The Crunchwrap Supreme is a feat of both texture and engineering. To create the Taco Bell classic, which — like Eater — turned 20 years old this year, a large flour tortilla is layered with seasoned beef and thick nacho cheese sauce, a crispy tostada shell, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and tangy sour cream before being meticulously folded into its signature hexagonal shape and griddled to hold all the elements together. The tostada shell serves both as a crunchy textural delight and a way to separate the warm and cold elements. And since its debut in 2005, it’s quickly become not only one of Taco Bell’s most popular items, but also one of the most successful — the chain sold more than 100 million Crunchwrap Supremes in 2024 alone, according to a representative for the company.
But it’s also, perhaps more excitingly, kind of everywhere. It’s become a form factor that independent chefs around the country are obsessed with, stuffing their versions with chili or shawarma or sushi ingredients. A quick scan of Instagram and TikTok will surface thousands of videos of people attempting to make Crunchwraps at home, or experimenting with different fillings and a range of wraps beyond the tortilla. The Crunchwrap Supreme has transcended its fast-food origins, and has become fully subsumed into the gr American dining canon alongside dishes like the Big Mac, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and apple pie.
Trends tend to trickle down from fine dining to fast food — just look at the history of the molten chocolate cake. The Crunchwrap Supreme is one of the few, rare examples where a trend traveled the other way, working its way, over the past 20 years, to the menus of beloved independent restaurants.
Bryan Weaver, the chef and co-owner of Redheaded Stranger in Nashville, Tennessee, added a few variations on the Crunchwrap to his menu five years ago. “I’m indebted to Taco Bell,” he says. “I used to go twice a week with my mom.” Weaver’s versions showcase upgraded ingredients like house-made flour tortillas and hot sauce. He also goes rogue from the traditional Crunchwrap setup by leaning on Fritos and crispy rice for the crispy element, instead of a tostada shell. He includes fillings like fresh guacamole and a meaty chile colorado. Another twist? Inspired by costra de queso-style tacos, Weaver’s take on Crunchwraps arrive wrapped in a layer of melty, griddled cheese on the outside.
Making Crunchwraps with higher-quality ingredients has paid off for Centro, the popular Mexican mini-chain in Minneapolis, says owner and CEO Jami Olson. Each location makes three variations, which are known as Centro Crunches, featuring ingredients like from-scratch queso and cheddar jack cheese in the classic version, braised beef and Chihuahua cheese in the birria version, and crispy fried chicken in the Cool Ranch Chicken Crunch.
Chefs around the country have found a lot of success cooking up cultural variations on the Crunchwrap.
Though both Redheaded Stranger and Centro’s versions of the Crunchwrap are pricier than the version available at the drive-thru (they are $12 and $13.50 to $14.50 respectively, compared to $5 to $7 at Taco Bell), they’ve proven to be financial juggernauts for both restaurants. Weaver says they are one of the best-selling items on the menu, at 100 a day on average. “It’s by far the busiest station in the kitchen,” he says with a laugh. The Crunches did so well for Centro that the restaurant group sold over $1.4 million dollars’ worth in 2024 alone, says Olson. Olson launched a delivery-only ghost kitchen concept called Hippo Pockets, dedicated to making the hexagonal item, and given its popularity, she’s now opening the first Hippo brick-and-mortar that will serve an exclusive menu of bubble tea and 11 types of tortilla-wrapped Pockets — including the Minnedelphia, which comes stuffed with steak, mushrooms, bell peppers, and jalapeño cream cheese.
Other chefs around the country have found a lot of success cooking up cultural variations on the Crunchwrap. At Night + Market in Los Angeles, Kris Yenbamroong makes a Thai-influenced version where the seasoned beef and nacho cheese are replaced with a spicy krapow chicken and a khao soi queso. Señor Sisig, the beloved Filipino restaurant and food truck in the Bay Area, made a splash when it first opened with its Crunch-a-dilla that came stuffed with lettuce, guacamole, and lots of pork sisig. At Wave Asian Bistro in Mount Dora, Florida, the kitchen team has made headlines for their sushi-inspired version that includes sushi rice, cream cheese, spicy tuna, spicy crab, and avocado and is stuffed into a giant sheet of nori before being deep-fried.
Chef Antony Nassif says people drive from all over to experience his $30, 1.5-pound, Lebanese take on a Crunchwrap at his New York City restaurant, Hen House. Nassif wanted to do something “big and flavorful,” so he stuffed his version with a slow-roasted lamb shawarma, cilantro-garlic potatoes, a full cheese curd blanket, garlic sauce, and lots of tomato salad and cabbage. The fillings are griddled inside of a long and thin village-style bread instead of a tortilla. “It’s very cheffy and easily feeds two to four people, but I’ve had crazy people come in and crush a whole one.”
Olson says Centro first started serving its Crunches during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns in 2020, when diners were looking for “easy, nostalgic, craveable things.” Many agree that the pandemic helped kick off the nationwide Crunchwrap fervor.
In April 2020, recipe developer Farideh Sadeghin posted a video to the Munchies YouTube channel featuring her making a version of the Crunchwrap Supreme in her apartment kitchen. (The video, shot in mid-March before lockdowns, concluded with Sadeghin noting that “While we’re getting through this, you might as well cook some fun stuff at home.”) “That video haunts me in the best way,” she says now. “I feel like it is the recipe I am most known for.”
Nassif, who is Canadian and didn’t grow up eating at Taco Bell, admits that he added a Crunchwrap-style dish to his menu after seeing videos on the internet. He’s imagined several versions over the years, like a steakhouse-inspired riff stuffed with mashed potatoes and creamed spinach, or a “Little Italy” one filled with a veal cutlet and marinated peppers. “It’s endlessly customizable,” he says. “You just take the formula — the way to fold it, put the meat with whatever vegetables you want, with something crispy — and it’s a Crunchwrap.”
“That video haunts me in the best way. I feel like it is the recipe I am most known for.”
Content creator Pratik Bhakta, who goes by @hungryempire on Instagram, says that whenever he posts a video of him making a Crunchwrap, it does incredibly well. He posted a version featuring Thanksgiving leftovers for the first time back in 2021 and it quickly racked up hundreds of thousands of views even though he only had a small following at the time. Every time he reposts the video, it does numbers. “So I’m thinking it’s time for a 2.0 version soon,” Bhakta says, laughing.
Taco Bell is quite aware of the popularity of the Crunchwrap with chefs and home cooks alike. In 2024, the chain released make-at-home Crunchwrap kits that are available at many major grocery stores, and in 2024, even teamed up with three chefs to reimagine the Crunchwrap with international flavors drawing from Indian, Thai, and American Southwestern culinary traditions. As for all the knockoffs? The chain seems flattered. “The name is trademarked and while we do take steps to protect it, especially when its misuse could lead to consumer confusion or dilution,” a Taco Bell spokesperson said, “we’re also committed to supporting food culture and creativity.”
