Taco Bell Grilled Cheese Burrito

Taco Bell grilled cheese burrito is a loaded beef burrito with cheese toasted directly onto the outside of the tortilla. Seasoned beef, rice, nacho cheese sauce, chipotle sauce and tortilla strips go inside. It takes thirty minutes and makes four burritos.

I cheese both sides, not just the top, because one toasted face makes the burrito feel lopsided. The first tablespoon goes on, hits the griddle cheese-down for a minute, then the second goes on before I flip. Both faces come off golden and crisp.

Press the shredded cheese down hard before it hits the heat, or it slides into the pan and burns. The butter matters too, since it gives the cheese something to grip while it melts and fuses. Skip either step and you get a bare burrito with a cheese crisp beside it.

A few things the card leaves out, learned the hard way at the griddle stage.

FAQs

How much chipotle sauce do I actually need?

Far less than the list suggests: the steps use two teaspoons per burrito, which is under three tablespoons for all four. The half cup in the ingredient list is roughly triple that, and the same gap applies to the sour cream. Buy one small jar and you will have plenty left.

What cheese blend does the chain actually use?

Three cheeses: cheddar, Monterey Jack and mozzarella, which is why a single cheddar tastes wrong. Mozzarella is doing the stretch work while the cheddar carries flavor, so dropping it leaves the melt stiff. Buy the three separately and mix them if your store has no blend.

Can I make the rice part faster?

A boxed Spanish rice mix is what most copycat versions lean on, and it cooks while the beef browns. Plain white rice works if you stir in a spoonful of the taco seasoning and a little tomato paste. Cold leftover rice is actually better here, since it holds its shape in the roll.

Do they really freeze well?

Up to three months, but only if you leave the sour cream and tortilla strips out before wrapping. Sour cream splits on reheating and the strips go soft, so both ruin the texture you froze it for. Add them fresh after reheating and nobody can tell.

Can I use homemade sauces instead of jarred?

Both jarred sauces here are easy to replace, and homemade costs less per burrito. Making their chipotle sauce from scratch takes about ten minutes and gives you control over the smoke and the heat. The nacho cheese is worth buying unless you want a second pan going.

What is the difference between this and the five-layer burrito?

Layers and the outside, mostly. A beefy five-layer burrito keeps everything soft and stacks beans, cheese and sour cream inside with no toasted shell. This one swaps the beans for rice and strips, then adds the grilled cheese crust that gives it the name.

The source recipe publishes no nutrition information, so the calorie figure here is estimated from the listed ingredients and should be treated as approximate. The ingredient list also calls for about three times more chipotle sauce and sour cream than the method uses.