Cheesy Taco Pockets are so easy to make and are the best for those busy weeknights.

Soft tortillas are filled with cream cheese, salsa, seasoned ground beef, and melted cheddar cheese and then baked for a delicious dinner or lunch. Served with some guacamole, sour cream, or a sprinkle of chopped fresh cilantro with sides of refried beans or corn salad, it’s the best for feeding a hungry crowd fast.

Taco pockets on parchment paper with salsa in the background

Cheesy Taco Pockets

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Best Snack or Appetizer

  • Looking for a new idea to cook up that ground beef? Then this cheesy taco pockets recipe is just what is needed. This is such a simple and easy meal that will keep everyone happy.
  • What’s even better is that these homemade taco wraps are as good as store-bought hot pockets and better than a pizza. 
  • A little bit of cream cheese goes a long way in this recipe. Its addition makes the filling so creamy, smooth, and flavorful. A quick bake in the oven will turn the cheddar cheese so gooey good, while the tortilla crust will become golden crispy brown. 
  • Double the batch and have them ready for a quick pack-and-go lunch too. 

Ingredients for taco pocket mixture in a glass bowl and taco pocket mixture in a tortilla shell with taco meat

Ingredients and Variations

GROUND BEEF Use lean or extra lean ground beef for this recipe. Remember to drain off the extra fat. Shredded chicken, could also be used as a replacement for the ground beef. 

SALSA Varying the salsa from mild to hot will affect the final spicy-ness and flavor of the pockets. Control your spice and ingredients, and try making homemade salsa and adding it to the wraps!

TORTILLAS Nothing beats warm and soft flour tortillas. They are easily found at the supermarket. Or better yet, find a local Mexican restaurant that makes fresh tortillas. Nothing beats a fresh, handmade tortilla. 

VARIATIONS Instead of tortillas wrap, make stuffed Pillsbury biscuits or crescent dough. Simply open the can, break off the individual biscuits, roll out a little, spread the filling into the dough, and fold the edges over the filling. Bake at 375°F for 13-25 minutes.

There are other options for the cheese like Monterey Jack for the cheddar, or yummy Mexican crema for the cream cheese. You can also use soft corn tortillas instead of the flour version if preferred.

Uncooked Taco pockets on parchment paper with shredded cheddar on top

How to Make Taco Pockets

If you can roll a burrito, then taco pockets will be a snap.

  1. Cook meat and add seasoning. 
  2. In a separate bowl mix cream cheese, and salsa.
  3. Add meat and cheese to tortillas.
  4. Fold and bake (per recipe below)

How to Fold a Burrito

Rolling burritos isn’t hard. The secret is to not overfill, and to slightly warm or steam the wrap so it’s nice and pliable. Make sure you tightly wrap both ends of the burrito, so it won’t spill out.

  • Place a scoop of filling in the center of the tortilla.
  • Fold one of the sides in, tucking all the filling under this fold.
  • Then fold in the top and bottom, and finish with the final side in to seal everything in!

Taco pockets on parchment

How Long Will They Last?

Leftover or make-ahead beef tacos will keep in the fridge for four days or in the freezer for four months.  

Can You Freeze Taco Pockets?

Leftovers are freezable, microwavable, and mouth-wateringly delicious.

  • To Freeze: Store in a freezer bag or an airtight container.
  • To Reheat: No need to thaw before reheating. Just place on a cookie sheet or baking dish in a preheated 350°F oven for 20 minutes, or until steaming hot. Float a piece of foil over the top to prevent the wraps from burning or drying out.

More Mexican Inspired Recipes

Taco pockets on parchment paper with salsa in the background
4.98 from 80 votes↑ Click stars to rate now!
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Cheesy Taco Pockets

Zesty beef and loads of cheese wrapped in a tortilla and baked until golden.
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 12 servings
Author The Shortcut Kitchen

Ingredients  

  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 1 packet taco seasoning
  • 8 ounce cream cheese room temp
  • ½ cup salsa
  • 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
  • 2 tablespoon butter melted
  • 12 small flour tortillas
  • sour cream salsa, tomatoes, etc. for garnish

Instructions 

  • Cook ground beef, crumble and drain.
  • Add packet of taco seasoning and follow instructions on packet to season ground beef.
  • In a medium sized mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until almost fluffy. Slowly add in salsa and blend well.
  • Take a tortilla and spread a spoon full of the salsa mixture in the center. Spoon some ground beef on top of the salsa mixture (enough to cover the salsa). Top with cheese.
  • Fold the tortilla up as you would a burrito. Place on greased cookie sheet.
  • Brush tops of the burritos with melted butter. Bake at 350°F for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and garnish with taco toppings.
4.98 from 80 votes↑ Click stars to rate now!
Or to leave a comment, click here!

