The Taco Bell Cheesy Gordita Crunch used to be one of Taco Bell’s most famous secret menu items. Now, because of popular demand, it has become readily available at most Taco Bell locations. Since I created the first vegan Taco Bell copycat recipe, you guys have been screaming for this one as well. As someone who has never eaten at Taco Bell I really did not understand what all the fuss was about.

After a couple hours on the Internet, I have come to learn that a Taco Bell Cheesy Gordita Crunch is just a fancy taco. It consists of a warm, pillowy-flatbread covered in a melted three-cheese blend, wrapped around a hard corn taco, topped with ground beef, iceberg lettuce and a zesty Pepper Jack Baja sauce.

My initial thought was of course, “OMG I no longer have to choose between hard and soft tacos ever again!” and, “…this actually sounds INCREDIBLE!” I take solace in knowing that I have options, and this junk-food snack seems to have all the elements necessary to satisfy my wildest cravings. And so, I took to the kitchen and started to experiment.

Task number one was to figure out what on earth a gordita was. After a quick wiki search and scan of Mexican recipe blogs I figured out that a gordita is a Mexican flatbread usually made from cornmeal (masa) or flour and is eaten stuffed with meat, cheese, vegetables, or even a sweet filling. I read a few recipes and decided to try and make some with wheat flour to ensure that it is as close to the Taco Bell version as possible, and guess what?! It worked!

The rest of the ingredients were easier. For the baja sauce, I simply used my queso recipe and added some jalapeños and vegan mayo for texture and heat. I bought my favourite veggie ground beef substitute and spiced it up Mexican-style, got three different types of vegan cheese and chopped up some veggies. You can check out the full recipe for both below.





Easy Flour Goritas Save Print Prep time 2 hours Cook time 10 mins Total time 2 hours 10 mins Gorditas are a crucial part of any Taco Bell copycat recipe. Learn how to make them at home! Author: The Edgy Veg Recipe type: bread Cuisine: Mexican Serves: 10 Ingredients 2½ cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 ¼- 1 ¾ cups boiling water

¼ cup potato flour

1¼ teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 tsp yeast Instructions Place 2 cups of flour in a large mixing bowl. Stir in 1 ¼ boiling water, and mixing until smooth, adding more water as necessary. Cover the bowl and allow the mixture to cool for roughly 30 minutes. In a separate mixing bowl or in the bowl of your kitchen mixer, combine the potato flour with the remaining flour, salt, oil, and yeast. Whisk until you reach a crumbly, coarse texture. To this mixture add to the now cooled flour mixture you had set aside earlier. Knead until well combined. This will take several minutes. The dough should be soft with a hint of sticky, but smooth. Place the dough into a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 1 hour. After 1 hour, divide the dough into small evenly sized balls; you should end up with roughly 10. Place them back into the bowl, cover them, and allow them to sit for another 15 minutes. Using a rolling pin, roll out each ball into a circle as wide as your taco shells. You want to end up with gorditas the same side as the hard tacos. Ensure they are thin, because they will rise. Heat a skillet or frying pan over medium heat. Place one flatbread onto the hot skillet and cook for roughly 2 minutes or until you notice that the gordita is getting spotty underneath. Flip and cook till the other side is spotty as well. This should only take about 1 minute or so. If you notice any bubbles form, just poke them with a toothpick for fork. Remove from heat an repeat with the rest of your little dough balls. 3.3.3077