Copycat Taco Bell Loaded Nacho Taco Recipe

When a fast food chain adds a menu item, you can rest assured there was a massive amount of work that went into its development. There are countless ingredient combinations considered, taste tests administered, tweaks applied, and so forth, such that when the foodstuff finally hits the menu, it's as much a guaranteed success as possible for the company. In the case of the Taco Bell Loaded Nacho Taco, however, they probably could have skipped all the work, because when you stuff a taco with crunchy chips and nacho cheese, there's little doubt it's going to be amazing.

And as it happens, that's just as true when you make this Taco Bell Loaded Nacho Taco copycat recipe at home. "These were really delicious," says chef and recipe developer Angela Latimer of Bake it with Love, calling them: "Totally cheesy goodness." And they're deliciously easy to make too. In fact, the biggest challenge Latimer faced with this recipe had nothing to do with prep. 

"The hardest part was keeping my daughter out of these while I photographed them," Latimer says. Aside from keeping hungry friends and family members at bay, it's quick and easy to make these copycat tacos, provided you can get your hands on some Taco Bell seasoning, which the chain is more than happy to sell you — and in varying levels of spiciness, too.

To put together this Taco Bell Loaded Nacho Taco copycat recipe, you'll need small flour tortillas, lean ground beef, Taco Bell all-purpose seasoning, nacho cheese sauce, shredded lettuce, grated cheddar cheese, and, ideally, red tortilla strips. Those can be a bit hard to find, though, so you can substitute really any crunchy corn chip strips you can get.

"I had to buy the tri-color tortilla strips that are used as salad toppings," says Latimer. You can then separate the red strips out if you really insist on a close copycat, or just use the tri-color strips.

This Taco Bell Loaded Nacho Taco copycat recipe will make six loaded tacos and uses a full pound of ground beef. Cook that ground beef over medium heat in a lightly greased pan or in a nonstick pan, stirring and breaking up larger bits until the meat has browned all over, which will take about six to eight minutes. Now briefly remove the pan from the heat to drain the excess grease.

Next, add the seasoning packet and two-thirds of a cup of water (as directed on the packet) into the pan to things bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to a low simmer for eight to ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Once the liquid has cooked off, the taco filling is done.

While the meat is cooking, heat the nacho sauce in the microwave on high in 30-second increments until warmed to your liking. Next, place the tortillas in a taco holder if you have one, or plan to improvise, perhaps with a set of helping hands.

Now remove the cooked taco meat from the heat and assemble the tacos. Start by layering that Taco Bell seasoned ground beef into each tortilla, then add a layer of nacho cheese sauce, then shredded lettuce, then grated cheese, and finally a handful of red tortilla strips on top. 

Now serve and enjoy this Taco Bell Loaded Nacho Taco copycat recipe immediately. No leftovers allowed here, for as Latimer says: " The tortilla strips would get soggy if stored for later." But no problem — these are all going to be long gone in no time.