Hellooooooooo Taco Tuesday! (Except on a Wednesday)
Our family sets aside Tuesday for Taco night. Every. Week. If we miss it and have it on a Wednesday, the kids say it “just feels weird”. We have been making these Crunchwraps for many years and have a few different variations than the traditional one from Taco Bell.

Disclosure
Published October 20, 2021
Updated March 18, 2022
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Why this recipe works

Frankly I do not really like Taco Bell for the simple fact that our family would spend over $100 there and not be full and then need to eat again at home. We love tacos though, quite a lot, but we just cannot justify the cost to go out to eat as often as I’d like. A buffet would be better for our family, where our two pre-teen boys could eat how much they want, without breaking the bank, but again making food at home is so much cheaper.

Please do not misunderstand, I fully support eating out at a restaurant, and I am not telling you not to do so. If your family likes to eat out, you do you! Right now, in our life and stage, eating at home is just the way to go. Plus, not to toot my own horn, but I can copycat just about any recipe we want for cheaper than toting our four kids to a restaurant.

For example, we are literally that loud family, with the running boys, the screeching daughter, and the horrible mess on the floor when we go to leave. I am that mom who kneels on the floor, with napkins, picking up the food so we leave the space almost as clean as when we came.

Corn or Flour?

Using a flour tortilla is really the only way to make this recipe work. I know from firsthand experience that there can only be so big of a corn tortilla. One substitute we have used for years is Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. Sour cream is amazingly delicious, however, the fat content is something to be aware of, whereas Greek yogurt has no fat AND packed with protein. Greek yogurt has this creamy and tangy consistency that is perfect for dips, sauces, tacos and more.

If you are looking for a substitute, or to have a way to cut fat, look no further than Greek yogurt! Just make sure you look at labels and make sure you find one that is PLAIN for cooking purposes.
According to Healthline, here are a few statistics about sour cream:

• A 2-tablespoon (30-gram) serving of regular sour cream provides ( 1 ):
  • Calories: 59
  • Total fat: 5.8 grams Saturated fat: 3 grams
  • Saturated fat: 3 grams

While using a smaller tortilla, as I was unable to get to a store that sells ginormous tortillas this week, the large ones work just as good. I would even say they worked better because it was less tortilla all around and our kids could eat them no problem; they were not as big as their faces! Substituting circle tortilla chips in place of Tostadas helped to keep the crunch in the Crunchwrap! Just make sure that if you use tortillas, to put a few in each. Also, when we sat down to eat, we had extra tortillas with salsa.

Cost breakdown for Crunchwraps

Typically, we use homemade corn tortillas for taco night, however, today I cheated and bought pre-made flour ones. Sometimes it is totally worth not having an extra hour in the kitchen pressing tortillas. So, instead of making flour tortillas, my afternoon was spent cleaning bathrooms. Not so joyous, but for my husband who literally worked 12-hour days this past weekend, it was needed.

Refried beans $0.30
Tortilla Circle Chips $1.39
Tortillas $2.58
Ground beef $8.75
Lettuce $0.40
Sharp Cheddar $1.85
Tomatoes $0.56
Olives $0.30
Homemade Taco Seasoning $0.00
Greek yogurt $0.30
Salsa $0.25
Sweet Peppers $0.50

Total cost for this meal, to make literally sixteen Crunchwraps, was only $17.18.
That is $1.07 each.
To buy fifteen Crunchwraps for $3.99 each at Taco Bell, we would spend $59.85. As a result, I just saved our family $42.67! Not bad for an hour of work. Tyler even said that I then made $42 for our family by cooking and not going out to eat, he is the best at encouragement!!!

Feeding our family at $1.07 a serving is literally my favorite thing. It helps cut the cost of our weekly food budget down and lets us use more money on other essential things. Like concrete.

For example, these past five weeks Tyler and I (I literally was a spotter and not much help) poured two concrete patios in our backyard. Stay tuned for my blog on that entire process soon! I cannot wait to share it with you. The end result is nothing shy of spectacular and Tyler, my dad, father-in-law, friends and co-workers of Tyler literally nocked it out of the park!

Update… Click the link below to read about our finished concrete patio!!!

How we added over $12K to our house value!

Crunchwrap Supreme Recipe

Ingredients for Crunchwraps

Refried beans
Tortilla Circle Chips
Large Flour Tortillas
2-pound Ground beef
Lettuce, shredded
Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Diced Tomatoes
Olives, sliced
Homemade Taco Seasoning
Greek yogurt OR sour cream
Salsa
Sweet Peppers, diced

Crunchwraps Directions

1. Cook ground beef in a skillet that was sprayed with non-stick spray, on medium heat, until completely browned. Stir often. The smaller the pieces of meat you can make, the more you can make!

2. Season cooked beef with 2 Tablespoons Homemade Taco Seasoning and 2 Tablespoons water, stir and then cook on low for 10-15 minutes. Check out my blog with my recipe for Homemade from Scratch Taco Seasoning by clicking the link below.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

3. Prep all the vegetables. Shred the lettuce, slice the olives if you bought them whole, dice the tomatoes, dice the peppers, shred the cheddar cheese and get all of the other ingredients you desire prepped while you are waiting for the taco seasoning to blend and cook into your beef.
Wash and dice sweet peppers, placing them in a small bowl when done.

Wash and dice tomatoes, then add them to a small bowl.

On a cutting board, slice the lettuce thin and then place it in a bowl.

If you use whole olives, cut them into slices as buying whole olives is typically the same price as pre sliced, I just buy a jar of whole and save them in the fridge. Additionally, buying pre sliced olives are way less in quantity than whole.

To shred the cheddar cheese tonight, I used my Cuisinart Food Processor, and it literally took five seconds!

4. Warm a griddle to 350 degrees, however, if you do not have a griddle, warm a large pan on your stove at medium heat.

5. Firstly, place a flour tortilla on a cooking board or the prep surface in front of you.

6. Secondly, scoop a spoonful of refried beans in the center and spread to a 2–3-inch circle. Check out my blog post on how to make your own refried beans in a Crock-Pot by clicking the link below.

How to make Homemade Refried Beans in a Crock-Pot

7. Place a spoonful of taco meat on top and then sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese.

8. Grab a few tortilla chips and spread Greek yogurt or sour cream on the tops and lay them on the beef, however, if you are using giant tortillas, a Tostada works perfect! Because all I had available at ALDI today was a large tortilla, I opted to use circle tortilla chips. They worked just as great as a Tostada, and then we had extra chips with salsa at dinner. Greek yogurt can replace sour cream, it tastes practically the same and has WAY less fat than sour cream!

9. Place any desired vegetables on top of the tortilla chips. Some of our kids wanted just meat and cheese while some wanted guacamole, lettuce and tomatoes.

10. When all of your desired foods are set on the chips, carefully fold in an edge and work your way around the flour tortilla; making sure to close any gaps. Then fold over one small part at a time into the center being careful to not tear your flour tortilla.

11. Finally, place the Crunchwrap folded side down to sear the tortilla on the hot griddle, being careful to not get burned.

12. Grill for 3-4 minutes, or until it is golden brown and then flip and cook again.
Remove the Crunchwraps from the griddle and then serve with extra refried beans, guacamole, salsa, Greek yogurt OR sour cream, or taco sauce. Enjoy!!
~Monica

Recipe for Copycat Taco Bell Crunchwraps

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