The Crunchy Mexican Taco Shells are truly delightful, golden, and crunchy with every bite, and you can fill them with your favorite filling. But we will talk about this in the next recipes. In the notes, you will find how to replace corn flour with instant polenta and an alternative method for shaping the shells!
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Here you can find more Mexican recipes:
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 10 Minutes
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: about 13 taco shells
- Cooking methods: Frying
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups corn flour
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsps olive oil
- 1/3 cup water
- 2 pinches fine salt
- 2 cups vegetable oil (for frying)
Preparation
Put the flours, oil, and salt in a bowl. Mix with your hands, gradually adding the lukewarm water, letting it absorb bit by bit. Adjust the water amount as needed, kneading until you get a well-workable, slightly soft and smooth dough. Try to compact the dough ball while kneading, as it tends to split.
Form balls weighing about 1.8 oz with the dough. Place them on a floured surface, cover them with plastic wrap and a towel, and let them rest for about 30 minutes. Now roll each ball with a rolling pin to cut out a circle with a diameter of 4 1/4 inches using a cutter. Discard the edges and knead the scraps again.
Continue this way until you finish the dough; you will get about 13 taco shells. Arrange them on a floured surface, covered with plastic wrap.
In a pan with a diameter of 6 1/3 inches, add about 2 cups of vegetable oil and heat it well over medium heat. Poke holes in the shells on both sides to prevent them from puffing up during cooking. Place them one at a time in the pan.
Using two tongs, lift the edges to make them curve. Hold them like this for a few seconds until they cook and harden. Now cook the sides as well. In the notes, you’ll find another method to form the shells.
Remove the shell from the pan with a tong, placing it upside down to let the excess oil drain on a surface covered with kitchen paper. Proceed with the other tacos in the same way. Now that your taco shells are ready, you can prepare the filling you like the most. I suggest the chicken filling; you can find the recipe here.
Tips/Advice
I advise not to overcook your taco shells, or they would become too hard and break when you close them. Keep them shaped on the rolling pin for a few seconds before removing and placing them on the plate.
If you use instant polenta, you will need more water; for 200g of instant polenta and 100g of flour, I added 2 tbsps of olive oil and 1/2 cup of lukewarm water. Anyway, it’s always better to add water gradually until you get a smooth and compact dough.
Another method to form the shells: cook the obtained discs on both sides, gently turning them with a kitchen tong. Just a few seconds will be enough; don’t leave them too long, or they would become too hard and break. Prepare a kitchen towel folded several times, place the paper towel for frying on top. Quickly drain the cooked disc using the tongs, place it in your hand with the towel, position the rolling pin in the center, and close your hand to shape the taco. Press for a few seconds. Now remove the towel and let the shell cool on the rolling pin upside down.
Try them with the Burritos filling; you can find the recipe here or with My chili con carne; the recipe is here.
If you liked the Crunchy Mexican Taco Shells, try the other Mexican recipes:
“From Mexico”: My Way Burritos
How to Make: White Flour Tortillas
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