Copycat Taco Bell Cheesy Gordita Crunch Recipe

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Back in the '90s, Taco Bell introduced its first gordita, which was basically a taco wrapped in a flatbread. The 2000s, however, were all about the Cheesy Gordita Crunch, which appeared around the turn of the millennium and was an instant fan-favorite. It's still on the menu, and still hugely popular, although today's version, as well as the one in this recipe, is made with a spicy ranch dressing rather than the original Baja Sauce. This fast-food dip was sadly discontinued, but you can still buy Baja Sauce from Amazon. One of the perks of making a DIY Gordita Crunch is that you can swap out the sauce if you wish.

As developer Julianne De Witt says of her recipe. "This copycat Taco Bell Cheesy Gordita recipe is easy to prepare and delicious. What sets my homemade version of the Taco Bell Gordita Crunch apart is the perfect balance of textures and flavors that come together to create the ultimate bite. It's a combination of soft, pillowy flatbread with a crispy, crunchy twist, all packed with seasoned ground beef, fresh toppings, and spicy ranch."

She notes that the ingredients can easily be scaled up if you're feeding a crowd. In this case, however, she advises baking them in an oven at 350 F. Stick with the stovetop for the smaller batch, however, since this method makes it easier to see when the cheese melts.

These gorditas are filled with ground beef flavored with salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, oregano, and tomato paste. The outside is made from taco shells, gorditas, and a melted mix of Monterey Jack, mozzarella, and cheddar, while the topping consists of romaine lettuce and ranch dressing spiced up with hot sauce.

If you're wondering what gorditas are, the authentic Mexican ones are actually fat corn cakes with a pocket in the middle. Taco Bell went with a flatbread that's more like an extra-thick flour tortilla, though, and commercially available gordita-style tortillas also tend to be of this type. If you can't find them in the grocery store, you can use either a regular flour tortilla or pita bread.

Place a frying pan over medium heat and coat it with cooking spray.

Add the beef to the frying pan and cook until it's browned, approximately 7 minutes.

Drain the excess oil from the beef.

Add the seasonings, tomato paste, and water.

Stir and cook for one minute more until the water is absorbed. Keep the meat warm.

Mix the ranch dressing and hot sauce and set aside.

Combine the Monterey Jack, mozzarella, and half of the cheddar.

Place the gordita in a frying pan over medium heat. Add ¼ of the cheese mixture to the tortilla.

Cover the frying pan and heat until the cheese has melted.

Remove the tortilla from the pan.

Place a corn taco shell on the melted cheese, fold the tortilla over then hold the tortilla in place so that it sticks to the taco shell. Keep warm. Repeat.

Fill each shell with taco meat.

Add the lettuce.

Add the remaining cheddar.

Top with the spicy ranch sauce. Serve and enjoy.

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For the most flavorful beefy gorditas, De Witt advises that you use regular ground beef rather than extra-lean beef, as this might be too dry. If extra-lean is all you have or you're subbing in ground turkey, you might need to add some extra fat, such as vegetable oil or bacon drippings. If you're concerned about appearance as well as flavor, you may also want to trim the gorditas to fit the taco shells.

When you're melting the cheese on top of the gorditas, covering the pan will help make the process go faster. Do lift the lid to peek, though, as you'll need to make sure the gordita and melted cheese stay soft enough that each gordita can be easily wrapped around a hard taco shell.

Once you've assembled the gorditas, any leftovers will last up to two days in the refrigerator. You can reheat them at 350 F for 10 minutes to warm them up again, but you'll probably want to remove as much of the lettuce as you can before putting them in the oven.

If you have leftovers of either the meat or the sauce, these can be kept in the fridge for a few days or frozen for longer storage, but there are numerous ways to repurpose both of these items in other dishes. For the seasoned beef, you could mix it with pasta and cheese to make a quick and easy casserole, maybe adding a can of black beans and another of diced tomatoes to stretch it out. It also makes a great filling for tacos or burritos, or a topping for nachos, or it could be added to spaghetti sauce to make Mexican-spiced bolognese.

The kicked-up ranch dressing can be used as you would any other kind of ranch. Pour it on a green salad or mix it into a tuna, chicken, or potato salad. Use it as a sandwich spread or burger topping, or as a dip for tortilla chips, raw vegetables, or chicken wings. If you're feeling extra-experimental, you could even take that leftover ranch and make a spicy version of RanchNog, the Hidden Valley holiday drink no one asked for (although some were curious enough to try).

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