How to Make Taco Bell Crunchy Tacos - CopyKat Recipes (2024)

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Taco Bell Crunchy Tacos are absolutely delicious. You can make Taco Bell crispy tacos fresh for your family anytime with this easy recipe. You could also use this meat as a topping for nachos, inside burritos, and so much more. Enjoy your own homemade Taco Bell tacos from the Taco Bell iconic menu items.

How to Make Taco Bell Crunchy Tacos - CopyKat Recipes (1)

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The Best Crunchy Tacos

Who doesn’t love these famous crunchy tacos? Crispy on the outside, a well-seasoned ground beef mixture on the inside, and topped with cool and refreshing lettuce and cheese.

Why Are Taco Bell Crunchy Tacos So Good?

Hard shell tacos sometimes get a bad rep. People like to complain they’re difficult and messy to eat, so they opt for soft tacos instead. That’s a mistake.

The crunch of a hard taco shell is the ideal complement to the perfectly seasoned ground beef and other toppings that come on Taco Bell tacos. But if you can’t run to the border, you can always make your hard shell Taco Bell tacos at home.

Why This is the Recipe You Must Try

There are many copycat Taco Bell meat recipes online, but out of all of them, Taco Bell chose to link to this one. That is a pretty good recommendation right there.

Sure, the list of seasonings may be a little long, but you can easily double or triple the recipe, ensuring there is plenty for the next time you want to make seasoned ground beef.

Taco Bell Meat

This taco seasoned beef from Taco Bell is used in many different recipes. You can use it in your own Crunchwrap, the Taco Bell Mexican Pizza and so many more Taco Bell items.

Taco Bell Seasoning

This seasoning recipe is a salt-free version, so it is not an exact duplication of their recipe, but it is really close. You can add salt to the seasoning mix if you want it in the blend of spices.

You can purchase their retail version of the Taco Bell Taco Seasoning Mix, but this one doesn’t contain any artificial flavorings or colorings, and it is pretty easy to make.

Taco Bell Crunchy Tacos Ingredients

For convenience, the recipe is divided into two parts; how to make Taco Bell meat and how to prepare the tacos.

To make this Taco Bell ground beef recipe, you’ll need:

  • Masa harina
  • Chili powder
  • Onion powder
  • Garlic powder
  • Seasoning salt
  • Paprika
  • Ground cumin
  • Garlic salt
  • Sugar
  • Dried minced onion
  • Beef bouillon powder
  • Ground chuck

Masa harina is dried and ground flint corn soaked in an alkaline solution. It is popular in Latin cooking as an instant corn dough and thickener. If you can’t get masa harina, use an equal amount of cornflour instead.

To put together the hard shell tacos, you’ll need:

  • Hard crunchy taco shells
  • Iceberg lettuce
  • Shredded cheddar cheese
  • Roma tomatoes
  • Sour cream

Roma tomatoes are a good choice because they are denser than beefsteak or slicing tomatoes. Grape and plum tomatoes are also great options. Keep in mind you can always top your tacos with some of your personal favorite toppings.

How to Make Taco Bell Crunchy Tacos - CopyKat Recipes (2)

How to Make Taco Bell Crunchy Tacos

It is best to prepare the seasoned beef for this Taco Bell tacos recipe ahead of time.

To make the seasoned beef:

  1. Mix together the masa harina, crushed beef bouillon cube, and seasonings in a bowl.
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  1. Stir in a cup of water and set aside.
  2. Heat a large pan over medium-high heat.
  3. Crumble in the ground beef and cook until brown.
  4. Transfer the cooked ground beef to a strainer and rinse the meat under hot water to remove all the grease. Let the ground beef drain well.
  5. Meanwhile, wipe out the same pan you used to brown the meat and heat over medium-high.
  6. Return the drained beef to the pan and pour the water with the dissolved seasonings over the top.
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  1. Simmer until most of the water is gone.
  2. Remove from the heat.
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To assemble the taco:

  1. Warm the taco shells in a 350-degree oven. Although this is an optional step, it makes a big difference in both the taste and texture of the tacos.
  2. Add a few tablespoons of seasoned beef to the shell, lettuce, cheese, and any other toppings you want. Avoid overfilling the taco shell, or most of it will wind up on your plate.
  3. Serve while the meat is still warm.
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How To Make a Taco Bell Crunchy Taco Supreme

Regular Taco Bell Crunchy Tacos come with seasoned beef, shredded lettuce, and cheese, but the Supreme version comes with all that plus tomatoes and sour cream.

