Copycat Taco Time Crisp Bean Burritos

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Copycat Taco Time Crisp Bean Burritos are a quick, inexpensive, and satisfying meatless meal that can be made any night of the week. They are also great to make for meal prep and for those nights you don’t want to make anything. Mix together an easy bean filling, roll inside flour tortillas, and bake for 15 minutes. And you’ll have dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes!

Growing up, it was a common occurrence for my parents to take advantage of Taco Time’s 4 for 5 deal to feed our family quickly and inexpensively. Although, my parents never ordered anything other than Taco Time’s Crisp Bean Burritos. Sometimes, it took longer than expected to get our order because we were the family ordering 16-20 crisp bean burritos at a time. I always loved those nights because we inevitably had leftovers, and I could enjoy eating crisp bean burritos again the next day too.

Now, you can make them at home instead of spending time in the drive-thru line. I love baking or air-frying the crisp bean burritos to save on calories.

Copycat Taco Time Crisp Bean Burritos Filling

You want to know why these are so good? Flavorful beans! No, really! That’s why. Previously, I made these with just beans and cheese, and I thought they never tasted nearly as good as Taco Time’s Crisp Bean Burritos. One day as I was helping my dad in the kitchen, he was making these for me as a snack. To my surprise, he added taco seasoning and hot sauce! I couldn’t believe it. I was nervous the hot sauce would make them too spicy and smokey, but it added the just the right touch! The taco seasoning also provided such a great seasoning and depth of flavor.

In researching the original recipe, I think Taco Time uses enchilada sauce in their beans. Using enchilada sauce will make the crisp bean burritos taste more like Taco Time’s version, but if you don’t want to open a whole can of enchilada sauce for this recipe, you can substitute hot sauce. I love Cholula Hot Sauce or Frank’s Red Hot Original Sauce.

When you make these, you will need to use cold or room temperature beans. If you use freshly made refried beans, the filling will ooze out of the burrito before the exterior fully crisps up.

Crisp Bean Burrito Assembly

The filling for these copycat Taco Time crisp bean burritos includes refried beans, cheddar cheese, taco seasoning, enchilada sauce (or hot sauce), seasoned salt, and black pepper.

Mix all the filling ingredients in a small mixing bowl. Then, add few tablespoons of the filling mixture on a flour tortilla. Roll up the tortilla and place on a foil lined baking sheet sprayed with cooking oil.

Next, spray the tops of the rolled bean burritos with cooking spray. Then, sprinkle salt on top of the oiled bean burritos.

Finally, bake the bean burritos for about 15 minutes until the edges start to brown, and the taco shells are crisp!

Crisp Bean Burrito Cooking Methods

As I mentioned above, I prefer to bake or air fry my crisp bean burritos. But, they can also be fried in oil. Below, I provide different cooking instructions for whatever cooking method works best for you.

Frying in Cooking Oil

Let’s address the elephant in the room. Taco Time typically fries the crisp bean burritos in oil. They are absolutely delicious prepared this way, but I really hate frying foods at home. It makes my house stink, and it makes a mess. By all means, if you want to be true to the original Taco Time Crisp Bean Burritos, fry them in oil.

After rolling the burritos, shallow fry them in about an inch of oil in a frying pan over medium high heat for about 1 – 2 minutes per side. Remove the crisp bean burritos from the pan and place on a plate lined with paper towels. Immediately, sprinkle salt over the tops of the crisp bean burritos.

Air Frying

If you read my recipe for Salsa Verde Chicken Flautas or Taquitos, you know I love my Go-Wise Air fryer. If I am making a smaller batch of the crisp bean burritos, I will use my air fryer. The burrito shell always comes out perfectly crisp and delicious when cooked in the air fryer.

After rolling the bean burritos, place them in the cooking basket or tray of the air fryer. Spray the tops of the bean burritos with cooking oil, and sprinkle salt on top of the burritos.

Air fry at 400 degrees for 12 minutes, flipping crisp bean burritos half way through.

Baking in the Oven

I like to place my burritos on a baking rack on top of the baking sheet so the bottoms of the burritos crisp in the oven too. A baking rack is not required to make this recipe, and the bottoms will still cook on the bottom without it. However, they may not crisp up as much.

Bake the bean burritos at an oven set at 400 degrees for 13-18 minutes. Be sure to watch them during the last 3 minutes of cooking time so they do not burn!

Copycat Taco Time Crisp Bean Burritos Dipping Sauces

If you go inside a Taco Time, they always have a fresh salsa bar. I always love trying several dipping sauces with my crisp bean burritos.

My recipe for Easy Mexican Ranch Dressing really amps up the flavor of the crisp bean burritos. I think it tastes very similar to Taco Time’s Ranch Dressing. Seriously, give it a try! It’s so good!

I also love mixing ketchup with one of their fresh salsas. To mimic this flavor quickly at home, I will mix 1/4 cup of ketchup with 1 tsp of Sriracha to dip my crisp bean burritos into.

Meal Prep

These copycat Taco Time Crisp Bean Burritos are great for meal prep. They were a staple for me when I was going to school and working full time.

If you are eating the burritos within the week, you can cook them and store them in meal prep containers. Cooked and reheated bean burritos will not stay crisp if warmed in the microwave, but I don’t mind them softened especially if I have a yummy dipping sauce. If you have access to an oven or air fryer, you can reheat the burritos for a few minutes to preserve some of the crispness.

You can also freeze uncooked crisp bean burritos for an even quicker weeknight meal. After assembling bean burritos, place on a baking sheet seam side down. Freeze for 1 hour. Add burritos to freezer gallon plastic bag, and freeze for up to 1 month. Add an additional 5-10 minutes of cooking time if cooking from frozen.

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