Bubbly Taco Salad Bowls Recipe

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Make Amazing Taco Salad Recipes at home with these ultra-crispy Bubbly Taco Salad Bowls. Learn How To Make Tortilla Bowls (Taco Shells) just like your favorite Mexican restaurant… Without deep-frying!

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Crunchy Bubbly Taco Shell Bowls

The best thing about eating a taco salad at a restaurant is the crunchy tortilla bowl. Am I right?

The golden color and crisp airy bubbles are so alluring, it’s hard not to break off a big chunk of bowl before ever picking up your fork!

At restaurants, taco salad bowls are made by deep-frying extra-large flour tortillas in a specially-shaped frying basket.

However, most of us don’t have deep fryers at home. And if you try to just bake tortilla bowls, they come out crisp, but not puffy and bubbly.

So today I’m going to teach you a quick trick to making crispy taco salad bowls at home, without a deep fryer!

Perfect Tortilla Bowls At Home

Our secret taco salad bowl recipe hack requires two quick-cooking steps…

First, you pan-fry the tortillas in a small amount of oil, so they puff up with ethereal bubbles.

Second, you bake the tortillas.

I know this sounds like more work, but it’s actually very easy.

Flash frying the tortillas gives them lift, color, and coats them in oil, so they can continue to crisp up in the oven.

Then you simply shape the puffy tortillas in cereal bowls and pop them in the oven.

Taco Salad Bowl Recipe Ingredients

In order to make ridiculously addictive taco bowl shells, you only need two ingredients…

Extra-Large Flour Tortillas– About 10-12 inches across, burrito sized.
Flavorless Cooking Oil – For frying, vegetable oil is great.

A little sprinkling of salt is a good idea, but not necessary.

How To Make Taco Salad Bowls

Instructions

Set Up: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Set 4 oven-safe cereal bowls on a large rimmed baking sheet. Then set a large 12-14 inch skillet on the stovetop over medium heat/medium-high heat.
Coat: Pour oil into the skillet. Once hot, place a tortilla in the skillet. Use tongs to swirl the tortilla to coat it in oil, then flip it over.
Flash Fry: Pan-fry the tortilla for 30-45 seconds per side, allowing it to puff up with large bubbles. The bigger the better! Flip and repeat.
Shape: Use tongs to move the tortilla to one of the cereal bowls. Tuck it down into the bottom of the bowl, to create a bowl shape with the tortilla.
Repeat: Continue frying the remaining three tortillas.
Bake: Once all the tortillas are flash-fried and shaped into bowls, bake until very crispy and golden.
Prep: Fill with chopped greens and sprinkle with your favorite Taco Salad toppings.

Get The Full (Printable) Taco Bowl Shells Recipe Below.

How To Make Baked Tortilla Bowls

The cooked taco shells recipe we are sharing today is technically a baked tortilla bowl recipe, even though you flash fry the tortillas first.

You can skip the step of flash frying and just brush the tortillas with oil, shape, and bake… But they will not form the large airy bubbles that are not near and dear to our hearts.

It is worth the extra 4 minutes of work to gain golden pillowy bubbles in your taco bowl shells. These crispy taco shells will give you all the love of hard taco shells from taco night in this salad recipe.

How To Make Taco Salad

Now you have fabulous tortilla bowls for taco salad recipes. So what are you going to fill them with?

Consider topping the Taco Bowl Shells with these Favorite Taco Fixings:

Frequently Asked Questions

Can You Make Tortilla Bowls with Corn Tortillas?

Yes and no. Yes, you can follow this exact process, with corn tortillas, to make crunchy corn tortilla bowls.

However, it’s hard to find extra-large corn tortillas so the bowls will not be as large.

Also, there will be small bubbles from frying, but you will not get the massive bubbles with corn tortillas, that you do with flour tortillas.

Can You Make Them With Gluten-Free Tortillas?

Yes! If you can find gluten-free flour tortillas, you can make taco salad shells the exact same way.

How Far In Advance Can You Make Taco Salad Bowls?

These crunchy taco salad shells are best if made right before serving. However, they will last 2 days and can be reheated in the oven.

Wrap them in plastic and keep them at room temperature for up to 48 hours.

Can You Make Mini Taco Bowls For Events?

Of course! If you don’t need to fit a whole dinner-size portion of salad in the bowl, you can make them with any size of flour tortilla you like.

Find smaller oven-safe bowls to shape the tortillas. Fry and bake for the same amount of time as with the large bowls.

Check the recipe card below for the nutrient information including calories and other daily values.