How To Serve Taco Bell Tacos

Tacos are one of those meals that are better to assemble at the table. Allowing people to do it themselves keeps things easier for you and ensures everyone is happy.

What Goes With Crunchy Tacos

There are many toppings you can add to tacos. Some of the most popular are:

  • Diced raw onions
  • Guacamole
  • Beans
  • Jalapeno slices
  • Hot sauce

Make it tacos a complete meal with a few sides, likenacho fries,charro beans,Spanish rice, andsopapillas. And it would be a shame to forgetmargaritas.

How To Store Left Over Tacos

Store the seasoned meat separately in a container in the fridge for up to three days. If you want to keep it for longer, let the meat cool and put it in a freezer bag. It will stay fresh in the freezer for up to three months.

Use the vegetables the same day you prepare them.

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Love Taco Bell? Try These Recipes

  • Baja Blast Freeze
  • Chicken Quesadilla
  • Nacho Cheese Fries
  • Supreme Burrito
  • Taco Bell Power Bowl
  • Taco Bell Taco Sauce
  • Taco Sandwich Taco Bell

Easy Mexican Food Recipes for Taco Night!

  • Carne Guisada Recipe
  • Chili Relleno Casserole
  • Mexican Cornbread Casserole
  • Skillet Queso
  • Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
  • White Mexican Cheese Dip

Be sure to check out more of my copycat Mexican restaurant recipes and the best Taco Bell recipes here on CopyKat.

Taco Bell Crunchy Tacos

We all want to run to the border, but you can make the famous Taco Bell crunchy tacos at home.

5 from 30 votes

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Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: Taco Bell Crunchy Tacos, Taco Bell Recipes

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 12

Calories: 236kcal

Author: Stephanie Manley

Ingredients

Beef Filling

  • 1 1/2 tablespoon masa harina
  • 4 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon seasoning salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon dried minced onion
  • 1/2 teaspoon beef bouillon powder
  • 1 1/3 pounds ground chuck

Shells and Toppings

  • 12 taco shells
  • 1/2 head iceberg lettuce shredded
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 Roma tomatoes diced
  • Sour cream optional

Instructions

Beef Filling

  • In a small bowl, combine all the ingredients except the meat, and mix well.

  • Crumble the ground beef into a large skillet (preferably nonstick) and brown, stirring well.

  • Remove from the heat. Dump the meat into a strainer in the sink, rinse with hot water, and drain off the water and grease from the beef.

  • Return the beef to the pan.

  • Stir in the spice mix and 3/4 to 1 cup water.

  • Simmer on medium-low heat for 20 minutes, until most of the moisture has cooked away. Remove from heat before the meat is completely dry.

Tacos

  • If you like, you can refresh the taco shells in the oven at 350°F for 7 to 10 minutes.

  • To assemble the tacos, spoon a few tablespoons of the meat into each taco shell.

  • Top with lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, and sour cream, if desired. Serve immediately.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 236kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 352mg | Potassium: 247mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 555IU | Vitamin C: 2.1mg | Calcium: 98mg | Iron: 1.6mg

How to Make Taco Bell Crunchy Tacos - CopyKat Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What are the ingredients in Taco Bell crunchy tacos? ›

A crunchy corn tortilla shell filled with your choice of protein topped with our signature hot sauce, fresh lettuce and cheddar cheese.

