It’s been a few months since I had a pretty good Taco Bell haul, but we’re back in action today with FIVE new items. Surprisingly, none of these items are part of the roster of twenty new menu items unveiled at Live Más LIVE. The innovation team over at Taco Bell is just overflowing with new ideas!
Thursday’s menu drop includes the Crispy Chicken Crunchwrap Slider in two flavors, the Cantina Chicken Rolled Quesadilla, the Steak & Guac Nacho Fries and Dirty Soda versions of Taco Bell’s entire lineup of Pepsi products.
“The response to Crispy Chicken Nuggets and Cantina Chicken showed us just how ready fans are for us to keep innovating,” Liz Matthews, global chief food innovation officer at Taco Bell, said in the company’s announcement of these items. “So we’re having fun with it, playing with form, flavor and texture to bring new energy into the formats our fans already love.”
OK, I’m ready to consume the “new energy” of these new Taco Bell menu offerings ...
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What they cost
Each Crispy Chicken Crunchwrap Slider was $2.99, the Cantina Chicken Rolled Quesadilla was $6.99, the Steak & Guac Nacho Fries were $5.49 and a large Dirty Soda with Baja Blast Zero Sugar was $3.59 at my Taco Bell.
My thoughts
I hope you’re hungry, because we have a lot to eat our way through today ...
Creamy Chipotle Crispy Chicken Crunchwrap Slider
Does anyone not love a Crunchwrap? I can’t remember if I’ve told the story in Snackology before, but there was a time when my wife and I became so obsessed with the hexagonal Taco Bell creation that we once ordered a third Crunchwrap Supreme on a long drive just in case we were still craving a Crunchwrap after we each finished eating our own Crunchwraps. We weren’t. The car smelled heavily of Taco Bell for the rest of our drive home.
But they’re still a pretty fantastic bit of fast food innovation. Packed with fun ingredients. Easy to hold. (You can eat at least one while you’re driving.) I loved the smaller Crunchwrap Slider form when Taco Bell introduced it with the Steak & Queso Crunchwrap Sliders last year, and the addition of the chain’s Crispy Chicken Nuggets brings them another level. Crunching through the grilled tortilla into the tortilla chip breading is an incredibly satisfying bite.
In addition to the nuggs, each Crispy Chicken Crunchwrap Slider features pico de gallo and the chain’s three-cheese blend. The Creamy Chipotle option offers a nice bit of heat.
I was a huge fan of Taco Bell’s Jalapeño Honey Mustard Sauce when they introduced it with the Crispy Chicken Nuggets back in December 2024, and I’m thrilled to see it in the mix for the Crispy Chicken Crunchwrap Sliders. This is absolutely my favorite of the two flavors.
I need to figure out if I can hack together my own full-size version of the Jalapeño Honey Mustard Crispy Chicken Crunchwrap. Three or four nuggs topped with this delicious honey mustard inside a regulation-sized Crunchwrap? Yeah, I might even eat a second one of those.
The Cantina Chicken Rolled Quesadilla was the other big release on Thursday. We previously saw the rolled quesadilla pop up on Taco Bell’s menu when the Steak & Poblano Rolled Quesadilla made its debut last November. The popularity of that limited-edition item led the chain to bring that form faction back permanently with its Cantina Chicken.
I preferred the Steak & Poblano Rolled Quesadilla over this version. Don’t get me wrong, the Cantina Chicken Rolled Quesadilla is good, but it ranks slightly below the touch of heat and bite delivered by the former. (The combo of chicken, cheese and Creamy Chipotle sauce winds up being a bit soft.)
If you get the latest take on the rolled quesadilla, make sure you dip it in the sour cream and Avocado Verde Salsa that Taco Bell includes.
Snack Score
Cantina Chicken Rolled Quesadilla
🍪🍪🍪🍪
(4 out of 5)
ALSO FROM THE OMNICOSM
Love what you’re reading? You might also enjoy Popculturology, a deep-dive into the world of movies, television and more.
If you’ve been reading Snackology’s recent Taco Bell coverage, I’ve been fully converted into a Nacho Fries fan. I devoured the Chicken Bacon Ranch Nacho Fries last month, writing that “Taco Bell knocked this release out of the park.”
The Steak & Guac Nacho Fries are ... OK. They’re fine. I ate them. I enjoyed them. But they didn’t live up to the complete package that the Chicken Bacon Ranch Nacho Fries delivered. (I dunno, maybe I got an undersized portion of Steak & Guac Nacho Fries?)
Snack Score
Steak & Guac Nacho Fries
🍪🍪🍪
(3 out of 5)
Dirty Soda With Baja Blast Zero Sugar
Whenever I do one of these reviews, I make sure to scroll all the way through the menu options on the Taco Bell app. There’s often something quietly hidden in there that wasn’t part of the restaurant’s big announcement. (Like how if you’re close to a Live Mas Cafe in Southern California, Texas and Las Vegas, you can try the Confetti Cookie Chiller.) This is how I spotted that Taco Bell had rolled out its Dirty Soda lineup too.
I was late to the dirty soda craze, getting my first taste with a Mountain Dew Sweet Lightning Peaches & Cream Soda at KFC last fall. I thought that was a fantastically dangerous menu option since I don’t normally drink full-sugar soda, so I was thrilled to see that Taco Bell’s Dirty Soda push gives customers the option to add vanilla creamer to any soda in its lineup of Pepsi products.
I, of course, chose the Dirty Soda With Baja Blast Zero Sugar. It was as tasty as I had hoped it would be. This might be my new go-to beverage option at Taco Bell.
Snack Score
Dirty Soda With Baja Blast Zero Sugar
🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪
(5 out of 5)
Crispy Chicken Crunchwrap Slider, Cantina Chicken Rolled Quesadilla, Steak & Guac Nacho Fries and Dirty Soda With Baja Blast Zero Sugar were provided to Snackology for this independent review.
Snackology is a publication of The Omnicosm.
Issue No. 187
Snackology is written and produced by Bill Kuchman. Copyediting by Tim Kuchman.
The Omnicosm founder. Snackology, Popculturology and The Cold Open writer. A Rochester, N.Y., native now living in the Washington, D.C., area. Won’t pass up a Genny Cream Ale.
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