First, how to reheat tacos?
You can generally use the stovetop, oven, air fryer, and microwave.
The truth demonstrates that Taco Bell tacos only exhibit the best taste of fast food when they are freshly prepared. The most incredible taco experience ever can be had with an aromatic combination of several fillings encased in a crunchy shell.
Please continue reading so I can give you more specific instructions on how to reheat tacos.
How To Reheat Tacos?
Try Stovetop
Because corn is their primary component, hard tortillas for hard-shell tacos prefer the drier heat of the stove to become crunchier. If you prefer, you can use sturdy tongs with comfortable grips; alternatively, a skillet or pan works great.
All you need to have here is a pan or a skillet and aluminum foils.
Step 1: Put your skillet on the stove and set the medium heat. Wait until the skillet is hot.
Step 2: Put your tortilla on the pan, wait 30 to 45 seconds on each side and flip back to the other until you are satisfied with the crunchiness or when both sides are golden brown.
Step 3: Remove the tortilla, add the toppings, and then enclose everything in foil. Your hard-shell tacos should be served right away so you can eat them hot off the grill.
Oven Is Good
I mean, is there really anything a regular oven can’t reheat? It’s one of the best ways to reheat anything, including pizza, lasagna, prime rib, and biscuits. Of course, it’s also the best way to reheat taco shells made of corn. To get ready for the reheating process, get ready these implements:
- Aluminum foils (or steel taco racks if you have)
- Hard taco shells (premade or homemade)
- Baking sheet or cookies sheet
Before warming your tortillas, you must also remove the chilled fillings.
Step 1: Set the oven at 350 degrees F and wait until it is healed completely.
Step 2: Get your taco shells ready. They can be placed on the baking sheet, folded in half, and later filled.
Because the hard tortillas will stiffen up quickly, you need “shape-holders,” like taco racks, to keep their forms. If you don’t have taco racks, you can roll an aluminum foil and insert it between the tortillas folded into the taco shape.
Step 3: Place your baking sheet in the oven, and then wait until your tortillas are the desired level of crisp before removing. While you wait for the food to reheat, try to think of something to serve alongside the tacos. Your time would be significantly reduced by doing this.
Apply Air Fryer
Yes, I will demonstrate how to reheat hard tacos in an air fryer. These days, air fryers are a common kitchen appliance that you can use for a variety of dishes with ease. Continue reading for more information on the two ways you can use an air fryer as a “taco-heater”!
Option 1: Air-frying Your Tortillas Only
You need to prepare:
- Taco racks or aluminum foil
- Hard taco shells (without fillings)
- Oil (optional)
- Silicon brush (optional)
In order to prepare warm, crispy tortillas for hard-shell tacos, proceed as follows.
Step 1: Preheat your air fryer, set the temperature at 350 to 400 degrees F for 5 minutes.
Step 2: While you are waiting for your air fryer to heat up, prepare your taco shells. Put your tortilla inside the taco-shaped fold of aluminum foil. Do you have any doubts about using aluminum foil in air fryers? Simple, just fold your taco so that it will fit in the rack, and you’re ready to go.
To prevent your tortilla from burning in the air fryer, use the silicone brush to apply a thin layer of oil to it in this step. You can decide whether or not to do this because it is optional.
3. Place the taco shells in the air fryer. Once your machine’s heated, put tortillas in and set the timer for 3 to 5 more minutes due to your preferences. The tortilla will be crunchy and hard by the time you’re ready to add the fillings.
Option 2: Air-frying Your Tacos With The Cooked Ingredients And Cheese
You can skip the second step, which involves making the taco shells, and move the cooked ingredients and cheese there to speed up the process. Keep in mind to only add the cheese and the drained ingredients, not the sauces.
The moist components could result in later soggy and mushy shells. And, this option also takes you only 3 to 5 minutes to have your tacos reheated. Both of these choices appear to be the same, but they are not.
If you reheat your taco together with their fillings, the shells will be less crispy.
Use Microwave
Since you won’t anticipate a crunchy tortilla shell when warming a soft one in the microwave, but rather a soft and chewy one, it works better than warming a hard shell tortilla. Find the following items in your kitchen if you can:
- A microwave-safe plate ( if not, glass or ceramic plate is fine)
- Soft tortillas
- Paper towels
- Water
Follow these instructions to reheat your soft taco shells:
Step 1: Paper towels should be slightly dampened, but not completely.
Step 2: The towels should be evenly distributed and covered the entire surface of the microwave-safe plate when placed there.
Step 3: Place your tortillas on the damp towels in a single layer, being careful not to overlap.
Step 4: Set your microwave on high heat and set the time for exactly 30 seconds. Your soft taco shells will harden if you overdo it.
While reheating your tortillas, the moisture from the damp paper towel also helps to maintain their soft, chewy texture so that the fillings won’t leak out when you wrap them into tacos.
Store Your Leftover Tacos For Reheating
Making tacos at home gives you complete control over how the leftovers are stored, allowing you to plan for the best-case scenario when reheating them.
Whether it’s taco nightfor one, or your entire family, always make your tacos one at a time so that you don’t fix up more than you can eat. This way, you can store all the left-over fixings neatly and freshly in their own separate containers, giving you the power and control to reheat only what needs to be reheated when you’re ready for leftovers.
