Operators of two Taco Bells in upper Manhattan thought “outside the bun” by counterfeiting money and forcing underage workers to give fake $20 bills to customers as change, a lawsuit alleges.

Annette Cirino is filing a class-action lawsuit in Manhattan federal court on behalf of her 17-year-old daughter, alleging the teen reported the allegations to cops after being “manipulated” into distributing funny money while working behind the counter at both restaurants.

“The girl has been quite distraught since this happened,” said the family’s lawyer, Richard Garbarini, adding the suit will demand at least $5 million in real money damages.

He described the fake cash as “terrible” copies slightly smaller than real $20 bills, adding they were likely produced on a laser-jet printer then run through a dryer to make them appear used.

Cirino’s daughter, identified only as “J.A.,” had briefly worked this summer for the two Taco Bells, says the suit, of which The Post was given an advance copy.

An NYPD spokesman could not find any record of an arrest in the case and said police would not be able to confirm whether there was an open investigation.

To pull off the scheme, both locations scrapped a longtime “no large bills” policy and accepted $50 and $100 bills from customers, so cashiers could distribute the phony $20 bills, the suit says.

Cirino, of Manhattan, claims her daughter was falsely told by bosses that she had accidentally accepted two fake $20 bills from customers — and was ordered to pay it back “out of pocket” or give the bogus cash to unsuspecting customers as change.

After two weeks of passing off additional fake bills at management’s request, the teen refused to further participate in the alleged fraud, the suit says.

She was subsequently called into an Aug. 7 meeting, where she was surrounded by four bullying supervisors who claimed undercover detectives from the NYPD were there to arrest her.

But her bosses weren’t aware that she was secretly taping the meeting and had already recorded a conversation in which she was ordered to distribute fake bills.

“Fearing for her freedom and safety,” she walked straight to a police station afterward, armed with the audiotapes and a fake bill she kept as evidence, the suit says.

“A kind sergeant spent 30 minutes listening . . . and repeatedly reassured her she was never going to be arrested, and there were no undercover cops in the Taco Bell,” the suit says.

The owners of both Taco Bell franchises could not be reached for comment.

Additional reporting by Aaron Feis