Vegan or Vegetarian Crunchwrap Supreme
In my late teens and early 20s, I was a huge fan of crunch wraps from Taco Bell.
They were easy to grab, delicious and had such a variety of texture, which, for those of you who don’t know is kind of my thing 😉. I also low key loved that Grade D ground beef— so fatty and delicious. When I went vegetarian, I tried to go back to taco bell and order one with black beans instead of meat and… while it was ok, it just wasn’t the same.
I kind of gave up on Taco Bell (probably for the best, honestly). But Taco Bell never gave up on ME! It was in my mind for years to come—every late night junky snack felt so unfulfilling without my crunch wrap. I decided I needed to take action.
My favorite vegan meat to use in Tex-Mex style dishes is Trader Joe’s Soy Chorizo. It is truly just so delicious. I cooked up some of that good stuff, and added in some canned black beans to that mixture and used that as the filling. I bought some large flour tortillas and some small corn tortillas. I fried the corn tortillas until they were a tostada, cut a few of the large flour tortillas into circles the same size as the tostadas, got all my mix ins and assembled.
This was so easy, but the one most important tip is do NOT OVERSTUFF YOUR CRUNCHWRAP. I know, I know, its so hard. All those delicious fillings! But I promise you that if you overstuff them, they will not fold up properly. It isn’t worth it — just eat any leftover goodness on the side, like I do!
Vegan or Vegetarian Crunchwrap Supreme
Ingredients
- 4 small corn tortillas
- 6 large burrito sized flour tortillas
- 2 cups of fry oil (vegetable or canola)
- Salt
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 package of Trader Joe's Soy Chorizo or other meat substitute
- 1/2 can of black beans
- 1 cup of cheddar cheese or vegan cheese
- 1/2 cup of mayo or vegan mayo
- 2 tbsp of hot sauce of choice
- 1/2 cup of salsa of choice
- 1 large tomato
- 1/4 green cabbage or romaine lettuce
Instructions
- Heat up your fry oil on medium high heat in a small deep pot used for frying.
- Add your corn tortillas one at a time, until golden brown on each side. They should bubble vigorously when they hit the oil. If they don't, your oil isn't hot enough. They should take 30-40 seconds per side. They should be very stiff but not completely crispy - they will crisp even more as they cool. Remove with tongs and allow to drain on a cooling rack or a kitchen towel.
- Repeat this process with each corn tortilla.
- Take 2 large flour tortillas and cut 4 smaller circles out of them, the same size as the corn tortillas. The easiest way to do this is to trace one of your corn tortillas onto your flour tortillas with a knife. Set aside.
- Mix your mayo with hot sauce to create a spicy sauce. Add a drop of water if you'd like it a touch thinner. Set aside
- Dice your tomato and add to a bowl. Add a bit of salt to draw out some of the water and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Set aside.
- Cut your cabbage or lettuce into thin strips. Set aside.
- Cook your soy chorizo and black beans in a pan with olive oil until cooked through.
- Heat up a cast iron skillet with no oil on medium low to medium heat. Allow to pre-heat for 5 minutes.Place one of your large flour tortillas on a cutting board or plate (not the tortillas you just cut). Add your soy chorizo black bean mixture to the center of your tortilla. The area that this takes up should not be larger than the size of your tortilla. DO NOT OVERSTUFF!!Add a small layer of cheddar cheese then your salsa and your mayo mixture. Add the crispy tostada right on top of this. Add cabbage/lettuce and tomatoes on top of the tostada along with more of your mayo mixture and another layer of cheese.Add one of the small flour tortilla cut outs on top of your top layer.Fold the crunchwrap by bringing one of the edges of the tortilla up to the center of the filling. Keep doing that and work your way all around the tortilla until it is in true crunchwrap fashion.Carefully place the crunchwrap seam side down into the hot cast iron skillet. Allow to cook until golden brown.Flip the crunch wrap and do the same to the other side.Repeat with all your crunchwraps and serve with hot sauce (bonus if you can get Taco Bell brand fire sauce.)Enjoy!
