Description

An easy recreation of Taco Bell's cheesy gordita crunch! Soft flour tortillas are attached with melty cheese to a hard taco shell and filled with seasoned ground beef, spicy ranch sauce, and topped with shredded lettuce and cheddar cheese!

Ingredients

Scale

Spicy Ranch Sauce

1/2 cup buttermilk ranch dressing
2 tablespoons sour cream
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon habanero hot sauce

Taco Beef Seasoning

1 tablespoon dried minced onion
1 beef bouillon cube, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon white granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional

Cheesy Gordita Crunch Assembly

1 pound ground beef
2/3 cup water
5 hard taco shells
5 soft taco tortillas
Shredded lettuce
1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese, or more for extra cheesy gorditas
1 cup shredded lettuce
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

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Instructions

For Spicy Ranch Sauce

Combine all sauce ingredients in a small bowl and stir well. Taste and add additional habanero sauce if you prefer more heat.

For Taco Beef Seasoning

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and stir well.

For Taco Beef

In a medium skillet, brown ground beef and break into very small bits with a metal spatula. Drain most of the grease. Add water and taco beef seasoning, stir well, and let simmer 5 minutes. Keep warm.

For Assembly

Set oven to low broil. On a large baking sheet, arrange soft taco tortillas. Top generously with Mexican blend cheese. Place in oven until cheese has melted (watch it closely).
Place a hard taco shell on melted cheese and fold edges of soft tortilla around the shell, pressing down to adhere. Return to oven for an additional 2 minutes to warm.
Add taco beef to each shell and top with spicy ranch sauce, shredded lettuce, and shredded cheddar cheese.

Notes

You can use flatbreads instead of soft tortillas. You can also vary the type of cheese used. If you can find premade spicy ranch sauce, you can take a shortcut there as well (though it won't taste as closely to Taco Bell's version)

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Category: Entree
Method: Stovetop and Oven