The Best Way To Fix Your Taco Bell Beefy Crunch Burrito Void

CORRECTION 10/31/22: A previous version of this article stated The Beefy Crunch Movement Facebook group was disbanded in 2019 by the founder. The Facebook group brought on new admins in 2019 to give the founder a break, but the group is still active.

Visit Taco Bell's website, and you'll still be able to find a listing for the Beefy Crunch Burrito. Though you can't actually click "add to order," and there's a disclaimer that states the item is no longer available, people have yet to stop craving it. Since 2011 when it was discontinued, The Beefy Crunch Movement Facebook page has amassed more than 60 thousand followers and continues to be active despite the menu item being long gone. Thanks to lobbying from fans, Taco Bell did briefly bring back the Beefy Crunch Burrito in 2016.

A similar Beefy Melt Burrito now exists on the Taco Bell menu, but even though it includes the same seasoned beef, seasoned rice, nacho cheese sauce, and sour cream, it uses red tortilla chip strips instead of the signature Flamin' Hot Fritos. For some, this may not be enough to satisfy a craving for the original, but luckily there are other Frito stuffed burritos out there that are just as tasty.

Instead of Flamin' Hot Fritos, Willy's Frito Burrito at Georgia-based Mexican food chain Willy's Mexicana Grill is stuffed with regular Fritos and chipotle sauce, but otherwise, it's nearly identical. Just like the Beefy Crunch Burrito, Willy's Frito Burrito also has rice, sour cream, and cheese dip and also includes pinto beans. The protein can be customized, so you can order it with ground beef, so it resembles Taco Bell's, or ask for chicken, steak, tofu, or veggies instead.

You may never be able to order a Beefy Crunch Burrito at the Taco Bell drive-thru again, but getting a Frito Rito from a Bummer Burrito food truck in Austin, Texas, is just as fast and delicious. The Frito Rito is filled with Chili Cheese Fritos, nacho cheese, Oaxaca cheese, beans, and signature sauce, but instead of the seasoned beef that comes with Taco Bell's Beefy Crunch Burrito, you can choose from asada, carnitas, beyond chorizo, or chicken.

While Taco Bell does let you customize your burritos with different add-ons, Fritos, unfortunately, isn't one of them. At burrito chain Burritos Alinstante, however, you can easily replicate a Beefy Crunch Burrito — Fritos included. Simply order the Build Your Own Burrito and select ground beef, nacho cheese, rice, sour cream, and Fritos. If you liked using Taco Bell hot sauce packets on your Beefy Crunch Burritos, there's also the option to add salsa and chili for a bit more heat.

In "The Garbage," one of the burritos on the menu at Kentucky taco joint New Wave Burritos, you'll get all the ingredients in a Beefy Crunch Burrito — taco-spiced ground beef, Fritos, rice, queso, and sour cream — plus refried beans, Monterey Jack cheese, green onions, and pickled jalapeños. The Garbage uses regular Fritos instead of Flamin' Hot ones, but the pickled jalapeños more than make up for the spice.

According to the Beefy Crunch Burrito listing that's been left up on the Taco Bell website, it takes only six ingredients to make — a flour tortilla, seasoned beef, seasoned rice, nacho cheese, sauce, reduced fat sour cream, and Flamin' Hot Fritos. Unfortunately, as Redditors discovered, Flamin' Hot Fritos can be difficult to find. Your best bet, the thread suggests, is to either buy them online or use Frito Lay's store locator tool to find them near you.

Once you've secured your Flamin' Hot Fritos, the rest is easy. Per Food, the most you'll have to do is season and cook the ground beef with a packet of taco seasoning, prepare a box of Spanish rice, and, if you're making the nacho sauce from scratch, melt the cheese. But otherwise, all you need to do is layer rice, beef, Fritos, and nacho cheese sauce on a flour tortilla. Roll it up, and you have yourself a homemade Beefy Crunch Burrito.