilla shell, being careful not to distort the shape too much.
Fold the circle gently into a taco shape (don't fold in half completely!), so you can see where the fold line will be.
Set the shell back down, with the coloured side down, and add toppings along the top half of the shell, overlapping over the edge a bit.
Fold the bottom of the taco up.
Look from the sides to make sure the taco seems full. If need be, use a toothpick or tweezers to squish in more toppings, so there aren't any gaps.
Finally, make 2 tiny balls from black clay and roll a thin line for a smiling mouth. Press them on the front of the taco.
Then bake on a parchment lined tray, according to package directions (our clay recommends 275F for 15 minutes per 1/4 inch thickness).
Your kawaii mini clay taco is complete!
You can also make realistic clay tacos without the faces! Have fun making a whole plateful for taco Tuesday.

Video

Notes

Looking for more clay crafts? Here's a few of our favourites:

How to Make Clay Mushrooms

Polymer Clay Beads

Polymer Clay Earrings