This quick and easy Sheet Pan Tacos recipe is a super-sized spinoff of Taco Bell’s Crunchwrap with a few simple tweaks. It has all the flavors of the famous Mexican meal, but tucks its layers of seasoned ground beef, onions, pico de gallo, and cheese between soft taco tortillas and bakes it on a single pan until crisp and golden–it’s the perfect party food to feed a crowd or a hungry family.
Baked Sheet Pan Tacos (Taco Bell Crunchwrap With A Twist)
Sheet Pan Tacos is a Mexican marriage of my Sheet Pan Quesadillas and my Taco Pie recipes and an easy way to make a copycat version of a fast-food favorite (the Taco Bell Crunchwrap) with a twist:
I’ve taken out the corn tostadas and created the “crunch” by baking this dish in the oven. While I love a traditional taco, this recipe contains all the classic flavors and textures, but it is baked as an extra-large, one pan package that’s stuffed with fun taco fixings–spiced ground beef, melted cheese, onion, and homemade pico de gallo–and then simply sliced and served.
I love how easy it is to layer all the ingredients and fold them into the perfect, oversized package with generous portions to feed a family or crowd. Customize your taco bake with your favorite fiesta fillings and fixings; it’s a convenient way to create an appetizer, snack, or main meal on a single pan and then cut it into several servings.
For more fun ways to tweak the traditional Oven Baked Beef Tacos, try my Taco Lasagna, Taco Ring, Puffy Tacos, Taco Pie, and Taco Sticks!
Why We Love This Sheet Pan Tacos Recipe
- Quick and easy to make on a single sheet pan.
- Uses simple ingredients with the traditional taco flavors and textures.
- Family-friendly meal, perfect for taco night, that makes a large portion.
- Customizable recipe to include your favorite taco fillings and fixings.
- Delicious dinner when you crave a copycat Crunchwrap (no drive thru required)!
- Perfect party-pleasing way to feed a crowd for Super Bowl game day, tailgates, Cinco De Mayo, or any day Taco Tuesday.
Ingredients
- Canola oil
- Yellow onion
- Ground beef (I used ground chuck 80%-20% blend)
- Packets Original TACO seasoning (I used Old El Paso brand)
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Shredded Colby jack cheese
- Soft taco flour tortillas
- Store bought pico de gallo
OPTIONAL Homemade Pico de Gallo
- Diced Tomatoes
- White onion
- Fresh lime juice
- Fresh jalapeño
- Fresh cilantro
Toppings
- Sour cream, Easy Homemade Salsa, Guacamole, pico de gallo (optional garnish)
SEE FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD BELOW
Substitutions and Additions
- Change The Cheese: I used Colby jack cheese for this recipe, however you can change up your cheese for whatever flavors you like. Some great alternatives would be pepper jack or a combination of sharp cheddar and Monterey jack cheese.
- More Meat Ideas: I used a ground beef chuck (80%-20% fat blend) for this recipe, but you can use lean ground beef, ground sirloin, or even ground turkey or ground chicken if you want to make this recipe a little healthier.
- Taco Toppings: Feel free to include your favorite taco toppings, like hot sauce, salsa, cilantro, pickled onions, sliced fresh chilies, sliced avocado, and sour cream.
- Vegetarian Version: For a vegetarian version, simply omit the meat and add extra veggies or use canned pinto beans or cooked lentils instead of the beef.
Recommended Tools
- Mixing bowls
- Measuring tools
- Plastic wrap
- Pastry brush
- 2-13×18-inch rimmed baking sheet tray
- Large skillet
- Large slotted spoon
- Heavy skillets
How to Make Sheet Pan Tacos
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and brush baking sheets with canola oil.
- Saute onions until soft and set aside.
- Cook the ground beef and mix in the taco seasoning, salt and black pepper until it is fully cooked and completely coated with the taco seasoning. Mix in the onions.
- Lay out 10 of the flour tortillas in the prepared sheet tray, making sure that they are overhanging on all sides of the tray by at least 2-3 inches.
Pro Tip: You will also want to make sure that there are no gaps or open spaces between the flour tortillas. It should look like a solid layer of flour tortillas with all the sides overhanging. The part of the flour tortillas that are overhanging will be used to fold over and seal the sheet pan tacos once assembled. - Spoon the ground beef mixture evenly over the flour tortillas.
