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If you love crunchy tacos and soft tacos, I have good news. You can have both in this homemade cheesy gordita crunch recipe. Perfectly seasoned taco meat, golden, toasted tortillas, melty cheese, creamy refried beans and alllll your favorite toppings. It’s my take on Taco Bell’s Cheesy Gordita Crunch, and GOODNESS GRACIOUS, it’s delicious. Your next taco night needs these.

Homemade cheesy gordita crunch tacos filled with seasoned ground beef, lettuce, corn salsa, black olives and creamy chipotle sauce.
small photo of the author, Erica

I have a confession.

I’ve never actually had the cheesy gordita crunch from Taco Bell. If you know me, you know that I have to be a DESPERATE girl indeed for you to convince me to eat fast food. Like, I know that sounds pretentious, but… y’all. I just really don’t like fast food. 

However, the concept of a crunchy beef taco wrapped up in a cheesy flour tortilla is something I can 100% get behind. We’re just making it at home with simple ingredients!

A few weeks ago, we took a weekend trip to the coast. I had planned on doing a taco night for one of our dinners and brought both crunchy shells and flour tortillas so we had options. Then at the last second I thought, wait what if I did both? Deliciously seasoned beef in the crunchy shell, refried beans and cheese as the ‘glue’ on the flour tortilla so it adheres to the crunchy taco, griddled until toasty brown and then filled with all of the fresh stuff? Say lessssss.

Penelope immediately said “mama, i just LOVE this taco!” and Lia said “mom, these are the best tacos ever!” Um HELLO!? Did I just unearth another kid-friendly banger of a dinner to add to the rotation!? Yes, yes I did.

So without further ado, you need these in your life asap. (P.S.- get the nacho cheese crunchy shell tortillas if you wanna be extra like that)

signature of Erica

What You’ll Need for this Cheesy Gordita Crunch Recipe:

Overhead view of labeled ingredients for homemade gordita crunch tacos, including taco meat, refried beans, shredded cheese, tortillas, crunchy shells and toppings.
  • Taco meat: We’re making one batch of my really good taco meat. You can use ground beef, ground chicken or ground turkey, but beef gives the best Taco Bell vibes.
  • Tortillas: I use 6-inch flour tortillas so they wrap nicely around the crunchy taco shells. Regular crunchy corn shells work great, but I looooove the nacho cheese shells for this recipe.
  • The tortilla “glue”: Refried beans and melted cheese help the soft tortillas stick to the hard taco shells as they toast on the griddle. I use Colby Jack, but Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese would work too. I recommend grating your own cheese from a block because it melts better than pre-shredded.
  • Toppings: Crisp lettuce, chopped tomatoes, avocado/guac, black olives, salsa or corn salsa, sour cream, pickled jalapeños, chipotle sauce, green onions, cilantro, a squeeze of lime juice… you pick your faves!

How to Make my Cheesy Gordita Crunch Recipe:

Mix together the homemade taco seasoning, if making your own. Prepare one batch of the best taco meat in a large skillet.

Homemade taco seasoning spices arranged on a ceramic plate with brown sugar, including chili powder, garlic powder, and onion powder.
Seasoned ground meat cooking in a stainless steel skillet with a black spatula.

Warm the refried beans until spreadable. Spread about 2 tablespoons onto each flour tortilla, going to the edges, then sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese over the beans.

Refried beans being spread onto a small flour tortilla.
Shredded colby jack cheese being sprinkled over refried beans on two flour tortillas.

Fill each crunchy taco shell with about 3 tablespoons of beef mixture. Place the filled shells in the center of the prepared flour tortillas.

Spoonful of taco meat being added to a nacho cheese crunchy taco shell.
Crunchy taco shells filled with beef placed over half of flour tortillas with refried beans and shredded cheese.

Fold the flour tortillas up around the crunchy shells, pressing gently so the beans and cheese hold everything together.

Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle pan over medium heat with a little avocado oil. Toast the tacos for 2–3 minutes per side until golden brown and the cheese is melted. If working in batches, keep finished tacos warm on a baking sheet in a 200°F oven.

Hand holding an assembled crunchy taco wrapped in a soft flour tortilla with refried beans and cheese.
Three cheesy gordita crunch taco shells being toasted on a green griddle pan.

Stuff each crispy taco shell with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, olives, salsa, chipotle sauce and any other toppings you love. Serve immediately!

Close-up of finished cheesy gordita crunch recipe with chipotle sauce and fresh toppings.
Golden brown toasted flour tortillas wrapped around crunchy taco shells filled with beef and colorful toppings.

Two tortillas, one ridiculously good cheesy taco. 🤤

FAQs

What can I use instead of refried beans?

You can warm up some canned black beans with a splash of water and mash them until spreadable. Or skip the beans altogether and use extra freshly grated cheese to help hold the flour tortilla and corn shell together.

How do I store and reheat leftovers?

These tacos are best enjoyed fresh so the shells stay crispy! Store each leftover component separately in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
If you have already assembled tacos, reheat them in a skillet over medium-low heat or in an air fryer at 350°F until warmed through and crispy again. Add fresh toppings just before serving.

If you try and like this recipe, please don’t forget to leave a comment and star rating down below! For more lifestyle, behind-the-scenes and ‘eating in real life’ type of content, come find me over on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Facebook, or Youtube – I love connecting with you all there!

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Homemade Cheesy Gordita Crunch Recipe

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  • Author: Erica Baty
  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 6-8 minutes, depending on how many tacos you can toast at a time
  • Total Time: 28 minutes
  • Yield: 10 cheesy gordita crunch tacos
  • Category: Tacos
  • Method: Assemble, Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Mexican
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Description

A soft taco AND a crunchy taco in one glorious bite?! Say lessssss. My homemade spin on a Taco Bell fave has flavorful beef, golden, toasted tortillas, gooey cheese and loads of fresh, creamy, crunchy goodness.

Ingredients

Tacos

Toppings

  • romaine lettuce, shredded
  • tomatoes, chopped
  • avocados or guacamole
  • black olives
  • chipotle sauce/chipotle mayo
  • salsa or corn salsa
  • pickled jalapeños
  • green onions and/or cilantro
  • lime wedges

Instructions

  1. Whip up a batch of best taco meat.
  2. Warm up the refried beans so they are spreadable. Add about 2 tablespoons refried beans to each tortilla, spreading it to the edges. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of cheese all over the beans.
  3. Fill each crunchy shell with 3-ish tablespoons meat mixture. Place the crunchy shell in the middle of the flour tortilla, folding the sides up and pressing gently so that the beans/cheese are sandwiched between the flour tortilla and crunchy shell.
  4. Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle pan over medium heat and add a swish of avocado oil. Lay the tacos flat, toasting on each side for 2-3 minutes, until golden brown and the cheese is melted. You can keep tacos warm in a 200°F oven if you have to work in batches.
  5. Fill the inside crunchy shell with remaining toppings – lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, olives, salsa, chipotle sauce, etc.Buen provecho!

Notes

Refer to the above blog post for ingredient information, step-by-step instructions and answers to frequently asked questions.

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Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 cheesy gordita crunch taco (with toppings)
  • Calories: 469
  • Sugar: 6.4 g
  • Sodium: 1139.3 mg
  • Fat: 24.6 g
  • Carbohydrates: 42.8 g
  • Fiber: 5.9 g
  • Protein: 21.3 g
  • Cholesterol: 48.5 mg

If you love these tacos as much as I do, try these next:

Spicy Potato Soft Tacos (another Taco Bell copycat recipe!)

Mexican Shredded Beef Tostadas

Baja Shrimp Tacos with Chipotle Slaw

Caramelized Chipotle Chicken Fajitas

Blackened Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos

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