✔ Updated · new copycat recipe with step photos
This copycat Taco Bell Bell Beefer piles saucy taco beef, red sauce, lettuce and onion on a toasted bun. It has been off the menu for decades, and it takes about 35 minutes at home.
How Do You Make a Taco Bell Bell Beefer at Home? (Quick Answer)
Brown a pound of ground beef to 160°F in tiny crumbles, drain it, then simmer it with masa harina, chili powder, spices and 3/4 cup of water until saucy. Toast the cut sides of 4 hamburger buns, pile a quarter of the beef on each, spoon warm red sauce over the beef, then add shredded lettuce, diced onion and an optional pinch of cheddar.
At a glance
The one tip that matters: Sauce goes on the beef, never on the bun. Spoon it straight onto the meat and toast the bun first, or the bottom turns to mush in about a minute.
Why You'll Love This Bell Beefer
- A real lost item the taco burger Taco Bell sold back in the seventies.
- Drive-thru style beef tiny, saucy crumbles thanks to a spoon of masa.
- One pan, many meals the same beef and red sauce make my Enchiritos.
- Cheap and quick a weeknight dinner from a pound of ground beef.
- Freezer friendly beef so Bell Beefer night is 10 minutes away.
What Was the Taco Bell Bell Beefer?
The Bell Beefer was Taco Bell's taco burger: seasoned taco meat with lettuce and onion on a hamburger bun. Think of a sloppy joe that took a road trip south. Loose, saucy taco beef on a soft bun, messy, cheap and honestly a little ridiculous.
There's no official recipe out there, so this is how I build mine: the same Taco Bell-style beef and red sauce from my Enchirito recipe, a toasted bun, and lettuce and onion for crunch. The red sauce and cheddar are my additions.
Is it still on the menu? No. The Bell Beefer arrived in the mid-seventies, faded out in the nineties, and has only made a brief reappearance since. It's off the menu, so making it at home is the way to go.
Ingredient Notes
Exact amounts are in the recipe card below.
- Ground beef: 80/20 or 85/15. A little fat keeps the crumbles tender.
- Masa harina: a corn flour that thickens the water into a clingy sauce. It lives near the tortillas or in the baking aisle.
- Beef bouillon powder: makes the beef taste meatier. The pinch of sugar keeps the chili powder from tasting dusty.
- Red sauce: canned tomato sauce simmered with chili powder, cumin, vinegar and a little cayenne.
- Hamburger buns: soft, plain buns, toasted on the cut side.
- Lettuce and onion: shredded iceberg and finely diced white onion.
Step-by-Step Photos
Here's how it comes together. Exact amounts, times and temperatures are in the recipe card below.
Tips for Success
- Keep chopping the beef. Big chunks taste like chili. Tiny crumbles taste like the drive-thru. A potato masher in the pan is my secret weapon.
- Don't skip the masa. That spoonful of masa harina turns the water into a light sauce that clings to every crumble. No masa? Two teaspoons of plain flour does the same job.
- Drain before the water goes in. Greasy beef is beef that wasn't drained. Tip the fat out first, then add the spices and water.
- Toast the bun. Thirty seconds, cut side down, in a dry pan. It gives the bun a little armor against the saucy beef.
- Go easy on the lettuce. It's there for crunch, not for a salad. A small handful is plenty.
- Taste for salt. Flat-tasting beef almost always needs a pinch more salt, not more chili powder.
- Cook once, eat twice. My kids call this a taco sloppy joe, and they're not wrong. Double the beef on a Sunday and you have Bell Beefers one night and my Enchiritos another.
Copycat Taco Bell Bell Beefer
4
Bell Beefers10
minutes25
minutes480
kcal35
minutesA copycat-style Taco Bell Bell Beefer: saucy, finely crumbled Taco Bell-style seasoned beef on a toasted hamburger bun with a spoonful of red sauce, shredded iceberg, diced white onion and an optional pinch of cheddar. Uses the same beef and red sauce as my Enchirito. Makes 4.
