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!
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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.
You can serve them as described but you can make the chalupas even better by adding one of these toppings:
- Salsa (Classic salsa, Strawberry salsa, mango salsa, Jalapeno salsa, Fruit salsa, or pineapple salsa)
- Chili beans
- Guacamole
- Refried bean
- Olives
These are perfect for a
- get together
- Mexican fiesta
- or even a Cinco de Mayo party!!!
If you are hosting a party, you can fry the chalupa bread ahead of time and at the time of the party, set out different toppings and let everyone serve themselves. So much fun!
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.
Yes, you may use 100% whole wheat flour or use 50% whole wheat and 50% all-purpose flour for a good result.
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.
You can make the chalupa shell a day before and prep all the toppings.
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.
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.
Have fun trying this chalupa recipe!
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Homemade Chalupa
Ingredients
Chalupa Bread
- 3 cups – All-purpose flour Maida
- 1.5 tablespoon – baking powder
- 1 teaspoon – salt or to taste
- 2 tablespoon – melted butter
- 1 ¼ cup – milk preferably full fat
- Oil for frying
Toppings
- 2 cups – black beans
- 2 cups – lettuce Chopped
- 1 cup – tomatoes chopped
- ¾ cup – sour cream
- ¾ cup – queso sauce
- ¾ cup – cheese (I have used pepper jack cheese, you may use any)
Instructions
Chalupa Bread
- In a bowl, take flour, baking powder, salt, and butter. Mix them well. Now add milk and bring everything together and knead a soft dough. Cover it and keep it aside for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Once the dough is rested, divide it into 15 equal balls. Take one dough ball, roll it out to a 5-inch circle. Prick the rolled dough a few times with a fork.
- Heat oil in a pan on a medium heat. Gently slide the dough into the hot oil. It should immediately float and puff. 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). 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. 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.
Add Toppings (Of your choice)
- 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.
Video
Notes
- 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.
- 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.
- 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 Colby-jack cheese, but you may use your choice of cheese.
- To make this vegan,
- use oil instead of butter
- Cashew cream instead of cheese sauce
- and vegan cheese instead of regular cheese.
Nutrition
Warm regards,
Dhwani.
OMG i tried them today and to be honest they are exactly like Tacobell Chalupas and even better. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
Yayyy….. So glad to know this. Thanks for the feedback. 🙂
Really great recipe! I mixed 2 cups of all purpose flour with 1 cup of wheat flour instead of only all purpose. Chalupas had a great crunch and technically crunchier than a regular chalupa supreme! Not to mention awesome flavor!
Awesome. Thanks a lot for the feedback 🙂
We have made these 3 times now! So good! Tastes just like Taco Bell chalupas. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hi Ashley!
I am glad to know that you loved this recipe. Thank you or trying and sharing your feedback. 🙂
Can I use self rising flour?
Yes, you can!
Hello! I’m making this recipe, today! I know you said we could use self rising flower for fewer ingredients and omit the flour, baking powder, and salt, but what would the measurements be for the self-rising flour?
Hi, same measurement as all purpose flour.
Do the black beans require any preperation ? Apart from soaking them ?
Just soaking and cooking, that’s it.
Hi! What kind of sauce do you serve them with? I mean what is the black sauce in the last picture? Is it a soy sauce?
Hi,
I serve it with any type of hot sauce.
I’m very excited to try this! Do you think the dough could be frozen? Maybe after flattening into circles?
Hi Bethany,
I have never tried freezing them. I think it should work.
Can I use a tortilla press or does the dough have to be rolled?
Yes, you can use tortilla press.
What type of oil do you use for frying? Thanks!
Hi,
I used Canola oil.
Hello.
Can I bake it instead of frying? Or, did someone have tried to use the air fryer? I love chalupas, but I would like to make them healthier.
I have never tried, but you should be able to.
I’m gonna try it and I’ll come back here to tell if worked ☺️
Thank you
Hi Adriana,
How did air fry or baking these go?
I would pass the recipe up if they are fried.
Thank you.
I tried with wheat flour. Fried up well but they weren’t the best tasting, but I think that’s just cause of the wheat. Also didn’t have to fry as long and I struggled with getting a good curl. May need to do 50/50 next time or try as original recipes says lol.
Has anyone tried to do these as a bake? It is there a baking variation possibly? I would love to attempt a bit healthier then frying.
Thanks for sharing the recipe I tried it for the first time oh my goodness me and my husband loved them. We will be making them again and again.
Robin
Yayyyy….. thank you for trying. I am so glad to know that you both loved it. 🙂
Unless I did something wrong, this recipe wasn’t really good and did not taste like taco bell chalupas. Every time I get to even see a taco bell I get 2 chalupas from the drive through and this tasted nothing like them. I am not even close to being a food critic but this just didn’t taste right. I loved the idea about using the black beans in this recipe and those were fantastic. You say when you put the dough into the hot pan they should immediately rise but mine didnt. I used vegetable oil for it and sweetenedbutter is this what made it taste bad. Thanks
If your dough doesn’t rise immediately then your baking powder is NOT fresh and should replace it with a brand new container of it to stop this issue here and in other recipes. It would be trash in a bread recipe.
