Crunchy Queso Wrap Recipe • 5★

Published June 19, 2025

Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Brett Regot.

A wildly popular novelty snack from Taco Bell, the Crunchwrap Supreme combines elements of a burrito with the tidier portability of a sandwich, in a stacked, layered and wrapped tortilla package. It delights for two practical reasons (low cost and convenience) and two culinary ones (crunch and cheesiness). An at-home version is a fun party trick — and it is endlessly customizable. Once you cook up the assertively spiced ground beef, the rest of this recipe is basically assembly: Start with the largest flour tortillas you can find, then layer on the meat (or crispy tofu, or refried beans), cloak it in queso, stack a tostada on top, pile on some chipotle sour cream, lettuce and pico de gallo, then fold and sear. Would you spend less buying just one at a Taco Bell? Yes, but your ratio of filling to tortilla will be paltry compared to this homemade version, which cheaply and happily feeds a crowd.

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1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil

1 pound ground beef

¼ cup coarsely grated yellow onion

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon ancho chile powder (or ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper)

½ teaspoon garlic powder

⅔ cup sour cream

4 teaspoons adobo sauce (from 1 small can chipotles in adobo), or your favorite hot sauce, to taste

4 extra-large, burrito-size (10-inch) flour tortillas (see Tip)

¾ cup jarred or homemade queso

1 heaping cup very thinly sliced iceberg lettuce (cut into short, wispy strands)

¾ cup homemade or storebought pico de gallo, drained

Canola or vegetable oil, for frying

Hot sauce, for serving

Step 1Prepare your filling: In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high. Add the beef and onion, season aggressively with salt and pepper, and cook, breaking into tiny pieces, until the beef starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, then the cumin, paprika, ancho chile powder and garlic powder, and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and any excess liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Using a paper towel, wipe out the skillet.

Prepare your filling: In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high. Add the beef and onion, season aggressively with salt and pepper, and cook, breaking into tiny pieces, until the beef starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, then the cumin, paprika, ancho chile powder and garlic powder, and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and any excess liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl. Using a paper towel, wipe out the skillet.

Step 2Prepare the spicy sour cream: In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream and adobo sauce; season to taste with salt and pepper.

Prepare the spicy sour cream: In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream and adobo sauce; season to taste with salt and pepper.

Step 3Prepare the assembly line: On a large flat surface, set out the flour tortillas. (You’ll need your tortillas to be pliable without tearing, so if need be, you can warm them directly in the skillet over medium heat to soften just until soft and pliable.) Add ½ cup filling to the center of one tortilla, flattening the filling into an even, 4-inch circle just a bit smaller than the width of your tostadas. Spread with 3 tablespoons queso over the filling. Top the mixture with a tostada, pressing it slightly to make sure the meat mixture is evenly distributed. Evenly spread 2 scant tablespoons of the spicy sour cream on top of the tostada. Top evenly with a heaping ¼ cup shredded lettuce, then 3 tablespoons drained pico de gallo.

Prepare the assembly line: On a large flat surface, set out the flour tortillas. (You’ll need your tortillas to be pliable without tearing, so if need be, you can warm them directly in the skillet over medium heat to soften just until soft and pliable.) Add ½ cup filling to the center of one tortilla, flattening the filling into an even, 4-inch circle just a bit smaller than the width of your tostadas. Spread with 3 tablespoons queso over the filling. Top the mixture with a tostada, pressing it slightly to make sure the meat mixture is evenly distributed. Evenly spread 2 scant tablespoons of the spicy sour cream on top of the tostada. Top evenly with a heaping ¼ cup shredded lettuce, then 3 tablespoons drained pico de gallo.

Step 4Enclose the filling by folding over one flap of the tortilla “border” to cover the filling, repeating the pleat every inch or two. The tortilla should fully enclose your filling, but an opening smaller than 1 inch at the center is just fine. (You can also use slightly less filling, or add a piece of tortilla to cover the gap; see Tip.)

Enclose the filling by folding over one flap of the tortilla “border” to cover the filling, repeating the pleat every inch or two. The tortilla should fully enclose your filling, but an opening smaller than 1 inch at the center is just fine. (You can also use slightly less filling, or add a piece of tortilla to cover the gap; see Tip.)

Step 5Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the skillet over medium, then carefully add the wrap, setting it seam side down. Cook until golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the skillet over medium, then carefully add the wrap, setting it seam side down. Cook until golden and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes per side.

Step 6Serve immediately, with hot sauce and the remaining spicy sour cream, for dipping or slathering as you eat, dousing the wrap bite by bite. Repeat with remaining wraps, adding oil as needed to the pan before searing.

Serve immediately, with hot sauce and the remaining spicy sour cream, for dipping or slathering as you eat, dousing the wrap bite by bite. Repeat with remaining wraps, adding oil as needed to the pan before searing.

If you can’t find 10-inch tortillas, opt for the very largest ones you can find. Ideally, you want the tortilla to fully cover the fillings. If you’re having trouble cut (or tear!) 2- or 3-inch pieces from another tortilla and set it on top of your salsa, in the center, before folding over the tortilla to fully enclose.

Oh dear oh dear oh dear, this is upside down. Do the cold stuff first (lettuce/pico/sour cream/guacamole etc), THEN the tostada, then the hot queso/protein. Get your little gap piece of flour tortilla (about the size of a pint glass opening, you can cut it from a flour soft taco tortilla), then fold the edges over. Sear seam-sized down with the hot ingredients closest to the hot pan. This way the cold ingredients stay cold!

For this recipe or any recipe that calls for making a ground beef taco filling, do yourself a favor and replace the ground beef with finely diced or shredded slow-roasted pork shoulder. Ups your game considerably. Use your favorite slow roasted pork shoulder method for dinner some night and freeze the leftovers in one-pound portions and you'll always have some on hand for a recipe like this. Magical!

I've been making these for years. I like to add a thin layer of crushed black beans to the basic recipe.

I've also made these with nothing but refried pinto beans, cheese and lots of pickled jalapenos. I'm contemplating making one with sardines which I'm sure no one would eat except me.

We made this as best we could with what we had on hand and they were amazing. Used beyond burger with diced onion and poblano. Skipped lettuce (didn't have any) and made a very crude pico out of half a can of diced tomatoes mixed with diced onion & jalapeno, fresh parsley, and white wine vinegar (for acidity instead of lime). Subbed in tortilla chips for the crunch, and with the adobo sour cream and some homemade queso, these were excellent.

Has anyone tried freezing these? Seems like they’d lose their crunch in the freezer.

Used a lot of reviewer suggestions and turned out to be a huge hit. Added layer of homemade mashed pinto beans, used cheddar shreds instead of queso, and served with guacamole on the side. For those who have access to Casa Sanchez products, I used the "thick and crispy" chips and they stayed crunchy until the very last bite. Also found really huge tortillas and no issues sealing everything in.