Ingredients
- For the Seasoned Beef
1 lb ground beef, 80/20 or 85/15
1 tablespoon masa harina (or 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried minced onion
1/2 teaspoon each paprika, ground cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, beef bouillon powder and salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup water
- For the Red Sauce
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon each chili powder, dried minced onion and white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon each garlic powder, salt and sugar
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- To Assemble
4 soft hamburger buns
1 cup iceberg lettuce, shredded
1/4 cup white onion, finely diced
1/4 cup shredded cheddar (optional)
Directions
- Make the Red Sauce
- Whisk the tomato sauce, water, chili powder, dried minced onion, vinegar, cumin, garlic powder, salt, sugar and cayenne in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 10 to 15 minutes, until slightly thickened. Keep warm.
- Cook the Beef
- Mix the masa harina, chili powder, dried minced onion, paprika, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, bouillon powder, salt and sugar in a small bowl.
- Cook the beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes, breaking it up hard into tiny crumbles, until no pink remains and it reaches 160°F. Drain the fat.
- Stir in the spice mix and the 3/4 cup water. Simmer over medium-low for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring often, until the beef looks saucy but not wet.
- Build the Bell Beefers
- Toast the cut sides of the buns in a dry pan for about 30 seconds, until lightly golden.
- Pile about a quarter of the beef on each bottom bun and spoon a little warm red sauce over the beef, not on the bun. Top with shredded lettuce, a little diced onion and a pinch of cheddar if you like. Add the top bun and serve.
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Bell Beefer vs Sloppy Joe vs Taco
Three ways to eat saucy beef.
| Bell Beefer | Sloppy Joe | Crunchy Taco | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holder | Hamburger bun | Hamburger bun | Corn shell |
| Beef flavor | Taco seasoning | Sweet tomato | Taco seasoning |
| Toppings | Lettuce, onion, red sauce | Usually none | Lettuce, cheese |
| Mess level | High | High | Medium |
Variations
A few ways I switch it up.
- Cheesy: lay a slice of American cheese on the hot beef so it melts.
- Spicy: add pickled jalapenos and an extra pinch of cayenne to the red sauce.
- Turkey: use ground turkey cooked to 165°F, with an extra pinch of bouillon.
- Party sliders: spoon the beef onto 12 slider buns for game day.
Storage and Make-Ahead
Store the beef in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days in the fridge or about 3 months in the freezer. The red sauce keeps about a week in the fridge. Reheat the beef in a skillet with a splash of water until it reaches 165°F, then build fresh Bell Beefers.
More Taco Bell Copycats
The same beef and red sauce make my copycat Taco Bell Enchirito, and half a batch fills four Taco Bell Meximelts. If you love a saucy sandwich, my homemade sloppy joes are the sweeter cousin.
See more forgotten favorites in our list of discontinued fast food items, and find every chain recipe in my copycat recipes collection.
See every lost Taco Bell favorite in my collection of discontinued Taco Bell items you can still make at home.
Frequently Asked Questions
What was on a Taco Bell Bell Beefer?
The Bell Beefer was Taco Bell seasoned taco meat with lettuce and onion on a hamburger bun, like a sloppy joe with taco flavor. In my version I add a spoon of red sauce on the beef and an optional pinch of cheddar.
When did Taco Bell sell the Bell Beefer?
It arrived in the mid-1970s and faded out in the 1990s, and it has only made a brief reappearance since. Exact years vary by source, so I stick to the decades.
Is the Bell Beefer coming back?
It's off the menu, and there is no regular Bell Beefer on Taco Bell's menu today. Taco Bell does run limited-time throwback menus, so keep an eye on the app, but don't count on it.
What is the difference between a Bell Beefer and a sloppy joe?
A sloppy joe uses a sweet, ketchupy tomato sauce. The Bell Beefer uses taco-seasoned beef with chili powder and cumin, plus lettuce and onion for crunch, so it tastes like a taco on a bun.
Can I make the beef ahead?
Yes. The beef keeps 3 to 4 days in the fridge or about 3 months in the freezer, and the red sauce keeps about a week in the fridge. Reheat the beef with a splash of water until it reaches 165°F.
Can I use store-bought taco seasoning?
You can. Use about 2 tablespoons of a store-bought packet with 3/4 cup water for 1 pound of beef, plus 2 teaspoons of flour or masa harina so it turns soft and saucy.
