DIY Taco Bell Night

recipe review
Written By Tian Yuan

It’s a season of big life updates! We bought a condo and moved in May. I quit my job in June. We traveled all in Asia all July, and spent a busy August reconnecting with friends and family. Many more members of our community from the last five years moved away this summer, so while it’s all been exciting, it’s a little bittersweet to start this new chapter a little more isolated.

This post is pretty overdue, too. I started it in June after our Taco Bell party. We were making extra efforts to see everyone before the big split, and Taco Bell at Home (™ © all rights reserved) as the theme of our mini housewarming / last gathering felt very apropos. Crunchwraps and luxe cravings boxes have been such a cornerstone of our movie nights and dog play dates these last five years, so it felt only right to do it up real proper for a little last hurrah.

In researching dupe recipes, the overwhelming resounding consensus online is: do not buy the Taco Bell branded kits or sauces from the grocery store, as they are subpar replicas that barely taste like the original. And from the one fire sauce bottle I bought, I would agree.

So. I made everything from scratch, respectfully and faithfully duplicating the flavors by studying a few Instagram reels (namely Caleb Lennon & dtdinners) and websites. It did taste a bit too much like “real food” if I’m honest, but still had the feeling of Taco Bell and was very very delicious.

The Spread

Unfortunately the one and only photo from the evening, very on brand for this blog. I promise to take more of the assembly when (not if WHEN) I recreate this spread.

The beauty of TB’s menu is its modularity. With a dozen components, everyone could enjoy their favorite menu items. I prepared:

  • MEATS:

    • Ground beef taco meat

    • Chipotle’s adobo chicken thigh (TB Cantina chicken dupe)

  • SAUCES:

    • avocado tomatillo salsa (TB Avocado salsa dupe)

    • chipotle adobo dupe

    • jalapeno ranch dupe

    • Frito’s jalapeno cheddar dip, warmed on stove (per dtdinners, this is the a good replica for the TB nacho)

    • Fire sauce packets, these cannot be replaced!

  • SHELLS:

    • Soft taco shells

    • hard taco shells

    • giant sonoran tortillas

    • soft pitas

    • tostadas

  • TOPPINGS:

    • Refried beans

    • Shredded iceberg

    • diced onion (rinsed to remove harshness)

    • diced tomatoes

    • canned jalapenos

    • mexican cheese blend

    • sour cream

This is a very high yield and low effort party spread. The only real “cooking” was the meats and the salsa verde, which were very simple. The other sauces had simple shelf stable ingredients that were just blended together, and the rest was just a bit of chopping prep. We made crunchwrap supremes, cheese gordita crunches, candita chicken quesadillas, crunchy tacos, and nachos all night long… and had plenty of leftovers for the week!

The Recipes

Ground Beef Taco Meat

  1. Boil in a 6qt dutch oven until fully cooked:

    • 4 lbs ground beef, ~93% lean

    • 2 cups water

  2. Stir often and break the meat into very fine pieces

  3. Once cooked, drain off all the liquid and return the meat to the pot

    • Add 3 cup water

    • 4 packets of taco seasoning (I used 4 different random ones from the store)

  4. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, per the packet instructions.

  5. Add more salt to taste (optional).

  6. Reheat next day in the microwave until warm, and it’s ready to use in the recipes.

The key is to boil the meat first. It looks like cat food vomit for a hot second but the result is genuinely a super tender, fluffy beef texture just like Taco Bell’s.

Cantina Chicken Dupe

This is actually from a Chipotle chicken recipe dupe but the flavor and vibe is pretty similar!

  1. Make the marinade. In a blender/immersion blender container, blitz into a paste:

    • ½ red onion, chopped & rinsed

    • 4 cloves garlic

    • 2 chiles in adobo sauce

    • 2 Tbsp olive oil

    • 2 Tbsp ancho chile powder

    • 1 tsp cumin

    • 1 tsp oregano

    • 1 Tbsp salt

    • 1 tsp black pepper

    • Add enough water to make it approx 1 cup of liquid/easier to blend

  2. Combine & marinate 8-12 hours:

    • 3-4 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs

  3. Place the chicken in one layer on a lined baking sheet

  4. Broil on low/slightly away from the for 12 min. Flip, then broil for 12 more minutes/until done.

  5. Let cool, dice into cubes and place into serving tray to keep warm.

    • make sure to save all the juices and pour it back in the bowl!!

The gentle broil is not exactly an orthodox cooking method but I prefer it for gentle charring, especially indoors. It’s cleaner and easier than pan searing and finishing in the oven. Once you strike the right balance with your heat source, it gives it a nice gentle char by the time the meat cooks through.

Avocado Tomatillo Salsa

Based on Rick Bayless’s fresh tomatillo salsa but I always prefer to roast my tomatillos. It is not quite the same as the TB Cantina menu sauce but it goes really well with those items!

