Strips! Tacos! Burritos! Taco Bell goes all in on Crispy Chicken

Welcome to Snackology. The home of fast-food chicken. All chicken. All the time.

That’s definitely what it feels like these days. We’re in the middle of a chicken revolution across the world of fast food. McDonald’s brought their tenders back. Popeyes has chicken wraps. And now Taco Bell has taken their chicken offering to the next level.

You might remember that Taco Bell jumped back into the world of chicken with their Crispy Chicken Nuggets last December. After disappearing for a few months, Taco Bell’s nuggets returned to their stores earlier this year with a promise that it was only the first step of the chain’s embrace of the fast-food classic that has long been owned by competitors like McDonald’s and Wendy’s.

Taco Bell officially released the next evolution of its Crispy Chicken Nuggets this week, with Crispy Chicken Strips, the Crispy Chicken Taco and the Crispy Chicken Burrito hitting stores on Tuesday.

For a Tuesday, that’s a lot of chicken to cover.

But I was a big fan of the Crispy Chicken Nuggets, ordering them several times since they came back a month or so ago, so I added a few of Taco Bell’s latest offerings — “full of flavor and unmistakably Taco Bell” — to my order and sent the Taco Bell app to work bringing the promise of some crispy chicken goodness to my house for lunch.

Where I found it

Taco Bell. Obvs.

What I paid

A two-pack of the Crispy Chicken Strips is $3.99, a Crispy Chicken Taco is $2.99 and the Crispy Chicken Burrito is $5.49.

My thoughts

So as I mentioned earlier in addition to my original review and on social media a few times, I really like Taco Bell’s Crispy Chicken Nuggets. The chain is doing something different with these guys that sets them apart from McDonald’s, Wendy’s or even Popeyes. I think it’s the “signature tortilla-coated crunch” the chain keeps boasting about.

That said, I’ve seen some people report getting a bunch of tiny nuggets in their order. Or even some that have appeared to be on the burned side. I hadn’t run into either of those issues prior to picking up the new items that make use of the chicken-strip format.

For the Crispy Chicken Taco and the Crispy Chicken Burrito, you can get both items with either Avocado Ranch (“a creamy and zesty ranch with a hint of avocado”) or Spicy Ranchero (“a creamy sauce made with Anaheim and jalapeño chiles, tomatoes, garlic, and onion, offering a hint of spice that’s perfect for dunking or drizzling”) sauces. For the purpose of this review, I got my taco with Avocado Ranch and my burrito with Spicy Ranchero.

Crispy Chicken Strips

The Crispy Chicken Strips are exactly the same as the Crispy Chicken Nuggets, only bigger. I would imagine that this would solve Taco Bell’s issue with giving customers a consistently sized batch of chicken. One of my strips, though, appeared to be a bit overcooked. Not burnt. Just not as tender as its partner.

I mentioned it on social media, but I’m a big fan of the Mike’s Hot Honey Diablo Sauce that Taco Bell recently rolled out. If you haven’t yet had any of the sauces they introduced for the Crispy Chicken Nuggets, do yourself a favor and try them all. The Jalapeño Honey Mustard Dip Sauce is also a favorite of mine.

Final verdict: BUY

Crispy Chicken Taco

OK, so now we’re on to the two items that explain why Taco Bell shifted from nuggets to strips. I’d imagine it’s easier to make a taco or burrito from chicken strips than chicken nuggets, right?

Taco Bell advertises that the Crispy Chicken Taco is filled with a “harmonious combination of one perfectly crisped Crispy Chicken Strip layered with purple cabbage, crisp lettuce, pico de gallo and shredded cheddar cheese” plus your choice of sauce. In my case, I went with the Avocado Ranch sauce.

It feels weird to complain about the volume of toppings — quality toppings at that! — that Taco Bell gave me, but the chicken tender in my taco was buried. Absolutely covered by all those veggies.

Once I figured out how to strategically eat the Crispy Chicken Taco so that I could enjoy both the chicken strip and all those toppings, it was pretty good. Definitely a more substantial bite than you’d get from your traditional Taco Bell taco. But I don’t think I would get this over a chalupa or even a Doritos Locos taco.

Final verdict: PASS

Crispy Chicken Burrito

I’m not normally a fan of Taco Bell’s burritos. Whenever I’ve ordered a combo that came with a beef burrito, I’ve been instantly disappointed. They’re too soggy. The beef weighs them down while also just making everything wet.

But the Crispy Chicken Burrito is a different story. Thanks to the two chicken strips anchoring this new Taco Bell item, you get a burrito that’s solid. The burrito comes with the same toppings as the Crispy Chicken Taco, but everything is much more balanced here. The burrito format definitely serves this combo better.

In addition to the burrito just being a better eating experience, the Spicy Ranchero Sauce elevated it further. It’s got a kick without being too spicy, and the sauce really paired well with the crispy chicken and veggies in the burrito.

Final verdict: BUY

Final thoughts

When you go to Taco Bell these days, you basically have two very different menus. There’s the classic menu — the beef tacos, burritos, chalupas, Crunchwrap Supremes. And then there’s this new crispy chicken-based menu where everything exists on a different level. The toppings feel like they’re a higher quality. The base of the tacos and burritos are heftier. You have fun dipping sauces.

I’m sure in a Taco Bell lab somewhere, their food scientists are trying to devise a way to keep this trend going with a Crispy Chicken Crunchwrap ...