Homemade Chalupa (Taco Bell Copycat)

 If you are a Taco Bell’s Chalupa fan, then you will enjoy this recipe. The taco-shaped Indian fry bread is light, crispy, and has a soft center. It is topped with beans, cheese, sauce, lettuce, and sour cream, making it the perfect blend of flavors and textures.

Each bite is a delight and will leave you wanting more. This recipe is a great way to enjoy Chalupa Supreme from Taco Bell in the comfort of your own home.

Give it a try and experience the deliciousness for yourself!

What is Chalupa?

A chalupa is a specialty dish of south-central Mexico. Traditional chalupas are small, thick, boat-shaped fried dough topped only with Salsa, cheese, and shredded lettuce.

It is made out of flour dough and a thicker kind of shell that is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

It is almost like Indian fried bread which is topped with different toppings.

My son is a huge fan of Taco Bell! He can eat Taco bell any day.

I don’t eat there frequently but I love some of their recipe ideas like this Crunchwrap their quesadilla with creamy Jalapeno sauce, and chalupas to name a few.

I love to recreate restaurant style recipes at home. Infect, part of the reason I started my blog was to find healthier ways to eat my favorite foods.

A big part of that is recreating my fave restaurant menu items at home, with a healthier twist!

Everyone at my home, especially my son, was craving for taco bell.

We are avoid outside food as much as possible and I try to make everything at home.

Since my son was craving Chalupa, I made them home.

Guess what: I nailed it!

I know, my shells are not as perfectly shaped as Taco Bell’s version.

But hey, the tastes matters the most.

My family LOVED it so much and thoroughly enjoyed it. What else we need? Right!

Now we can skip the drive-through, and whip out these at home.

My son asks for them regularly, and I love being able to say yes since they’re so easy and convenient.

I know, Taco Bell makes great chalupas but in my opinion, this homemade version is far better.

The best part is, you know exactly what goes into it!

To make chalupas you need a handful of ingredients that you most likely have in your fridge and pantry.

Ingredients Required

Below is the ingredients list and possible substitutions. The exact ingredient amounts are in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

There are 2 components of this recipe –

Chalupa Bread – What I loved the most about Chalupas is the bread itself. I mean, it’s just taste like donuts without the glaze. You can make them flat and round like tostada or fold and fry them like a taco that is totally up to you. They taste so much better when you make them yourself. Making the chalupa bread is super easy and only takes a few basic ingredients.

• Flour: I have used All-purpose flour. You can use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour. Use gluten-free flour to make chalupa gluten-free.
• Baking Powder: Baking powder will help the dough rise. It also makes bread crunchy.
• Salt: For the taste.
• Whole Milk: Whole milk will give you the best texture for this chalupa bread. Don’t use skim milk in this recipe.
• Melted Butter: I prefer to use unsalted Butter. But feel free to use salted Butter, too. Just reduce the salt quantity if using salted Butter.
• Oil: you will need oil for frying the chalupa shells.

Toppings – Best of all you can fill the chalupas with whatever you like. It is easy to customize and allows you to be as versatile as you want. If you like loads of cheese, just add. Hate cheese? No problem, just leave it out. You can do that with any of the ingredients. Just try and experiment and find your favorite toppings.

I am filling my chalupa with  –

Black beans, queso sauce, sour cream, lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese.

How to make Mexican Chalupa Supreme? Step by step process –

• In a bowl, take flour, baking powder, salt, and ghee. Mix them well. (Photo 1)
• Now add milk and bring everything together and knead a soft dough. (Photo 2 to 4)
• Cover it and keep it aside for 15 to 20 minutes.

• Once the dough is rested, divide it into 15 equal balls. (Photo 5)
• Take one dough ball, roll it out to a 5-inch circle. (Photo 6 and 7)
• Prick the rolled dough a few times with a fork. (Photo 8)

• Heat oil in a pan for frying the chalupa on medium heat.
• Gently slide the dough into the hot oil. It should immediately float and puff. (Photo 9)
• Let the dough fry for 30 seconds on side one. Use tongs to flip the dough over and gently fold the dough in half (like a taco shell). (Photo 10 and 11))
• Hold the dough in that shape as it fries for 30 seconds. Roll the shell over to cook evenly. It should be done after about 2 minutes of frying. (Photo 12 and 13)
• Remove the shell and let it drain on a paper towel. When it’s fried, it should hold it’s shell shape. Repeat with all the shells. (Photo 14)

• Once the shell has drained, fill them with black beans, sour cream, queso sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, and grated cheese.
• Serve with your favorite hot sauce.

Notes, pro-tips, and quick FAQs.

• If you have self-rising flour in your kitchen cabinet you need even fewer ingredients and can then omit the flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Fry the bread on medium heat.
• If you are not able to fold them in taco shape, just roll them into a circle, fry them and pile the toppings.
• You can add roasted cumin seeds powder while kneading the dough to make it more flavorful.
• Baking powder is essential in this recipe. You cannot skip or substitute for anything.
• If you don’t have time to make the chalupa bread from scratch, you may use pita bread too. Take the pita bread, apply some oil or butter and fry it from one side, flip it, fold it like a taco shell, and cook it from both sides until golden in color.
• You can also refrigerate the dough for up to a week and use it later.
• This tastes best when the bread is hot.
• I have used pepper jack cheese, but you may use your choice of cheese.

Can we use Whole wheat flour?

Yes, you may use 100% whole wheat flour or use 50% whole wheat and 50% all-purpose flour for a good result.

Difference between a chalupa and Navajo taco

If you aren’t familiar with chalupas, you may have heard of them by another name: Navajo tacos or Indian fry bread.

All are similar. The only teensy difference being that we don’t try to shape the dough into a ‘taco’ in a Navajo taco. Just roll them into a circle and fry them. Then pile them high with your favorite toppings and Navajo tacos are ready.

How to make it ahead of time?

You can make the chalupa shell a day before and prep all the toppings.

How to Store?

Store the leftover toppings in an airtight container in the fridge. You can keep the fry bread on the countertop for up to two days. The leftover chalupa bread stays fresh for a week in the refrigerator. Whenever you are ready to eat, take out from the fridge and reheat in the oven at 200 degrees F. for about 5 minutes or until heated through.

How to Freeze?

You can freeze the dough in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months. Or you can roll the dough into disks, stack them with pieces of parchment paper in between, and pop them in a freezer-safe bag. Thaw them a night before eating in the fridge. Fry them and fill them with your favorite toppings.