  1. On a lined baking tray, lightly toss in oil and place in one single layer:

    • 1 lb tomatillos

    • 1 serrano (or more for spicy)

    • 6 cloves garlic, unpeeled

    • 1 small onion, chunked

  2. Broil on high until tomatillos become charred, 15-20 minutes

    • If necessary, rotate the tray or turn the tomatillos in the middle.

    • You may also need to remove the garlic & chilies early.

  3. Let cool, and peel off any burnt pieces of the tomatillos and chilies, and peel the garlic.

  4. Place everything in a blender/immersion blender container, and blitz.

  5. Add & blitz into a thick salsa consistency:

    • 2 ripe avocados, peeled and chunked

    • 2 tsp salt

    • large handful of cilantro, chopped

  6. Season to taste with lime, more salt, and more cilantro as desired.

Chipotle Adobo Sauce (from dtdinners)

  1. In a blender, blitz together:

    • 1 cup mayo

    • 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

    • ½ tsp adobo sauce from the can

    • ½ tsp chili powder

    • ½ tsp sugar

    • ¼ tsp garlic powder

    • ¼ tsp onion powder

    • ¼ tsp smoked paprika

Super simple, basically lasts forever in the fridge. I use regular white people Hellman’s for this, not Kewpie. This doesn’t need the good stuff.

Jalapeno Sauce (from dtdinners)

  1. In a blender, blitz together:

    • 1 cup mayo

    • 3 Tbsp chopped pickled jalapenos

    • splash of the pickled jalapeno brine

    • ½ tsp chili powder

    • ½ tsp cumin

    • ½ tsp onion powder

    • ½ tsp garlic powder

    • ¼ tsp salt

    • ½ tsp sugar

Building Order

With the spread, the possibilities are endless! But for faithful replicas of the og items, I did study ahead on many instagram reels and had the assembly order pulled up on my computer while I took everyone’s orders.

WRITTEN IN ORDER FROM BOTTOM UP (visual order)

Crunchwrap Supreme

  • diced domatoes

  • lettuce

  • dollop sour cream

  • tostada shell, twist gently to spread toppings below

  • Dollop nacho cheese

  • 2 spoonfuls taco meat

  • Giant Guerero Sonoran-style tortilla, gently toasted 5-10 seconds to make it pliable

To fold the octagon fold in the sides, then 2 diagonal folds on top and 2 on the bottom. This method has inherent symmetry and is easier than trying to fold one side at a time. Toast both sides on a dry griddle, starting with the seam side to seal it, before serving.

We also of course customized in whatever ingredients we liked from the taco bar.

Cheesy Gordita Crunch

  • mexican cheese blend

  • lettuce

  • jalapeno ranch

  • scoop taco meat

  • hard taco shell

  • layer mexican cheese blend, melt gently

  • Soft unfried chalupa shell, on the griddle

I couldn’t find chalupa shells. I used a thick doughy grocery store pita to mimic the texture, though the sizing was a bit off.

First place the chalupa on the griddle, sprinkle the cheese on, let it melt so the taco shell will stick. Then, top with everything else and serve immediately.

Five Layer Cheesy Burrito

  • Mexican cheese blend

  • line of sour cream

  • 2 spoonfuls taco meat

  • Refried beans

  • Soft flour taco shell, twist gently to spread cheese

  • Generous dollop nacho cheese

  • Giant Guerero Sonoran-style tortilla, gently toasted 5-10 seconds to make it pliable

The five-layer beefy burrito was on the ‘menu’ because it was our friends’ go-to order, not so much ours. But this was really good! With the giant Sonoran tortillas you end up making a big burrito, way bigger than the TB version. It had a good filling to bread ratio though, and saves you from buying yet another size of tortilla.

Though the TB version is not toasted, we enjoyed this extra when toasted on all four sides on the griddle.

Cantina Chicken Quesadilla

  • Large handful shredded cheese

  • Chicken

  • Generous spread of chipotle sauce

  • Giant Sonoran taco shell

  • Optionally, toast with cheese on the outside too. I did not to avoid making a mess.

Serve with avocado salsa & toppings on the side.

This once unseated the steak Crunchwrap was my favorite TB item, though sadly they recently replaced it with the inferior rolled version. The chipotle sauce is everything. It’s less greasy at home too. I loved this.

People also made hard tacos, soft tacos, crunched up the tostadas to make nachos. The sky is the limit, that’s the beauty of Taco Bell :’)

The recipes are all very simple, and scales easily for a larger crowd. Overall the spread took two people maybe 2 hours to prep the night before, including all the dicing and putting stuff into serving containers, and another 15 active minutes to cook the chicken the next day. 1000% would make again. Super fun!

Tian Yuan
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Kale & Moro Bean Soup