Big Taco Bell announcements are normally met with excitement, but the latest batch of new menu items has even Bell superfans rolling their eyes.
At an over-the-top event — sorry, “gala” — in Hollywood recently, the fast-food giant announced over a dozen new items that will be gracing menus in the coming year. (You can watch the star-studded event recording on Peacock yourself, for some dumb reason.)
Fans noticed a few things about all the new menu items immediately. First, they all look bite size in the photos. “Why is it all so tiny?!??!?,” said one exasperated commenter in a Reddit thread about the new items, echoing the sentiment of dozens of other fans.
Second, there’s a distinct emphasis on desserts and sweet things. That’s kind of weird, considering all the other fast-food chains are pushing new high-protein options.
And finally, some of these things are just plain bizarre. “All this stuff is ridiculous, I just want tacos and nachos and burritos at reasonable prices,” said another Taco Bell fan on Reddit, and we’re feeling that, too. But if you want to spend money on overpriced, short-lived Taco Bell items, here’s what’s going to be on menus sometime this year.
Flamin’ Hot Nacho Fries
“It’s your beloved Nacho Fries, now paired with Flamin’ Hot Nacho Cheese sauce for a fiery kick in every dip.” — Taco Bell press release
Wait wait, you don’t toss the fries into Flamin’ Hot Cheeto powder? You just flavor nacho cheese sauce with that bright red powder and call them Flamin’ Hot Nacho Fries? Give us a break.
Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets
“Taco Bell’s signature crispy, all-white-meat chicken nuggets get dusted – not dunked – in fiery Diablo seasoning. Yeah, Diablo sauce is now a dust, delivering its unmistakable smokey heat in a way fans have never tasted before.”
Nuggies will get an upgrade with three different dry rub seasonings — Diablo, Cool Ranch, and Flamin’ Hot — but fans aren’t impressed.
“I’ve never even tried the nuggets and I’m already tired of them,” said one Redditor.
“I don’t need to be upcharged another dollar because you sprinkled some spicy seasoning on my super authentic Mexican chicken nuggets,” lamented another.
Mountain Dew Baja Midnight Pie
“…the brand is bringing the passionfruit flavors of Mountain Dew Baja Midnight to a pie offering a sweet, citrusy flavor reminiscent of key lime pie or sorbet.”
Taco Bell’s bright green Baja Blast pie was a huge success last year with tons of hype. This dull looking pie feels like a desperate attempt to recreate that moment, and everyone’s disturbed by the color. “Bro that is not purple. Not even a little,” said one Reddtor, referring to the color of Baja Midnight soda. “It’s brown.”
Creme Brulee Crunchwrap Slider
“Creamy vanilla filling. Crispy cinnamon sugar tostada. Grilled with a caramelized cinnamon sugar crust for a crackable, spoon-worthy finish.”
We can’t get past the thought of how much of a mess this must make during the cooking process, and how much employees are going to despise making it. Plus, when we think Taco Bell, we don’t think fancy desserts.
“Why are they trying to pretend they’re high end? What happened to the fun menu items, the cool boxes with game console giveaways, the focus on value?”
Cheesy G Sliders
“Two soft, pillowy flatbreads wrapped around freshly fried daily white-corn shells, layered with mozzarella, pepperjack and cheddar cheeses, lettuce, pico de gallo and creamy chipotle sauce. Available with grilled marinated steak or slow-roasted chicken.”
Again with the “sliders.” That just indicates they’ll be priced like a normal portion even though they’re going to be tiny.
“Why would anyone want a cheesy gordita crunch slider? What’s the difference between it and just buying a regular cheesy gordita crunch?”
Trending on Cheapism
Cantina Chicken Mexican Pizza
“Slow-roasted chicken and black beans layered between crispy tortillas, topped with green chile sauce, a three-cheese blend, cabbage, and pico de gallo – served with a new Jalapeño Citrus Salsa and an Avocado Verde Salsa.”
OK, this one sounds pretty good, actually. But you know you’ll have to pay like $8 to try it — and we’ve never even gotten a regular Mexican Pizza since they were brought back because we’re too cheap.
“The Cantina Pizza looks delicious. Everything else: pass.”
Mexican Pizza Empanada
“Bite-sized, crispy empanadas filled with seasoned beef, a melty 3-cheese blend, and a bold and flavorful sauce. Served with Mexican Pizza sauce on the side for dipping.”
These sound interesting, but they were tested in a couple cities last year, and they look disappointingly deflated. “I wouldn’t pay more than like 99 cents for that 3 pack lmao.”
Flamin’ Hot Mini Taco Salad
“Featuring seasoned beef, Fritos Flamin’ Hot corn chips, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and refried beans in a crispy, golden tortilla bowl rimmed with Flamin’ Hot seasoning.”