Pro Tip: Use a slotted spoon to allow as much of the fat from the ground beef mixture to drip off before placing the meat onto the tortillas. This ensures that you don’t have soggy tortillas when baked. - Sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly over the top of the ground beef.
- Spoon the pico de gallo over the top of the cheese.
Pro Tip: Use a slotted spoon to make sure that most of the juices from the pico de gallo drain out before layering it onto the cheese. If you have little ones that are sensitive to the fresh jalapeño or cilantro, in the pico de gallo, you can only cover half of the cheese with the pico de gallo and leave the other half plain before covering your layers with the top flour tortillas. - Place the final 6 flour tortillas on top of the meat and cheese and overlapping each other, in the center of your sheet tray.
- Fold the overhanging flour tortillas over the top six tortillas so that you are enclosing all filling.
- Brush canola oil over the tops of the flour tortillas.
Pro Tip: You can use the oil to help the top overhanging pieces stick to each other. - Place the second sheet tray on top of the entire giant taco, making sure that all the folded-over tortillas stay in place.
- Place 1 or 2 oven-safe heavy skillets (like cast iron) onto the sheet tray to weigh it down and create a nice sealed, crisp and golden brown sheet pan taco.
- Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes, remove the heavy skillet(s) and the top sheet tray, and continue to bake the Sheet Pan Tacos for an additional 30 minutes, or until the top is golden and crisp and the cheese is melted.
Pro Tip: You may want to tent your 4 sides with long strips of aluminum foil (like you would a pie crust when baking) to ensure that the edges do not get too dark before the center of your Sheet Pan Tacos get nice and golden. - Allow the baked Sheet Pan Tacos to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Pro-Tip: A pizza cutter works great to slice up this sheet pan taco into individual servings.
- Serve with guacomle, sour cream and salsa. Enjoy!
Tips
- Keep your sheet pan taco warm by covering it with a piece of aluminum foil and keeping it in a 200°F oven for up to 30 minutes.
- The part of the flour tortillas that are overhanging will be used to fold over and seal the sheet pan tacos once assembled.
Storage Tips
- To Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
- To Reheat: Reheat your leftovers in the oven or on the stovetop (the microwave will make them soggy). I recommend the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best size tortilla to use for my Sheet Pan Tacos?
I used a standard size flour tortilla for this sheet pan taco; however, the burrito or extra large-sized flour tortillas would also work.
Note that you will not need to use as many of the extra-large flour tortillas. I do not suggest using anything smaller than the 8-inch size soft flour tortillas as it may make it very hard to keep the smaller tortillas to stay together when assembling the top of the sheet pan taco.
Can I make homemade pico de gallo?
To save time, you can purchase a premade pico de gallo for this recipe. If you choose to make the homemade recipe listed, then you can store any excess in the refrigerator, in a sealed container, for up to a week. This is a great component of the recipe that you can make ahead of time so that your time in the kitchen preparing the sheet pan taco is much quicker. It is great in salads, on top of grilled fish, or as a dip for crunchy tortilla chips.
Can I use my homemade taco seasoning?
You can substitute the 2 (1 oz.) packets of TACO seasoning with your own taco spice blend. You will need to use 6 tablespoons (3 tablespoons for the first batch of cooked ground beef and 3 tablespoons for the second batch) of your homemade taco spice blend. You may want to adjust the amount of spices according to your taste preference.
What if I have excess fat left in my pan after cooking my ground beef mixture?
If you have an excess amount of fat that has cooked out of your ground beef mixture while your sheet pan taco was baking, then you can very carefully tilt your pan and pour out the excess grease into a separate container.
Once that grease has cooled, you can dispose of it. This will make sure that your sheet pan tacos are not sitting in any excess grease.
Note, you really want to make sure you use a slotted spoon to drip off as much excess fat before placing the ground beef onto the flour tortillas. If you use leaner ground beef, then you will not have as much excess fat to worry about.
How to Make Homemade Pico de Gallo To make the pico de gallo, mix together the tomatoes, white onion, lime juice, jalapeño, and cilantro, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
This allows all the flavors of the pico de gallo to combine while you are preparing the rest of the sheet pan tacos.
This allows all the flavors of the pico de gallo to combine while you are preparing the rest of the sheet pan tacos.
