Cheesy Taco Pockets
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Taco Pockets are a quick fix on a busy weeknight. Cream cheese, salsa, seasoned ground beef and melted cheddar cheese are wrapped up in soft tacos and baked for a delicious and super convenient grab-and-go school lunch or afternoon snack.
Or, serve them for dinner topped with guacamole, sour cream, or a sprinkle of chopped fresh cilantro with sides of refried beans or corn salad. My recipe for baked taco hot pockets will put a smile on everybody’s face, and especially yours when you need to feed a hungry crowd fast.
Taco Pockets
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How to Make Taco Pockets
If you can roll a burrito, then taco pockets will be a snap. These are the simple steps:
- Roll cooked ground beef, creamy salsa mix and cheddar in soft flour tacos.
- Brush with butter and bake until browned, crispy and cheese is melted.
You can vary the meat or cheese ingredients according to your preference. Shredded chicken or pork can substitute for ground beef, and 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 you prefer.
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 wrap everything in!
Serve with salsa, tomatillo sauce or sour cream.
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. You might discover they taste even better after being stored a day or two to give the flavors time to develop.
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
Mexican Cheese Soup – ready in under 30 mins!
Easy Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas – great weeknight meal!
Chile Relleno Casserole – delicious, creamy casserole
Fajita Pasta – an easy one-pot meal
Cheesy Taco Bake – a taco night favorite!
Zesty beef and loads of cheese wrapped in a tortilla and baked until golden.
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 8 oz cream cheese room temp
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 2 tablespoon butter melted
- 12 small flour tortillas
- sour cream salsa, tomatoes, etc. for garnish
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Cook ground beef, crumble and drain.
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Add packet of taco seasoning and follow instructions on packet to season ground beef.
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In a medium sized mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until almost fluffy. Slowly add in salsa and blend well.
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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.
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Fold the tortilla up as you would a burrito. Place on greased cookie sheet.
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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.
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
Can you make these and freeze them before baking them?
We’ve only tried freezing as noted in the post. Please let us know if you try freezing before baking Julie!
These were delicious! I love the change up of adding cream cheese. I will definitely make these again
So glad you loved these delicious snacks Deborah!
Can u substitute shrimp for vegetarian eaters?
I’ve only tried this recipe as written. Let us know if you try it with shrimp!
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.
Sounds delicious to me Diane! We enjoy these taco pockets for an occasional change from regular tacos!
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 🙂
Sounds perfect Lorie! Such a great way to use up ingredients and leftovers!
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
Sounds great JoNell! Thank you for sharing your changes!
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.
Great idea Melanie. Enjoy!
Do these freeze well?
Freezing tips are included in the post. They freeze very well Dena!
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.
You will have to let us know if you try it with less cream cheese and what you think of it Alicia.
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.
Ooh! Delicious Sarah, baking them in the air fryer is smart idea!
Could send me the Ingredients for the Salsa or was it just a store brought jar as I would love to try these
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!
Anyone tried these with refried beans? Awesome recipe
I have not, but that sounds like a delicious addition Carrie!
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
We used store-bought tortillas in this recipe, they are not precooked. Homemade tortillas sound delicious though Lidia!
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.
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!
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!!!
So happy you loved it Heather!
Have you ever tried making these in an air fryer?
I haven’t, but think that is such a good idea Jean! Let us know how it turns out for you!
We made these a couple of weeks ago and they are amazing. This recipe will be one of our regular menus that we make.