Nutrition Information

Calories: 270kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 59mg | Sodium: 678mg | Potassium: 242mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 735IU | Vitamin C: 1.5mg | Calcium: 125mg | Iron: 2.3mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

Course Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine American, Mexican, Tex-Mex

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Prepared Taco Pocket with writing

Prepared Cheesy Taco Pocket with writing
Top image - prepared cheesy taco pocket. Bottom image - taco pocket being prepared with writing

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    A-ma-zing!! I had no idea something so quick and easy to make could be so delicious! I’ve got two picky eaters at home and they loved it as much as I did
    They have problems with textures and spicy foods but this was a hit. I will be making this often because quite honestly I’m getting sick of just making tacos on Tuesdays lol. Thanks for such a great recipe, I will definitely be trying more of yours.

  2. I don’t like cream cheese, so I used some arroyo yellow rice, for creaminess added some nacho cheese condensed soup with the taco meat, it was fantastic! I bet regular rice and cheddar cheese soup would work too?

  3. 5 stars
    These were delicious!! After reading the reviews I decided to use 1/2 the cream cheese and it was the perfect amount/flavor. We will definitely be making these again soon – thank you!

    1. Hi Jenn, I have not tried this recipe with corn tortillas but it should work well. Follow the instructions on the package to warm the tortillas before wrapping them to help prevent them from tearing.

  4. 5 stars
    In an effort to keep my family dinners interesting, I swapped out burrito night with these pocket tacos. The fam couldn’t tell the difference! It was hit! 5 stars. 

    1. We’ve only tried freezing as noted in the post. Please let us know if you try freezing before baking Julie!

  5. I think I will try this instead of tacos this week for weeknight meat. Instead of using salty taco packet I will use some spices that I need to use up like coriander, cumin and some adobe spice.

    1. Sounds delicious to me Diane! We enjoy these taco pockets for an occasional change from regular tacos!

  6. 5 stars
    I used this recipe for some leftover taco meat that I had. I didn’t have any cream cheese, so I just rolled up the meat with some shredded Cheddar and baked as indicated. What a great idea! It made for a fun and tasty nighttime snack! Thanks for the idea 🙂

  7. 5 stars
    Really good flavor but I think 8oz of cream cheese is too much so next time I will use 4 oz.   Also, I only use ground turkey (80/20) and it came out great.  In addition I cooked the ground turkey with diced onion and because I love hot/spicy I also also cooked the turkey with a jalapeño.  Will make this again

  8. We really enjoyed these, easier way to eat tacos! But my husband was not fond of the cream cheese flavor, so I’m going to try making them with cottage cheese. Also, I ran out of small tortillas so made a couple of them bigger, which worked just as well.

  9. Delicious but didn’t need all that cream cheese. I bet with half the amount it would still be just as good and slightly healthier. I also used olive oil instead of butter. 

    1. You will have to let us know if you try it with less cream cheese and what you think of it Alicia.

  10. I made these last night and they were delicious! My whole family enjoyed them. I also did them in the air fryer at 350 for 4 minutes. 

  11. Could send me the Ingredients for the Salsa or was it just a store brought jar as I would love to try these

    1. Hi Maggi, we just use a store-bought salsa so this one. You can choose your favorite and adjust the spicy-ness by option for mild, medium, or spicy salsa!

  12. Can the flour tortillas be made from scratch? Also are they precooked? Common sense tells me they were store bought but they look so thin in the picture 

    1. We used store-bought tortillas in this recipe, they are not precooked. Homemade tortillas sound delicious though Lidia!

  13. Has anyone tried them in an air fryer? I would think it would work fairly well, but I’m new to air fryers. Am curious if anyone has done it and how it turned out.

    1. We haven’t tried these in the air fryer but that is a great idea! I think they would turn out great. Let us know how it goes!

  14. 4 stars
    These were very good! I really liked the spin on a traditional taco/burrito. The only reason I gave it 4 stars is because they were a little salty for me but I think next time I will use a low sodium taco seasoning which would hopefully fix that!! Thank you for the awesome recipe!!! 

      1. I always use diced tomatoes because my girls can’t handle even the slightest mild salsa. It always works and we use hot on the side or to dip things! 

  15. We made these a couple of weeks ago and they are amazing. This recipe will be one of our regular menus that we make.