What does Taco Bell use in their tacos? ›

We use 100 percent USDA premium beef in our seasoned beef. We prepare it much the same way you prepare taco meat at home: after simmering, it is drained of excess fat and pre-seasoned with our signature blend of 7 authentic seasonings and spices.

What comes on crunchy taco? ›

What's Included
  • Seasoned Beef.
  • Reduced-Fat Sour Cream.
  • Tomatoes.
  • Lettuce.
  • Cheese.

How to get free crunchy taco Taco Bell? ›

4 One Free Crunchy Taco per account will be made available after the resident signs up as a user of the Taco Bell mobile app.

Where does Taco Bell get their ingredients? ›

Where do your ingredients come from? We buy many of our ingredients for our restaurants from the same brands that you see in the grocery store and your kitchen: for example, lettuce from Taylor Farms, tortillas from Mission, Hass avocados and poultry from Tyson.

How unhealthy is Taco Bell Crunchy Taco? ›

Taco Bell's most nutritious option is the Crunchy Taco, which contains 170 calories, 8 g protein, and 310 mg sodium.

What kind of meat does Taco Bell use in their tacos? ›

Also, addressing a widespread rumor, Taco Bell beef is not grade D beef, according to the website. "We use the same quality beef used in all ground beef (like you'd find in the grocery store), only USDA-inspected, 100% premium real beef, period," the website says.

What is Grade D meat at Taco Bell? ›

The other story is that Taco Bell is serving up "Grade D" beef, a super low-end cut of meat that no one else uses. Snopes says this one is pretty clearly not true, for one major reason: there's no such thing.

What kind of taco shells does Taco Bell use? ›

The shell that Taco Bell uses is called a "crispy taco shell" and it is made from a mixture of corn and wheat flour that is formed into a U-shape and deep-fried until crispy. This type of shell is different from the traditional hard-shell tacos that are made from just corn and are baked or fried until crispy.

Which taco is better crunchy or soft? ›

There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to the deliciousness of hardshell and softshell. Both are easy to eat and offer tremendous health benefits due to the minerals and nutrients found in their vegetables and meats. Stop by and try our crunchy and soft taco and let us know which team you're on!

Are crunchy tacos corn or flour? ›

Hardshell tacos are fried corn tortillas shaped to holdtaco fillings, while softshell tacos are simply smaller tortillas similar to those used for burritos and enchiladas. You can make traditional softshell taco tortillas with corn flour or wheat flour.

What's the difference between a crunchy taco and a crunchy taco supreme at Taco Bell? ›

Crunchy taco

Also, I never realized that "Supreme" just means adding sour cream and tomato.

Does Taco Bell give a free taco for every stolen base? ›

If a base is stolen by any player for either team during any game of the 2023 World Series™ presented by Capital One (each a “Game”), currently scheduled to begin Friday, October 27, 2023, Taco Bell® will offer every registered Taco Bell Rewards Program account holder on the Taco Bell mobile app that is an Eligible Fan ...

What is Taco Bell removing from the menu? ›

Taco Bell taking many items off the menu
  • Power Bowl (steak chicken, and vegetable options.
  • Chipotle Ranch Grilled Chicken Burrito.
  • Double Berry Freeze.
Mar 1, 2024

Are Taco Bell crunchy tacos vegan? ›

Soft or Crunchy Tacos

Both the crunchy and soft tacos are vegan, if you load them up the right way. Add beans for your protein source, ditch the dairy, and load it up with lettuce, onions, and pico de gallo to elevate the crunch and flavor. Order at least three tacos to make it a filling meal.

Are Taco Bell hard tacos corn or flour? ›

Unlike it's soft form brethren with a warm flour tortilla, the Crunchy Taco has a crunchy corn body and a wicked haymaker coming through on the seasoned beef, lettuce and cheese.

What are Taco Bell refried made out of? ›

WATER, PINTO BEANS, SALT, SOYBEAN OIL, PINK BEANS, NATURAL FLAVOR, SOY LECITHIN.

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