Copycat Taco Bell Grilled Cheese Burrito (Cheesy & Crispy!)

By Linley Hanson

4.86 from 14 votes

10/21/2025

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This Copycat Taco Bell Grilled Cheese Burrito is gooey, cheesy, and is absolutely delicious. No need to order take out when you can make yourself a grilled cheese burrito right in your own kitchen! I love making this recipe when I’m craving Taco Bell, but still want a home-cooked meal.

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What’s in This Cheesy Burrito

• Ground beef: You’ll use seasoned beef as a base for this grilled cheese burrito. I prefer 85/15 ground beef, and season it with granulated garlic, chili powder, salt and pepper.
• Chipotle sour cream: Oh baby, don’t skip the seasoned sour cream. It makes the creaminess to the burrito center, and is seasoned with chipotle hot sauce and a little bit of cayenne. I can confirm that my chipotle sour cream is even better than Taco Bell’s 😋.
• Spanish Rice: It wouldn’t be a burrito without the rice!
• Cheddar jack cheese: Shredded cheddar jack cheese goes both inside of the burrito and melted on the outside.
• Red tortilla strips: The crunch in the middle of Taco Bell grilled cheese burrito is spicy red tortilla strips. Don’t skip these!
• Large burrito tortillas: You want to have large or XL flour tortillas. There is a lot of filling that goes into these bad boys.

It’s All About the Seasoned Sour Cream

The chipotle sour cream in the OG Taco Bell grilled cheese burrito adds so much creaminess to the inside of the burrito itself. Taco Bell uses both chipotle sour cream and a cheese queso.

I skipped the cheese queso and add shredded cheese to the chipotle sour cream. Why? To make an easier cheese sauce and also to cut some steps out of the recipe.

As you cook the burrito after assembly the cheese melts in the chipotle sour cream and becomes a delicious cheese sauce. It’s seriously so good.

Still want queso? You do you, girl! Feel free to add 1/4 cup of my homemade queso to your burrito for an extra creamy and dirty burrito.

How to Make a Grilled Cheese Burrito

1. Cook the Beef: Add your ground beef to a large skillet pan first and cook the beef down and then add the chili powder, granulated garlic, salt, and pepper to the beef.
2. Make the Chipotle Sour Cream: Prepare the chipotle sour cream after the beef is done. Add the sour cream, chipotle hot sauce, cayenne pepper together in a bowl.
3. Assemble the Burritos: Some people like to layer their burritos, but for this recipe I suggest mixing all of the ingredients together in a small bowl and then adding it to the middle of your tortilla. Why you ask? It allows the cheese and the chipotle sour cream to get gooey and melty inside the tortilla, which also most closely mimics the Taco Bell version.
4. Grill in Cheese: It’s time to melt a little cheese that will eventually be a cheesy blanket around your burrito. Drizzle olive oil to a pan and then sprinkle shredded cheese in a line in the middle of the skillet pan. Place the rolled burrito on top of the cheese, and let it all melt together. Place a heavy cast iron skillet on top of the burrito and allow the cheese to melt into the burrito for 3-4 minutes. Slowly flip the burrito with a spatula and brown the other side of the burrito. Repeat until all the burritos have been cooked in cheese.

Perfect Pairings

• Spicy Velveeta Queso
• Easy Elote Corn
• Mexican Corn Salad
• Easy Elote Queso
• Keep things simple and pair with tortilla chips and your favorite salsa!

Make-Ahead, Storage & Reheating

Store these burritos in an airtight container after letting them cool completely. They will last for about 3 days in the fridge.

Can I Freeze?

Yes, you can freeze these burritos. Let the burritos cool completely and then individually wrap them in tin foil. Freeze them for up to 3 months.

To reheat these burritos, unwrap the burritos and place them cheese side up on a baking sheet. Drizzle them with olive oil and bake them at 350ºF for 25-30 minutes.

FAQs

Where can I get the Chipotle sauce (or a copycat recipe)?

Make the version in this recipe! I truly believe it’s better than the OG at Taco Bell 😋 Let me know if you feel the same in the comments!

Can I make this recipe vegetarian?

Yes, you can replace the ground beef with minced mushrooms (be sure to cook them down) or your favorite plant-based ground. I’ve tested both, and both are delicious vegetarian alternatives ❤️.

4.86 from 14 votes

Taco Bell Grilled Cheese Burrito

The recipe for this copy cat Taco Bell grilled cheese burrito is simple and flavorful. It tastes JUST LIKE the Taco Bell version. The comments don't lie!

By: Linley Hanson

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 20 minutes mins

Total: 35 minutes mins

Servings: 4

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

Seasoned Beef

• ▢ 1 lb. 85/15 ground beef
• ▢ 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• ▢ ½ teaspoon chili powder
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon pepper

Chipotle Sour Cream 

• ▢ 1 cup sour cream
• ▢ 1 tablespoons chipotle hot sauce
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Other Ingredients

• ▢ 1 cup cooked spanish rice, I used one pouch of this already cooked spanish rice
• ▢ 3 cups shredded cheddar jack cheese, separated
• ▢ 1 cup red tortilla strips, I used these
• ▢ 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 4 extra large burrito tortillas, I used these

Instructions 

• First, prepare the beef. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef skillet and break the meat up. Sprinkle the granulated garlic, chili powder, salt, and pepper to the beef. 
• Let the beef cook in the spices until it is fully cooked, 5-7 minutes. 
• Remove the beef from the heat and set aside. 
• Prepare the chipotle sour cream. Add the sour cream, chipotle hot sauce, and cayenne pepper to a bowl and mix until well combined. Set aside. 
• Assemble a burrito. Add ¼ pound of beef to a large bowl. Add ¼ cup chipotle sour cream, ¼ cup rice, ½ cup cheese, and ¼ cup tortilla strips to the bowl. Fold the ingredients together until combined. Add the mixture to the middle of a tortilla. Then, fold in 2 sides and roll it into a burrito.
• Cook the burrito. Heat the same large nonstick skillet over medium/high heat. Add 1-2 teaspoons of olive oil to the skillet. When the olive oil is fragrant add ¼ cup cheese in the shape of a line in the center of the nonstick skillet and place the burrito on top of the cheese. 
• Carefully place a heavy cast iron skillet on top of the burrito. Let the burrito cook with the cheese for 3-4 minutes or until the cheese melts and begins to brown. 
• Remove the cast iron skillet from the burrito and carefully flip the burrito. Cook the burrito for an additional 2-3 minutes or until browned on the opposite side. Remove the burrito from the skillet. 
• Repeat steps 5-7 until all 4 burritos are assembled and cooked. 
• Let the burrito rest for 1 minutes before serving. 

Tips & Notes

• I found that if you mix all the ingredients together and then wrap them, the cheese melts best. If you are a layered burrito kind of a person, feel free to layer as well. It is delicious either way. 
• Be sure to buy XL burrito-sized tortillas, you will need the room.

Nutrition

Calories: 869 kcal, Carbohydrates: 44 g, Protein: 45 g, Fat: 57 g, Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 6 g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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