I DIDN'T THINK ANYTHING COULD BEAT TACO BELL'S GRILLED CHEESE BURRITO—UNTIL I MADE MY OWN
What do you get when you mix a burrito and a grilled cheese sandwich? Joy. Pure joy. There’s a good reason why the Taco Bell grilled cheese burrito has inspired a cult following. Stuffed with Spanish rice, crunchy tortilla chips, seasoned beef, sour cream, nacho cheese, wrapped in a warm flour tortilla, and fried in more cheese, this burrito is missing nothing. And guess what? You can easily re-create this iconic fast food menu item in your own kitchen with this copycat recipe. So next time you’re craving Taco Bell but don’t want to leave the couch, fry yourself up this burrito right in the comfort of your own home!
I used a store-bought nacho cheese for this recipe, but if you’re feeling extra inspired, you could certainly make homemade nacho cheese. I also used red tortilla chips to mimic the Taco Bell look, but regular tortilla chips will accomplish the same goal if you can’t find red. Use a non-stick pan to fry the burritos so that your cheese doesn’t stick to the pan. This will also help adhere the cheese to the burrito itself.
You can make all the components of this burrito up to 2 days ahead. Separately store in an airtight container and wrap/fry burritos as desired.
Yields: 6 servings
Prep Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
Spanish Rice- 1 tbsp.
unsalted butter
- 3/4 c.
uncooked basmati rice, rinsed
- 1 tsp.
garlic powder
- 1 tsp.
kosher salt
- 1 tsp.
onion powder
- 1 c.
low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 c.
tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp.
neutral oil
- 1 lb.
ground beef
- 1 tsp.
garlic powder
- 1 tsp.
ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp.
chili powder
- 1/2 tsp.
kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp.
onion powder
- 1/2 tsp.
paprika
- 1/2 c.
low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 c.
tomato sauce
- 1/2 c.
sour cream
- 1/4 c.
mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp.
chipotle sauce from a can of chipotle chiles in adobo
- 1/2 tsp.
kosher salt
- 6
(10") flour tortillas
- 1/2 c.
store-bought or homemade queso, divided
- 1 c.
red tortilla chips, broken into large pieces
- 8 oz.
cheddar, shredded (about 1 1/2 cups), divided
Sour cream and hot sauce, for serving
Directions
Spanish Rice- In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add rice and cook, stirring occasionally, until toasted and golden brown, about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic powder, salt, and onion powder and cook, stirring, until warmed through, about 1 minute. Add broth and sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover saucepan with a lid. Cook, undisturbed, for 17 minutes.
- Uncover and fluff rice with a fork.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add ground beef and cook, breaking up with a spoon, until browned, about 7 minutes.
- Add garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, salt, onion powder, and paprika and mix until combined. Add broth and sauce and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is mostly absorbed, about 5 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, chipotle sauce, and salt.
Assembly- Place a tortilla on a work surface. Fill the center tortilla with 1/2 cup rice, 1/2 cup seasoned beef, 1 Tbsp. chipotle mayo, 1 Tbsp. queso, and 4 to 5 pieces of broken tortilla chips. Fold 2 sides of tortilla toward each other, bringing the bottom half up and over the filling, then tightly roll into a burrito and tuck in the sides. Repeat with remaining 5 tortillas.
- In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, arrange 1/4 cup cheese in a line about the length of a burrito in the center of skillet. Place a burrito, seam side down, directly on top of cheese. Once cheese starts to brown around the edges, gently flip burrito with a spatula, keeping cheese pressed to seam side of burrito. Continue to cook until other side is golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer burrito to a platter. Repeat with remaining burritos.
- Serve burritos with sour cream and hot sauce alongside.