This is just a slight variation on the new(ish) Mini Taco Salad that was added to Taco Bell’s new Luxe Value Menu in January. Honestly, we thought the Flamin’ Hot trend died a long time ago. What people actually want is the entree-size salad.
“Can they stop with the pies and tiny food? I want my large taco salad back.”
Sign up for our newsletter
Fire Queso Sauce Packet
“An edible sauce packet that transforms the iconic hot sauce packed into a fully edible and crispy Fire Queso experience that allows for even more flavor combos and discoveries.”
Look, this one feels like we’re seriously being pranked by Taco Bell. This is like a Pop-Tart filled with a cheesy hot sauce. According to the press photos, you’re supposed to bite off a corner and POUR THE MOLTEN GOOP ONTO YOUR FOOD. Who thought this was a good idea?!
“The edible sauce packet might be the dumbest thing I have ever seen from a fast food company,” said one Redditor. “They have lost all touch.”
“I just assumed it was plastic at first glance,” said another. “But a pastry you’re supposed to disembowel over your tacos is living more mas than I ever expected.”
Milk Bar Birthday Cake Empanada
“A crispy, golden empanada filled with birthday cake batter, topped with pink frosting and rainbow sprinkles.”
This is a collaboration with the famous Milk Bar bakery, but there’s not a lot of innovation here, and we have no idea how birthday cake fits into a Tex-Mex chain. This feels very out of place, especially considering there are other new empanadas on the menu…
Chocolate Fudge and Caramel Empanadas
“Set of dessert empanadas comes with one chocolate fudge and one caramel empanada per order for the ultimate dessert duo.”
This item is actually already available and guess what: They’re mini sized, too.
“The mini ones are absolutely a joke… and the size of a sauce packet,” said one Redditor who tried them. “I thought the caramel one would be at least be a mini version of the classic [Caramel Apple Empanada] but it wasn’t even close. And both hardly even had any filling for how small they were. So disappointed.”
Strawberry and Cream Mexican Pizza Bites
“A tostada with a scoop of cheesecake filling, filled with chopped strawberries macerated with cinnamon sugar, and topped with white chocolate shavings.”
Yet another dessert. And yet another tiny thing. This seems way too fiddly and out-of-place for the chain known for 2 a.m. drive-thru runs.
“Taco Bell just going thru their tiny food full price era until the economy stops spiraling.”
Cold Brew with Purple Horchata Cold Foam
“Bold and smooth cold brew topped with signature purple cold foam – cool and creamy with a hint of warm cinnamon and vanilla.”
When did Taco Bell turn into Starbucks? And why is the horchata cold foam purple? It doesn’t seem like this will entice anyone away from their usual morning coffee run, so we’re not really sure what this is doing on the menu.
Salt & Straw Tacolate Chiller
“All the flavors fans loved from the original Tacolate, an overnight sensation when it debuted in 2025, are now blended and served as a sippable Chiller.”
So the Tacolate is an ice cream taco that Salt & Straw, an ice cream shop, created last year in collaboration with Taco Bell as an homage to the late great Chocotaco. It’s not served at Taco Bell, and never has been, but sometime this year you’ll be able to get a frozen drink inspired by it. We’ll ask what everyone is thinking: Why don’t they just serve the ice cream taco?!
Queso Cracked Cantina Bowl
“Get cracking into a new kind of bowl with seasoned rice, slow-roasted chicken, black beans, lettuce, purple cabbage, reduced-fat sour cream, pico de gallo, cotija dip, and topped off with chile lime seasoning, that features a Cheddar cheese top layer, by transforming it into crispy, cheese chips for this new elevated bowl.”
We’re intrigued by a new Cantina bowl, especially the cotija dip, but we’re dubious of a big disc of crispy cheese on top. We’re not enthused that this will probably cost $9.
Baja Blast Under Eye Patches
“For the Baja Blast die-hard, infused with caffeine and a refreshing boost of citrus, these patches energize skin and deliver cooling hydration.”
And finally, because Taco Bell didn’t troll everyone enough in that bizarre list of new foods, they also released Baja Blast under eye beauty patches. So you, too, can have eyes that look like you just worked a 12-hour fast food shift while being paid minimum wage.
“All this stuff is ridiculous,” said one Redditor. “I just want tacos and nachos and burritos at reasonable prices.”
“Edible sauce packet? You got it.”
More From Cheapism
- Taco Bell’s Baja Blast Pie Has Arrived— Don’t Let the Color Scare You Away — Taco Bell superfans are constantly making new menu items go viral, but the latest drop has a chance to blow them all away.
- ‘More Expensive Than Chipotle’: Fans Lament Taco Bell Prices — Don’t we still look to Taco Bell as a cheaper version of Chipotle? Is there a world where we should be paying the same prices, let alone more?
- 10 Taco Bell Secrets Employees Want You To Know — It may not always be the best idea to peek behind the curtain when it comes to fast-food, but sometimes the curtain pulls itself back, and all you can do is look.