Other Easy Sheet Pan Recipes
- Sheet Pan Stir Fry
- Sheet Pan Quesadillas
- Sheet Pan Fajitas
- Sheet Pan Breakfast
- Apple Slab Pie
- Taco Pizza
- Sheet Pan Steak and Veggies
Sheet Pan Tacos
Serves — 12
Sheet Pan Tacos is an easy way to recreate a fast-food favorite and make one giant meal. Perfect for an appetizer or family dinner.
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Video
Ingredients
- 5 tbsp canola oil divided
- 2 cups yellow onion chopped
- 3 pounds ground beef (I used ground chuck 80%-20% blend)
- 2 oz (2 1-oz.) packets Original TACO seasoning (I used Old El Paso brand)
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 4 cups shredded Colby jack cheese (from 2 (8-ounce) blocks)
- 16 (8-inch) soft taco flour tortillas
- 1½ cups store bought pico de gallo (*or see recipe below)
OPTIONAL: Homemade Pico de Gallo
- 3 cups tomatoes diced
- 1 cup white onion diced
- ⅓ cup fresh lime juice
- 3 tbsp fresh jalapeño fine diced
- 3 tbsp fresh cilantro chopped
Garnish
- Sour cream and pico de gallo
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Using a pastry brush, brush 2 tablespoons of canola oil onto the inside bottom and sides of a 13×18-inch rimmed baking sheet tray. You will need a second rimmed sheet tray for the baking process. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, on medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon canola oil. Add the 2 cups chopped yellow onions and saute them for 2-3 minutes or until they are translucent and soft. Transfer the cooked onions to a plate and set them aside.
- To the same large skillet, on medium-high heat, add half of the ground beef and one of the 1 oz. packets of taco seasoning, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Cook the ground beef for 4-5 minutes, breaking it up into crumbles until there is no longer any pink and the ground beef is completely coated with the taco seasoning. Transfer the cooked ground beef to a large bowl or large shallow dish, and repeat with the second half of the ground beef and the second 1 oz. packet of taco seasoning, remaining 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper until all the ground beef is cooked. Transfer the rest of the cooked ground beef to the bowl with the first batch of cooked ground beef.
- Add the cooked yellow onions to the cooked ground beef in the bowl, and stir to incorporate.
- To the prepared rimmed baking sheet tray, you will lay out 10 of the flour tortillas. You will need to make sure that they are overhanging all sides of the sheet tray by at least 2-3 inches. You will also want to make sure that there are no gaps or open spaces between the flour tortillas. It should look like a solid layer of flour tortillas with all the sides overhanging. The part of the flour tortillas that are overhanging will be used to fold over and seal the sheet pan tacos once assembled.
- Using a large slotted spoon, spoon the ground beef mixture evenly over the flour tortillas. Make sure to allow as much of the fat from the ground beef mixture to drip off through the slotted spoon before placing the meat onto the tortillas. This ensures that you don’t have soggy tortillas when baked.
- Sprinkle the shredded Colby jack cheese evenly over the top of the ground beef layer.
- Finally, using a slotted spoon, spoon 1½ cups of the pico de gallo over the top of the cheese. You will want to make sure that you allow as much of the juices from the pico de gallo to drain out before layering it onto your cheese.
- Place your final 6 flour tortillas, overlapping each other in the center of your sheet tray, onto the top of the meat and cheese. Fold the overhanging flour tortillas over the top six tortillas so that you are enclosing all the meat and cheese.
- Brush the remaining 2 tablespoons of canola oil evenly over the tops of all the flour tortillas. You can use the oil to help the top overhanging pieces stick to each other.
- Place the second 13×18-inch rimmed sheet baking tray onto the top of the sheet pan taco making sure that all the folded-over tortillas stay in place. Place 1 or 2 oven-safe heavy skillets, like cast iron, onto the sheet tray to weigh it down. This will create a nice sealed sheet pan taco. It also helps to ensure that the flour tortillas become crisp and golden brown. Bake for 30 minutes. Carefully remove the heavy skillet(s) and the top sheet tray. Continue to bake the sheet pan taco for an additional 30 minutes or until the top is golden and crisp. You may want to tent your 4 sides with long strips of aluminum foil (like you would a pie crust when baking) to ensure that the edges do not get too dark before the center of your sheet pan tacos get nice and golden.
- Allow the sheet pan taco to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.
