Chalupas: Make Your Own!

Anyone will agree that what you make from scratch is almost always better than anything you buy in the store. These chalupas are no different.

Next time tacos are on the menu at your house–or party for that matter–don’t buy shells from the store; make these easy chalupas to hold all those fillings.

The fillings can be mostly anything you want. It doesn’t have to be like tacos.

These chalupas can be made in a disk shape or you can do the fold to make them like shells. Until I have my own video on how to do this, I’ve included a very good one in the recipe card instructions.

Just Three Ingredients

That’s right. Only three ingredients.

What makes these easy is that you use self-rising flour. But don’t fret if you have none. Trust me, you have all the ingredients on hand to make your own.

All you need is salt, flour and baking powder for your own. To one cup of flour add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder and voila, you’ve got it.

But I do recommend that you keep at least a two-pound bag of self-rising flour on hand. It does come in handy for a lot of things.

Filling

As I mentioned above, any filling you like will do here. In fact any taco-like filling would be great.

I’ve included one for ground beef that suits my tastes. As a rule, I’m not a lover of cumin so I go very light with it. I prefer a more garlicky taste and maybe a bit of heat (not included with this). So, adjust to your tastes. The fellow whose video I linked to in the recipe instructions gives a pretty standard ground beef taco filling., however, that comes before the shaping so you’d have to watch the whole thing.

The Recipe

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Chalupas

Easy to make chalupas

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Course: Main, Main Course, Snack

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: chalupas with self-rising flour, copycat taco bell chalupas, soft taco shells

Servings: 8

Calories: 694kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

Chalupas:

• 3 cups self-rising flour
• 2 tbs vegetable shortening like Crisco
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup oil

Filling:

• 2 lbs lean ground beef
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp cumin

Topping:

• 1/2 cup diced white onion
• 2 cups shredded lettuce
• 1 cup diced plum tomatoes
• 3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Chalupas

• Heat the oil in a deep skillet or dutch oven. There should be at least 1-inch/2.5 cm in the pan. The oil is the right temperature if a little piece of dough immediately begins to sizzle when dropped in.
• In large bowl, combine the flour and shortening. Mix until the mixture looks like fine meal. You can use a food processor too.
• Gradually add the milk (you might not use all of it) until a soft, pliable dough forms. It'll be a bit sticky. If it's too sticky, add a teaspoon or two of additional flour. Form the dough into a ball; cover and let it rest for about 10 minutes.
• Divide dough into 8 equal portions. This is easily done by flattening the ball slightly and cutting wedges, like a pie.
• Form each wedge into a ball and roll out on a floured surface to a thin circle about 1/8-inch/0.7 cm. Carefully place the rolled dough into the hot oil. Fry for about 30 seconds then flip. With tongs, grab one end and fold over, forming a shell. Fry each side of the shell for 30 seconds or until golden brown. If you don't want to make shells, they can be left as disks, frying each side for 30 seconds. Repeat with the remaining dough. Drain on paper towels and set aside. See this video if you need help forming the shells.
• Video link-- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPEkWibcXKY - start at 5:13 for how to shape.

Filling:

• Brown the ground beef in a large skillet breaking up clumps; drain fat.
• Add the garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, paprika, salt, pepper and cumin. Stir to combine.
• Divide the meat mixture among the 8 shells/disks. Mix the toppings and divide them equally between the chalupas.

Nutrition

Serving: 1taco | Calories: 694kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 10g | Monounsaturated Fat: 23g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 86mg | Sodium: 321mg | Potassium: 708mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 861IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 169mg | Iron: 4mg

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