These were really good. I would make them again. Easy to make.
So happy to know. 🙂
What kind of milk can you use
Whole milk.
I made these as indicated in the recipe and they were delicious, but I’m wondering if they could be made vegan using lard or oil instead of butter??
Yes, you can use oil instead of butter.
Do you know what lard is?!! It’s animal fat and it causes DIABETES!
It says to mix flour, baking powder salt & ghee together but I don’t see ghee in the ingredients, what is it & how much
Sorry for the confusion. It’s a typo. Add butter with flour and baking powder.
I decided to try your recipe today for chapulas I usually just do a simple recipe which is the same basically but I don’t melt the butter at all I just put in there and kneed it in but it comes our great too I love taco bell I use to work there so I’m glad you came up with this recipe Thanks love
Thank you! 🙂
Really great recipe. Very ez to made. Can’t wait to made again. Thanks for the recipe.
So glad to hear. Thanks 🙂
I haven’t made this yet but wondering if the dough freezes well?
Yes, it does.
I made these exactly as listed in the recipe. I rolled out the 15 shells and put on wax paper. I fried 8. I had two hubby had 4 and I was able to share 2 with with sister. They fried beautifully, everyone loved them. Sis came by to pick up remaining 7 to make today! 😁
Yay…… thanks for the feedback 🙂
Thank you for this recipe! Made them today and they were really delicious and super easy to make. My husband said they were better than Taco Bell.
So glad to know.
I recently made this recipe. I really loved it. It looked exactly like Taco Bell chalupa shells and tasted great too. Thanks for sharing it.
Awesome. Thanks for the feedback 🙂
I’m confused if I omit the flour and salt what am I using
Made these last night! They were surprisingly easy and totally delicious!!
Cut the recipe in half since there are only two of us. They were soft and very filling. We will definitely make these again! Thank you!
So good to know. 🙂
My family loved these, but I did have to add meat. 🥰 I knew we would have more than we needed, so the last few I sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Instant dessert! I have a gluten intolerance, but I risked it for part of one covered in cinnamon sugar. 😋 Thanks for sharing your recipe.
So glad to know.
I made these but my dough was unbarebly sticky too. Work with.. 🙁
Would love to try making these Gluten Free for my daughter and grandson. Has anyone tried making a GF version? If so, what flour did you use and how did they turn out?
I tried it with King Arthur Gluten Free Flour and it turned out great! Can’t even tell its gluten free!
Thank you for the feedback. 🙂
Hi, have you tried freezing this dough? TIA! Can’t wait to try them.
Hi,
Yes, you can freeze just like pizza dough.
This was great and my entire family loved them. The instructions were perfectly written as well! The only thing I’ll change next time is I will roll them a little bigger as these didn’t hold much. Thank you for a great recipe!
I made this fry bread today, toped it with, beans, shredded pork, shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cilantro, sour cream and green jalapeno sauce. I have to say it was AMAZING! My kids loved this dinner. For my picky niece i toped it with strawberries, powder sugar and whipped cream as a dessert. I have no words. This is def in rotation from now on. Thanks for sharing the recipe
I am glad to know. Thanks for the feedback.
Why do you need whole milk. I only have skim in the frig. Is there any way to use skim?
Use the skim milk if you only have that.
The fat content in whole milk gives it better taste than skim since most of the fat is missing compared to whole or half and half or heavy cream which you could absolutely use as well (and I would over skim in this recipe) The fat flavors alllll the flour like it does in a roux.
Hi Dhwani,
Having found this wonderful recipe tried making the chalupas with 50% maida and 50% atta and it turned put to be a super hit. I went on to invite my parents and nieces to try it out and they loved it too. The chalupa smelled like taco bells and I absolutely loved it. Sauce were different as I did not have any spicy like Sriracha or red chilli sauce.
So glad to know. 🙂
Yes! Same question!!
Delicious!! I made these tonight for dinner. Chalupas are my favorite item from Taco Bell. Now we can have a “healthier” chalupa at home. With some of the left over dough, I made dough boys for dessert.
Made these for the first time tonight, OMG, delicious! I think they are way better than Taco bell and that’s my favorite thing to get. I will definitely make this again. I used self rising flour and I filled it with chicken that had been cooked in Taco seasoning, and tomatoes, Lettuce, sour cream and Mozzarella cheese. I plan on trying it next time with steak. I honestly don’t know if I’d order a chalupa from Taco bell again lol, it seriously was THAT good!!
So glad to know. Thanks a lot. 🙂
Can I make these in the morning and use them for dinner tonight?
Thanks
Yes.
Oh my goodness! I’ve been wanting to make this for a while. I made them for dinner tonight, and they were FABULOUS! I added some Taco Bell brand taco sauce, and they were pretty perfect 🥰. Definitely a keeper for my family. Thanks for the great recipe!
P.S. for those who want to oven bake, I’d say just splurge and fry them. They’re so crispy and wonderful! It’s worth it folks!
So glad to know. Thanks for the tip. 🙂