Okay, so you had taco night, arguably the best night of the week, and you have tons of leftovers?
We always do too! So for years, Luke has crafted these glorious pockets-of-deliciousness from all the taco night leftovers in the fridge. I finally got him to share all his Crunchwrap secrets with me—and film a little tutorial to explain how to make homemade crunchwraps perfectly every time!
Luke required that I begin with this explanation: this version of a "crunchwrap" is actually much more like a Stack from Moe's than a Taco Bell Crunchwrap. However, I didn't even know what a Stack was until Luke and I started dating, so I've always called them Crunchwraps.
The difference is that these use 2 hard taco shells on the inside and 1 large soft tortilla wrapped around everything, while Taco Bell's version requires two different sized tortillas and only 1 crunchy layer (I mean, duh). Plus, I think these are a little easier to hold together (the cheese does most of the work!).
Of course, you don't have to wait for a taco night to pass (or have leftovers!) to make these Crunchwraps—they're still super easy even if you need to prep a few ingredients!
However, we're lazy, so we rarely make them unless we have at least one component at the ready—usually the taco meat. If you're starting from ground zero though, set some rice to boil and make a quick batch of taco meat. Brown a pound of ground beef, chicken or turkey, then add 2-3 tablespoons of taco seasoning and a tablespoon of water. Cook another 3 minutes, check your rice and you're good to go!
You'll only use 1/2 cup of the taco meat in this recipe, but you can always have tacos for dinner later in the week. Win-win!
And if you want a vegetarian Crunchwrap, no worries! Just swap the taco meat for soyrizo (Trader Joe's is my favorite) or seasoned, slightly mashed black beans.
(Psst.. wondering how to make homemade crunchwraps vegan? Use Daiya shredded cheddar!)
Alright, here's where the magic happens. I've wanted to blog this recipe for over a year now, but always got caught up in how to explain the layering/folding/flipping/browning situation. So instead, I called in the pro—check out the video below to watch how Luke masterfully crafts these pockets of goodness!
How to Make Homemade Crunchwraps
Homemade Crunchwraps
Ingredients
- 2 large tortillas
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 hard shell tacos broken in half
- 1/2 cup cooked rice
- 1/2 cup taco meat
- 1/4 cup shredded lettuce
- 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon salsa
- 1/4 cup greek yogurt or sour cream
- 1/4 cup pickled jalapenos
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spray with cooking oil
- In a small bowl, combine the rice with 1 tablespoon of salsa.
- On a plate, lay out a tortilla, and sprinkle 1/4 cup cheese in center. Lay 2 half hard shells side by side to create circle.
- On that circle, add the 1/4 cup salsa rice, then 1/4 cup taco meat, then 1/8 cup lettuce, then 1/8 cup salsa, then 1/8 cup greek yogurt then a few slices of jalapenos (as many as desired).
- Top with 2 more half hard shells to top the circle, then a small sprinkle of cheese in the middle.
- Working carefully, fold the tortilla in a bit at a time to create a pinwheel. Hold tightly and place folded-side-down on the hot skillet. Cook for 3 minutes until lightly browned and seal up, then flip and cook another 3 minutes on the bottom.
- Repeat with the second crunchwrap. Serve with more greek yogurt and salsa!
How do you get the cheese to stick to the tortilla and not the pan? Even using lots of oil, the cheese gets stuck on my pan.
Hi! You want to make sure to use a non-stick pan, and ensure that it's nice and hot (over medium high heat) before adding a small bit of oil, and then putting the crunchwrap cheese-side down. Then make sure not to touch it until the cheese has formed a crunchy layer and will release from the pan with a spatula.