Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission if you click on the link and make a purchase.
These Double Decker Tacos are a Taco Bell copycat recipe. Crunchy tacos are wrapped in a soft flour tortilla with refried beans for the best of both worlds in the form of tacos. Using a homemade taco seasoning mix these tacos are incredibly flavorful and only take 30 minutes to make. Paired with a Chelada, Taco Tuesday never tasted so good!
Homemade tacos are a dream dinner! Anything that is comforting, easy to make, AND delicious is a win in my book! These Ground Beef Tacos, Chicken Taquitos with Avocado Crema, and Queso Fundido all fit the bill. They are simple to put together and perfect for whenever you don’t want to spend a whole lot of time in the kitchen or need something for a party!
Ingredients You’ll Need for Double Decker Tacos
- Ground Meat – I used ground beef to match the classic flavor from Taco Bell but you can definitely use ground chicken or turkey for a lighter taco. Whatever you have on hand is fine too use!
- Spices – I made my own homemade taco seasoning mix using cumin, salt, cayenne, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and oregano.
- Tomato Paste and Flour – Used to round out the richness in the seasonings and give a saucier consistency.
- Canned refried beans – This is the glue that holds the tacos together.
- Crunchy taco shells and flour tortillas – both should be about the same size.
For the rest of the ingredients, please refer to the recipe index card below!
How To Make Double Decker Tacos:
- Make the filling. Heat up some olive oil in a large sautรฉ pan then add the meat along with all the spices. Cook until the meat has cooked through and browned. Add the tomato paste and flour and cook for another few minutes, until the flour is cooked.
- Assemble. Spread a little bit of refried beans on a flour tortilla then wrap that around the corn tortilla. Fill the corn tortilla with the ground beef and top with the cheese and lettuce.
Tips and Tricks
Want to make these tacos vegetarian? Swap out the ground meat for diced squash or diced mushrooms, then season like usual!
While the meat is cooking, prep all your toppings to make assembly easier!
If you want saucier taco meat add a bit of chicken broth or water to the meat. Cook until the meat sauce starts to bubble and is well heated through.
Recipe FAQs
This is a beloved menu item from Taco Bell. It is created with a crunchy ground beef taco wrapped with refried beans and a soft flour tortilla. Your choice of toppings could be shredded lettuce, cheese and tomatoes, jalapenos or sour cream.
Double decker tacos are best served immediately, otherwise the crisp corn taco shell won’t be as crunchy and the soft flour tortilla will become soggy from the refried beans. You can prep the ingredients – including the ground beef, up to 3 days in advance if needed! Then just reheat the meat and warm the taco shells right before serving.
More Taco Recipes
If you tried this Double Decker Tacos Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Double Decker Tacos Recipe
Equipment
- 1 medium saucepan or skillet
Ingredients
Filling (with taco seasoning);
- 1 pound of ground beef or ground turkey or ground chicken
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Pinch of dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
For serving and assembling Double-Decker Tacos:
- 1 can of refried beans, warmed
- 12 hard-shell tacos, baked in the oven for 7 minutes (or per the packageโs instructions)
- 12 flour tortillas, slightly warmed
- 1 cup of sour cream
- 1 jalapeรฑo or serrano pepper, sliced
- Salsa, of choice
- 3 leaves of lettuce of choice, thinly sliced (we want the shave effect)
- 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese or Colby Jack or Pepper Jack
- Lime, wedges
Instructions
To Make the Filling:
- In a medium saucepan or skillet, set over medium heat, add a teaspoon of olive oil. When warm, add the meat, along with all of the spices: cumin, cayenne pepper, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, dried oregano and salt. Break the meat up with a spatula and mix until the spices are evenly distributed throughout.
- When the meat begins to brown, depending on the type of meat, you may need to remove any fatty liquid with a spoon (I did this because I used ground beef). Next, add the all-purpose flour and tomato paste; mix and cook for about 5 additional minutes, until the flour is cooked and the meat is completely cooked. Set aside.
To assemble the Double-Decker Tacos:
- Place a tablespoon of refried beans on one side of a flour tortilla and smooth it around. Set a hard shell taco right in the center and wrap the flour tortilla around it. Fill the hard shell taco with a few tablespoons of meat, lettuce, a dollop of sour cream, jalapeรฑos (optional), salsa, cheese and lettuce.
- Repeat until youโve worked your way through all of the hard shell tacos and tortillas. Serve with lime wedges and cold beer.
Notes
Tips and Tricks
Want to make these tacos vegetarian? Swap out the ground meat for diced squash or diced mushrooms, then season like usual! While the meat is cooking, prep all your toppings to make assembly easier! If you want saucier taco meat add a bit of chicken broth or water to the meat. Cook until the meat sauce starts to bubble and is well heated through. Equipment: Sautรฉ Pan | Chef’s Knife | Cutting Boards | Silicone SpatulaNutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Awesome recipe. I really want to try this the next time I cook something! ๐
Great recipe nice work keep it up
Your recipe is just what I was looking for. Yummy, easy and only takes 30 minutes to be ready! It’s just perfect! I will show this to my friends, I bet they’ll like it too. Thank you!
These look absolutely delicious and I can’t wait to make them. We eat a lot of tacos in our home but have never done the double decker version!
Easy to make and fun-inspiring!
Oh my god, I loved me some double decker tacos in college. My friends and I used to dig in our purses and pockets for loose change so we could go to Taco Bell. I still crave them every once in awhile but I haven’t had one in forever. I am absolutely making these.
Congrats on the new site. I love your little copper bowls. Those are adorable.
Love the new look, lady!