Did you have Taco Bell for breakfast this morning? I did. And not, like, a Breakfast Crunchwrap. I’m talking about the real Taco Bell menu, the menu you order from at lunch or dinner or 3 o’clock in the morning.
The Milk Bar Birthday Cake Empanada made its debut today, and I knew this isn’t the kind of Taco Bell item that sticks around for days. When I started to put my order into the Taco Bell app, though, I discovered two surprises waiting for me: The Classic Chicken Crunchadilla and the Sriracha Chicken Crunchadilla.
I needed to try the two Crunchadillas. And it felt wasteful to do another Taco Bell order later in the day. This is how I wound up snacking on Taco Bell while my coffee brewed.
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Milk Bar Birthday Cake Empanada. / Snackology
What they cost
The Milk Bar Birthday Cake Empanada goes for $3.49 a piece. The Crunchadillas were each $2.
If your birthday falls between Oct. 15 and Oct. 28 and you’re a Rewards Member, you can get a Milk Bar Birthday Cake Empanada (or Mountain Dew Baja Blast Freeze) as your birthday reward.
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The Milk Bar Birthday Cake Empanada is the latest collab between Taco Bell and Milk Bar. The two brands partnered back in February 2025 to release Birthday Cake Churros. (I picked that one up after a doctor’s appointment. Because I’m committed to Snackology.) Taco Bell has been leaning into the dessert empanada lately, with Chocolate Fudge & Caramel Empanadas hitting menus this past spring.
Milk Bar Birthday Cake Empanada. / Snackology
“Our fans have shown us they love seeing familiar flavors show up on the Taco Bell menu in exciting ways, and that’s what makes partnering with Milk Bar so great,” Liz Matthews, global chief food innovation officer at Taco Bell, said in the company’s announcement. “The Milk Bar Birthday Cake Empanada lets us take an iconic Birthday Cake flavor and reimagine it as a crispy Taco Bell treat that’s nostalgic, unexpected and made for celebrating everyday moments.”
The packaging for the Milk Bar Birthday Cake Empanada even feels like a step up from what we got with the Birthday Cake Churros.
Milk Bar Birthday Cake Empanada. / Snackology
“Our Birthday Cake has always been about making people feel celebrated, so getting to dream up a totally new way for fans to experience it with Taco Bell was such a fun creative challenge,” Christina Tosi, chef and founder of Milk Bar, added. “What I love most is seeing a flavor people know so well show up in a way they never expected. The best part is you don’t need a birthday to enjoy it. It’s the perfect treat whether you’re celebrating something big or small, and we can’t wait for fans to try it.”
The Milk Bar Birthday Cake Empanada is unmistakably a Milk Bar product. It would look right at home next to a Milk Bar Pie or a stack of Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow Cookies.
Milk Bar Birthday Cake Empanada. / Snackology
With each Milk Bar Birthday Cake Empanada coming in its own little box (the pink color scheme would make Olivia Rodrigo proud), you’re greeted with an empanada that’s been drizzled with pink frosting and topped with rainbow sprinkles. Both of my Birthday Cake Empanadas arrived in almost perfect condition.
Milk Bar Birthday Cake Empanada. / Snackology
It’s crazy how much cake batter-flavored filling is stuffed inside each Milk Bar Birthday Cake Empanada. One of my long-running complaints about Taco Bell desserts is that they often could be helped with the addition of an icing dipping cup. The Birthday Cake Empanada absolutely does not have that problem.
Milk Bar and Tosi know what they’re doing when it comes to delivering a frosting-filled dessert.
snack score
Milk Bar Birthday Cake Empanada Snack score: 4.5 out of 5
I had to go back to Taco Bell’s Live Más announcements from March to see if I had forgotten about the Crunchadilla. Nope. This one wasn’t on the list. I’m actually not sure if it’s a quick rollout or if I got lucky and my Taco Bell was a test location for the two Crunchadilla varieties.
If you’re just as lucky and find two Crunchadillas at your Taco Bell, don’t hesitate to immediately put them in your order. What a fantastic new menu item.
Both versions of the Crunchadilla feature chicken, several kinds of cheese and sour cream paired with a crunchy tortilla inside a soft tortilla. For the Classic Chicken Crunchadilla, Taco Bell added Creamy Jalapeño Sauce.
Both versions of the Crunchadilla are fantastic. If it wasn’t 7:30 a.m. when I was doing this taste test, I would have easily housed them.
snack score
Classic Chicken Crunchadilla Snack score: 5 out of 5
The Sriracha Chicken Crunchadilla is exactly the same as its Classic Chicken counterpart, with the exception of Creamy Sriracha Sauce being subbed in for the Creamy Jalapeño Sauce. This one had a bit more of a kick thanks to the Sriracha.
snack score
Sriracha Chicken Crunchadilla Snack score: 5 out of 5
Milk Bar Birthday Cake Empanada, Classic Chicken Crunchadilla and Sriracha Chicken Crunchadilla were provided to Snackology for this independent review.
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Snackology is a publication of The Omnicosm. Issue No. 353
Snackology is written and produced by Bill Kuchman. Copyediting by Tim Kuchman.
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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.
