Conventional Oven Preheat oven to 375°F. Place frozen crispitos on a nonstick baking sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Turn crispitos over halfway through cooking time. Appliances vary; adjust accordingly.
Here’s What You Need
- Ground beef or ground chicken: Provides the protein base, offering richness and flavor.
- Paprika: Adds a sweet, smoky taste that enhances the meat’s flavor.
- Turmeric: Gives a distinct, earthy flavor and vibrant color, mimicking school lunch tacos.
- Cumin: Introduces a warm, earthy note, essential for the taco seasoning blend.
- Water: Helps to evenly distribute spices and create a smooth filling texture.
- Chunky salsa: Adds moisture, texture, and a spicy, tangy kick to the filling.
- Tortillas: The wrapping material, providing a soft yet firm hold for the filling.
- Vegetable oil cooking spray: Used to prevent sticking and achieve a crispy texture on the tortillas.
- Queso sauce: Offers a creamy, cheesy element, elevating the taco’s richness.
- Sour cream: Provides a cool, tangy contrast to the spicy, rich flavors of the taco.
The most important part to crispitos is getting the right flavor and texture to the “mystery meat” – which in my recipe is just regular ground beef. The real trick to getting the right consistency is to use a food processor or blender to get the meat down to a paste-like texture.
You can also use ground chicken for a learner substitute, though both varieties are delicious!
The meat should be a yellow-orange-ish color if you want to be truly authentic to the cafeteria cuisine. But definitely feel free to adjust the seasonings to your now refined, adult palate.
If you really want to spice things up, you can add things like jalapenoes and onions. Just be sure to blend them in with the meat mixture so they aren’t too big to wrap with the rest of the crispito.
The next trick to achieving the perfect crispito is to only use half of each tortilla. If you use the whole thing, the tortilla is too thick to properly crisp up, so you’ll be left with, essentially, a sad soft-shell burrito.
And plus, by using only half of a tortilla, you get twice as many crispitos.
I wasn’t very good at math in high school, but I’m pretty sure the numbers check out.
Crispitos are rolled pretty tightly, so I shaped my meat into the right form before I folded the edges of the tortilla over the filling and wrapped it up. My high school immaturity returned with a vengeance as I formed these meat logs.
Just don’t think about their appearance too much. It’ll be rolled up soon.
Place the filled tortillas seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Use an veggie oil based cooking spray – the same you’d use to grease the baking sheet – to quickly spritz the tops of each tortilla.
That’s how they get crispy!
Bake the crispitos in the oven for about fifteen minutes – the best way to know they are done is when the first one “pops.” That’s how you know you’ve rolled them tight enough and they’ve cooked all the way through.
It’s not a crispito if at least one doesn’t pop open while you cut it!
Back in my high school days, we smothered our crispitos in cheese sauce and sour cream…it’s a wonder we didn’t all weigh a million pounds, especially after some football players would wolf down twenty or more in one sitting.
Seriously, I remember the football team walking out of the lunch line with plates piled high with crispitos. More than I could bake for myself for a week! At least as an adult, I hope I have more self control to only eat what I need – and not be carbo loading for a big game night.
- Ensure even cooking: Preheat your oven properly to ensure the tacos cook evenly and get that perfect crispiness without burning.
- Crispness is key: If your tacos aren’t getting as crispy as you’d like, try increasing the oven time by a few minutes. Keep an eye on them to avoid burning.
- Filling consistency: The filling should be paste-like but not too dry. If it’s too runny, add a bit more ground meat or a tablespoon of breadcrumbs to absorb excess moisture.
- Wrap it right: Ensuring the tortillas are tightly wrapped around the filling prevents them from opening up during baking. If they start to unroll, you can secure them with a toothpick.
- Customize your spice level: Adjust the amount of chunky salsa and spices according to your taste. If you like it spicier, go ahead and add some chili powder or diced jalapeños to the filling.
- Making ahead: These tacos can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. Pop them in the oven just before serving for a quick and delicious meal.
I’m not sure if CHS still has crispito days – I’d hope for the sake of tradition they do!
What’s Up, Hungry People
School may be out for the summer but the bell is ringing in my kitchen! This recipe comes straight from the halls of my own alma mater, Carroll High School in Dayton, Ohio, where I fondly recall racing my fellow students to the cafeteria to be the first in line on crispito day.
Back then, we didn’t mind wolfing down the mystery-meat filled tortillas that also spewed some kind of orange-ish, watery liquid. We LOVED them. Everyone looked forward to crispito day at good ol’ CHS.
Recreating this meal as an adult was a trip down memory lane. I’ve since learned that the meat inside was actually chicken – though my recipe uses ground beef. Either can be used – but the beefy version was closer to how I actually remember the crispitos tasting. Also – the bright yellow-ish orange-ish color comes primarily from tumeric. If you don’t want to recreate the color – only the flavor – you can halve the amount of tumeric in the recipe!
Word on the street is that you can actually still order crispitos from wholesalers like GFS. I haven’t personally tried it myself but it seems a promsing route if you are seriously itching for the real deal.
Now, nearly ten years out of high school and four years out of college, crispitos have come back to haunt me – in a good way! This week’s challenge was cafeteria food, no doubt to torture any students just released into the summer.
Cafeteria food may seem like an unusual challenge, but school lunches can be surprisingly nostalgic to make. The only thing missing from this recipe is the smell of stinky teenage boys.
Despite the fact I had a total “my dog ate my SD card” (true story) and had to make these crispitos two nights in a row (no complaints here), these crispitos brought back of flood of high school memories.
Sometimes I wish I would have taken the Home Economy classes offered by my high school. For whatever reason it never worked out for my curriculum. While I did have to carry around a flour baby (I still remember, I named her “Lyla”), we never did cool things like learning how to make tiramisu. Personally, I think these crispitos would have been a great recipe to recreate in class!
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST BAKED CHEESY CHICKEN FLAUTAS | TAQUITOS
FAQ
How long to cook Tyson crispitos in oven?
How long to bake chicken crispitos?
How do you cook state fair crispitos?
Can you cook crispitos in the microwave?
How long do you cook crispitos in the oven?
Use an veggie oil based cooking spray – the same you’d use to grease the baking sheet – to quickly spritz the tops of each tortilla. That’s how they get crispy! Bake the crispitos in the oven for about fifteen minutes – the best way to know they are done is when the first one “pops.”
How do you cook a crispito?
Delicious crispitos using beef meat, cheddar cheese and tortilla. These treats are packed with flavor and are perfect for any occasions. Fry the meat on medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes. Add the onions over and fry for another 5 minutes on low heat. Add the garlic and fry for one more minute.
Can you cook crispitos in a pan?
You can bake or pan-fry for crispy results. Baking is easiest for big batches. Pan-frying gives them an extra crispy crunch. How long do you cook crispitos? Bake at 400°F for 15-20 minutes. Pan-fry for 3-4 minutes per side. Cook through until crispy and browned.
How long does it take to make crispitos?
Crispitos are a delicious and easy-to-make Mexican dish that can be made with chicken, beef, or pork. They are perfect for a quick and easy weeknight meal. This is a quick and easy recipe that will result in delicious crispitos in 20 minutes. Add the chicken to a mixing bowl with the cream cheese and hot sauce.