A beloved offering from Disney Cruise Line, Mexican Hot Pockets are a breakfast staple at the Cabanas buffet. They're a fun combination of taco meat with beans, and delicious cheese sauce! Wrapped up in a grilled tortilla, they are great for breakfast, lunch, or even dinner.
I have waxed poetic about my love for Disney Cruise Line's Mexican Hot Pockets on more than one occasion. I'm not the only one obsessing over this breakfast buffet offering at Cabanas.
I'm happy to share this recipe because It's a favorite among many Disney Cruisers. Disney does not offer it every morning, but on those extra special mornings when its served I always load up my plate!
I managed to find a recipe for Mexican Hot Pockets courtesy of Disney Cruise Line. Just like anything at a buffet it's made in bulk. The recipe I found was for 10 pounds of ground beef.
Needless to say, it needed to be scaled down significantly. The recipe also omitted some important details, including a recipe for their cheese sauce, and the size and number of tortillas required.
I reduced the recipe to use only 1 pound of ground beef (a much more manageable quantity), and used my culinary knowledge and experience to work out the rest of the details on my own the best I could.
I also adapted the amazing cheese sauce recipe used for the cheese fries at my beloved Shake Shack. It's definitely not the same as the "plastic cheese" that Disney uses, but it's delicious and it works.
Folding in the edges burrito-style makes these a bit less messy to assemble and cook. You can trim the ends afterwards, and serve them just the way they do on Disney Cruise Line.
There are some major adaptations here to make this work for the home cook, but I think they turned out great! I'm also pretty sure Disney uses a higher fat content ground beef.
Their filling seems juicier than mine, but I tend to stick with relatively lean ground beef for all my ground beef needs. But use whatever you prefer.
Other recipes you may like
- Build-Your-Own Nacho Bar
- Chicken Burritos Mojados
- Guajillo-Braised Beef Short Rib Tacos
- Chilaquiles Rojos (Red Chilaquiles)
- Pepito Steak Sandwich
- Mojo Pork with Black Beans & Cilantro Rice
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also follow me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Mexican Hot Pockets
Ingredients
Mexican Hot Pockets:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 ounce diced red onion
- 2 ounces diced green bell pepper (a little less than half a pepper)
- 2 ounces diced red bell pepper (a little less than half a pepper)
- 1 ½ tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- Pinch chili flakes
- Kosher salt
- 2 ounces (scant ½ cup) drained and rinsed canned kidney beans
- ¼ cup (1 ounce) grated cheddar cheese
- 4 burrito size flour tortillas 10-inch diameter
Cheese Sauce:
- ½ teaspoon vegetable or canola oil
- 1 (½-inch-thick) slice onion
- 1 slice jalapeno
- ½ teaspoon peppercorns
- Pinch kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon white wine vinegar
- ½ teaspoon white wine
- ⅓ cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup (a little over 1 ounce) grated cheddar cheese
- ⅓ cup (a little over 1 ounce) grated American cheese (or hand chop a couple slices of American cheese from the deli counter)
Instructions
- For the filling: In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute beef with onions and peppers until beef is no longer pink. Add tomato paste, cumin, paprika, chili flakes, and salt to taste. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 10 minutes until fully cooked through, and any excess liquid is evaporated.
- Remove from the heat, add the beans and cheese, and mix until thoroughly combined. Allow the mixture to cool.
- For the cheese sauce: Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, jalapeno, peppercorns, and salt, and cook, stirring often until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the vinegar and wine, and cook until the liquid has almost completely evaporated. Stir in the cream. Remove the pan from the heat and let the cream steep for 30 minutes to build flavor.
- Return the saucepan to the stove and heat over medium heat until very warm, but not boiling. Meanwhile put the cheeses into a medium heatproof bowl. Pour the hot cream through a strainer (to remove the solids) over the cheeses, stirring until the cheese melts, and the sauce is smooth, about 3 minutes. Sauce will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 1 week. You can easily reheat the sauce in a microwave or over a pot of gently simmering hot water. Makes about 1 cup.
- To assemble: Divide the meat mixture onto the four tortillas into a strip down the length of one side (off center), leaving an inch or two at either end empty. Roll the tortilla around the filling from one end to the other, folding over the edges to seal in the sides (like a burrito).
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, add the rolled tortillas seam-side down to the pan (in batches if necessary), and griddle until crispy/brown, rotating the rolls to crisp on all sides and heat the filling through (lower the heat if it’s browning too fast, or else it may not heat the filling before the edges are crisped).
- Remove from the heat, and use a serrated knife to trim the ends, then cut the trimmed roll in half crosswise, and then cut each piece again in half on an angle, to yield 4 pieces that are flat on one side and angled on the other. Repeat with the remaining rolls to yield 16 pieces. Discard the trimmed ends (or eat them if you want). Garnish with cheese sauce, salsa, and cilantro (if desired).
Notes
- The original recipe calls for baked beans, which seems odd, so I replaced it with kidney beans
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
Elly says
This was really good! The cheese sauce is out of this world! Instead of making the individual cut up pieces, I served them whole with the cheese sauce over the top. Delicious!
Dave says
We just came off of an inaugural cruise on the Wish and they had these hot pockets every morning in Marceline. You stated that the original recipe called for baked beans and that you substituted pinto beans. On this particular cruise they used black beans in the hot pockets. They all work so I guess it's just personal preference as to which bean you use. This was my first time trying the hot pockets and it will become a staple in our house.
Rodger says
OMG! This has been one of my favorite and most coveted Cabanas buffet items ever since my first Disney Cruise. We often host Disney Cruise parties (now virtual given the current circumstances) and Iโve always wanted this on the menu! I love copying recipes and have been looking for this one for years! Thank you for posting this!!! Thank you! Thank you! Canโt wait to try it! ๐
Victoria says
You are so so so welcome ๐ I obsess over these too! One of my favorite foods on Disney Cruise. Hope it reminds you a bit of your cruise memories!
CHRISTA WATSON says
I have been craving these ever since we were on the Disney Cruise! I did use the baked beans (but rinsed) and smashed them so I got the โmushyโ consistency. Thank you so much for sharing.