A crispy taco is a Tex-Mex dish made with a fried tortilla shell filled with seasoned meat, lettuce, cheese, and tomato.
The hard shell is usually formed by frying a corn tortilla until it becomes rigid and U-shaped. Ground beef seasoned with spices is a common filling in American Tex-Mex versions, although chicken, beans, and other fillings are also used.
This style became especially influential through American restaurant chains and packaged taco products. In Mexico, tacos are commonly associated with soft tortillas, especially freshly made corn tortillas, so the hard-shell format is often treated as a distinctly Americanized or Tex-Mex variation.
The terms hard taco and crispy taco are often used interchangeably. They differ from soft tacos mainly in the texture and preparation of the tortilla shell.