When storing your food, just be sure to use proper, airtight containers. I use a set from Amazon that I adore and personally use.
Never return salsa or sour cream to its original container after serving it in a bowl. Instead, separate it out and wrap it in a different package or place it in a different Tupperware container. Then, consume it within a day or two. You don’t want your original source to become permanently contaminated after being exposed to air and other foods.
Reheat Leftovers From A Fast Food Restaurant
While many of the above steps for homemade tacos also apply to tacos purchased from your favorite fast food or Mexican restaurant, there are a few specialty foods that actually demand their own reheating instructions. As previously mentioned, you can reheat traditional tacos in the same manner as homemade premade tacos.
Reheat A Gordita Or Chalupa From Taco Bell
Traditional taco fillings are encased in a flatbread-like “shell” in a taco called a “Gordita” from Taco Bell, providing a very satisfying and filling bite.
A chalupa is very similar, with the exception that the flatbread shell is deep-fried for added flavor and goodness. Although it’s highly unlikely that you’ll have any leftovers of either of these popular drive-through items, if you do, the microwave is the fastest way to reheat it.
You don’t really need the air-drying effects of an oven or a toaster oven because the flatbread is substantial enough to withstand the microwave’s propensity to turn lesser shells into a soggy mess and they’re meant to be soft, not crispy.
To achieve the best results, take out any components that you’d like to keep cold, like sour cream or guacamole, and wrap your gordita or chalupa in a paper towel. To avoid burning your mouth, microwave the food for 1 minute on high. Then, wait about a minute for the steam to escape before biting into it.
Reheat A Bean Burrito From Taco Bell
The very last thing you want to happen when you’re ready to eat a leftover bean burrito from Taco Bell is to have to wait 30 minutes for it to be warmed up to perfection in your oven, but the next-to-last thing you want happens to be a soggy mess in your microwave after only 3 minutes.
The best method for reheating a bean burrito from Taco Bell is to use both your microwave and oven, or toaster oven if you have one.
First, preheat your oven to about 350. It won’t have enough time to fully warm up, so it’s best to start it as soon as you can. Make sure your burrito is not wrapped in any aluminum foil.
Instead, enclose it in a piece of paper towel. To reheat the insides of your burrito, microwave it for one minute. Unwrap it from the paper towel and put it in your oven.
You might need to leave your burrito in the oven for up to 10 minutes depending on how quickly your oven heats up, but at least the insides won’t be frozen!
Your partially warmed burrito can be placed in your toaster oven in its place. Aim for a heat of 350 degrees and cook your burrito for about two minutes. Flip it over and continue for another minute or two if necessary after checking on it.
Reheat A Quesadilla From Taco Bell
Taco Bell’s quesadillas can be reheated in two elegant ways:
- Place your unused quesadilla on a sandwich press or George Foreman grill and cook it there with the lid closed for about three minutes for the best results. Depending on the type of quesadilla, you might have a little leakage, but the results will be well worth a bit of clean up
- Your quesadilla can be reheated in a toaster oven as a substitute that is almost as good. After warming it up evenly for three minutes in the oven at a temperature of about 350°F, turn up the heat to the toast setting for one minute or just a little less to let the outside crisp up.
Reheat A Burrito From Chipotle
There is no need to feel bad if you can’t finish a Chipotle burrito in one sitting because those things are known for being huge. However, since they taste almost as good warmed up the next day, you should always request that your leftovers be taken to go.
You can open up your leftovers, scoop out any cold ingredients, and then rewrap it for heating if there are any ingredients in your burrito that you’d prefer remain cold.
If you have a toaster oven, that is my preferred method for reheating a Chipotle burrito. Simply wrap our burrito in aluminum foil, leaving one edge unwrapped to let steam and moisture escape. Your burrito should spend 10 minutes in a toaster oven preheated to 375F.
Use your oven at the same temperature if you don’t have a toaster oven to achieve the same results. One burrito will need to be inside at 375F for closer to 15 minutes because the much larger area will take longer to warm up. The bigger drawback is that you have to wait longer for your oven to warm up in the beginning, which you can avoid if you have a toaster oven.
As soon as your main burrito has been thoroughly warmed, re-add any ingredients you had left out to cool if necessary.
FAQs About How To Reheat Tacos
Can Taco Bell Be Warmed Up In An Air Fryer?
In the air fryer, taco bell can be heated again. The taco filling will stay warm and tender while the tacos are quickly reheated in the air fryer, maintaining their crisp exterior.
How Should A Crunchy Taco Air Fryer Be Heated Up?
Heat the air fryer to 350°F before placing the tacos in a single layer at the bottom of the basket to reheat them. Warm through by reheating for only a short while.
Soft Tacos In An Air Fryer: How To Reheat?
Soft tacos should be arranged in a single layer at the bottom of the air fryer basket and heated to 350°F before being served. To expose the fillings to heat, you might spread them open. Reheat briefly until thoroughly warmed.
Conclusion
The topic of the article was taco reheating.
There is nothing worse than reheating your favorite leftover tacos from the previous evening only to discover that the tortilla is either chewy and stale or that the meat has become dry. Given that you don’t even have anything else to eat, we can appreciate how disappointed you are.
Once more, thank you for reading.
