Taco Bell’s foray into wet burritos inspires this copycat Taco Bell Enchirito recipe. As of 2023, the enchirito is no longer on the Taco Bell menu — so if you want that enchilada taste mixed with the fast food chain’s famous seasoned ground beef, this is your best option.
When to make Taco Bell enchiritos
This dish is a classic comfort food. It’s perfect for cooler evenings when you’re craving something satisfying with a nice, smoky flavor. Or on days you can’t decide what sounds best: a quesadilla, burrito, or enchilada.
Ingredients for knock-off enchiritos
Here are the ingredients you need to make this Taco Bell knock-off recipe:
- Ground beef
- All-purpose flour
- Chili powder
- Salt
- Onion powder
- Paprika
- Garlic powder
- Water
- Refried beans
- Flour tortillas — you can choose big, burrito-sized tortillas or smaller, fajita-sized tortillas
- Diced onion
- Red enchilada sauce
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Optional: Black olives
How to make this copycat Taco Bell enchirito recipe
Start by dicing a white onion. You’ll use 1/2 cup diced onion, so that’s probably about 1/2 a medium onion. If you need to grate cheese, do that now too. You need about 1 cup of cheese, which should be about 4 oz. of block cheddar cheese.
You have two options for heating the burritos so the cheese melts. You can do it in the oven or the microwave. I prefer the oven method, but it takes longer. If you go that route, preheat your oven to 375°F or 177°C now. Also set out an 9×11 baking dish.
1. Season and cook ground beef
The seasoning mix for the ground is comprised of flour, chili powder, salt, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder. Gather these ingredients and measure them into a medium bowl in these quantities:
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 dash garlic powder
Stir that combo so that the seasonings are evenly mixed. Then pour 1/2 cup of water into the same bowl.
Next, you’ll heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 lb of ground beef plus the seasoning mix, scraping the bowl so you don’t leave a bunch of flavor behind. Cook the meat, while stirring and breaking up larger pieces. You want the meat to be a smooth and finely textured as ground beef gets.
2. Heat the refried beans
You can heat the refried beans in a skillet over medium heat or you can microwave them. If you microwave them, cover the dish with a paper towel or set a lid on top. Don’t seal the lid because you want steam to escape. The paper towel or lid keeps the beans from exploding all over the inside of your microwave.
Note that you don’t need the beans to be boiling or super hot. You mostly need them to be warm enough to spread onto a tortilla. There’s an extra heating step after you construct the burrito, so the beans will heat again then.
3. Roll the burritos
A true Taco Bell enchirito uses a small, fajita-size flour tortilla. I prefer to supersize these by using a larger burrito tortilla. I feel better about eating one giant burrito vs. three small ones. You can pick whatever size feels right to you.
Set out your flour tortilla. Add 3 tablespoons of refried beans down the middle, followed by 3 tablespoons of seasoned ground beef. Top with diced onions.
Fold in the top and bottom edges of the burrito, then roll up the sides. If you’re using the microwave for the final heating step, place 1 or 2 burritos on a plate. If you’re using the oven, you can put all the burritos into the baking dish.
4. Melt that cheese
Now spoon a few tablespoons of red enchilada sauce over each burrito. Top with shredded cheddar. Microwave each plate about 1 minute or pop the tray in the heated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Enjoy!
Taco Bell Enchirito Recipe
This is a knock-off recipe of the old Taco Bell enchirito -- essentially a fast food version of a "wet" ground beef burrito. I modified it to use a larger tortilla so you can eat just 1 instead of 3 or 4.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 dash garlic powder
- ½ cup of water
- 1 (16-ounce) can refried beans
- 4 burrito-sized tortillas
- ½ cup diced onion
- 1 (10-ounce) can red enchilada sauce
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F or 177°C.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, chili powder, salt, paprika, onion powder, and garlic powder.
- Add 1/2 cup water to the spice mixture.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add the ground beef plus the water and spice mixture.
- Mix well with a wooden spoon or spatula and break the meat up as it cooks. Heat until fully cooked. The finished product should be very smooth with no large chunks of beef remaining.
- Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the refried beans and heat, stirring.
- Spoon 3 tablespoons of refried beans down the center of each tortilla. Add 3 tablespoons of the beef mixture on top of the beans, followed by 2 teaspoons of minced onion.
- Fold the two sides of the tortilla over the meat and beans and roll up the burrito. Place rolled burritos into a baking dish. Spoon enchilada sauce over the top of the tortilla and then sprinkle cheese over the sauce.
- Bake the burritos in the heated oven for 10 minutes or until cheese melts and sauce is bubbly.
Notes
If you are pressed for time, you can:
- Microwave the beans instead of heating them on the stovetop. Place them in a microwave-safe dish and place a paper towel over the top. This should prevent a bean explosion in your microwave. Heat them on high for 1 minute. They don't need to be hot but they do need to be warm enough to spread on a tortilla.
- Microwave the burritos to heat the red sauce and melt the cheese. Place a stuffed and rolled burrito on a place. Add sauce and cheese to your liking, then microwave for 1 minute until burritos are hot and cheese has melted.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1005Total Fat: 48gSaturated Fat: 20gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 22gCholesterol: 158mgSodium: 2373mgCarbohydrates: 84gFiber: 13gSugar: 8gProtein: 60g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
More Taco Bell copycat recipes
Want more homemade Taco Bell? Try our chili cheese burrito, Taco Bell chicken burrito, or the Taco Bell power menu burrito!
Mike
Monday 9th of February 2015
The original I remember back in the 70s and 80s had a small dab of sour cream and an olive or two