- You can garnish your individual servings of this sheet pan taco with a dollop of sour cream and a spoonful of the remaining pico de gallo. You can keep your sheet pan taco warm by covering it with a piece of aluminum foil and keeping it in a 200°F oven for up to 30 minutes.
TO MAKE OPTIONAL HOMEMADE PICO DE GALLO RECIPE IF YOU AREN’T USING STORE BOUGHT
- In a large bowl, add the diced tomatoes, chopped white onion, fresh lime juice, finely diced jalapeño, and chopped cilantro. Stir to combine the pico de gallo. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. This allows all the flavors of the pico de gallo to combine while you are preparing the rest of the sheet pan tacos.
Jenn’s Notes
Storage:
- To Store: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
- To Reheat: Reheat your leftovers in the oven or on the stovetop (the microwave will make them soggy). I recommend the oven at 350 for about 10 minutes.
- A pizza cutter works great to slice up this sheet pan taco into individual servings.
- I used Colby jack cheese for this recipe. You can change up your cheese to whatever flavors you like. Some great alternatives would be pepper jack or a combination of sharp cheddar and Monterey jack cheese.
- I used a standard size flour tortilla for this sheet pan taco; however, the burrito or extra large-sized flour tortillas would also work. Note that you will not need to use as many of the extra-large flour tortillas. I do not suggest using anything smaller than the 8-inch size soft flour tortillas as it may make it very hard to keep the smaller tortillas to stay together when assembling the top of the sheet pan taco.
- To save time, you can purchase a premade pico de gallo for this recipe. If you choose to make the homemade recipe listed, then you can store any excess in the refrigerator, in a sealed container, for up to a week. This is a great component of the recipe that you can make ahead of time so that your time in the kitchen preparing the sheet pan taco is much quicker. It is great in salads, on top of grilled fish, or as a dip for crunchy tortilla chips.
- You can substitute the 2 (1 oz.) packets of TACO seasoning with your own taco spice blend. You will need to use 6 tablespoons (3 tablespoons for the first batch of cooked ground beef and 3 tablespoons for the second batch) of your homemade taco spice blend. You may want to adjust the amount of spices according to your taste preference.
- I used a ground beef chuck (80%-20% fat blend) for this recipe. You can use lean ground beef, ground sirloin, or even ground turkey if you want to make this recipe a little healthier.
- If you have an excess amount of fat that has cooked out of your ground beef mixture while your sheet pan taco was baking, then you can very carefully tilt your pan and pour out the excess grease into a separate container. Once that grease has cooled, you can dispose of it. This will make sure that your sheet pan tacos are not sitting in any excess grease. Note, you really want to make sure you use a slotted spoon to drip off as much excess fat before placing the ground beef onto the flour tortillas. If you use leaner ground beef, then you will not have as much excess fat to worry about.
- If you have little ones that are sensitive to the fresh jalapeño or cilantro, in the pico de gallo, you can only cover half of the cheese with the pico de gallo and leave the other half plain before covering your layers with the top flour tortillas.
- If you have little ones that are sensitive to the fresh jalapeño or cilantro in the pico de gallo you can only cover half of the cheese with the pico de gallo and leave the other half plain before covering your layers with the top flour tortillas.
Nutrition Info
Calories: 527kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 38g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 110mg | Sodium: 1555mg | Potassium: 657mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1316IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 340mg | Iron: 5mg
This looks fabulous. Will be making for the next family get-together in September!!! I can’t wait. Gave 5 stars already because I know for sure we will love it!
These are amazing! I had my doubts that they would turn out well, I thought they would fall apart, but the instructions really helped! The tortillas had the perfect amount of crispiness!
Can you substitute chicken rather than beef for this pan taco recipe??? If YES should chicken be precooked and then diced and it thinly sliced in strips before starting receipt??? Thank you.
I haven’t tried it, but yes, that should work! Just be sure to precook the chicken. You could also use ground chicken or turkey
Could you substitute chicken for beef in this recipe?? If YES …. should chicken be precooked and the diced or shredded or cut in thin strips beforehand???? Thank you.
love all your recipes.❤️
Can you make this a day ahead and bake it the next day? Or will it get soggy overnight.
I don’t think so. I will get soggy.
Can you freeze leftovers?
I can’t figure out how to copy the recipe so we can make it. I’m old so maybe I just missed a button to push. please let me know. your recipes look very fun
I love this recipe my daughter cooks this for us every once in a while and we absolutely love it!