Review: Taco Bell's New Luxe Value Menu Items Offer Tasty (But Messy) Innovation

I admit: I haven't thought about Taco Bell in a long time. For me, the popular chain is synonymous with long nights in college in the Midwest, part of the combination Pizza Hut-Taco Bell drive-thru that was steps away from my then-boyfriend's apartment. Now living in New York, when I'm craving Mexican food, I often go to a good sit-down Mexican restaurant, or a more elevated taco purveyor somewhere downtown.

However, there's clearly a reason Taco Bell has had staying power since the 1960s, and when I heard it was launching a new Luxe Value Menu, I thought it might be the perfect time to revisit this fast food staple that I hadn't tried in many years. As a native Midwesterner (and someone with very little patience or stamina for standing in lines), I deeply love food that's fast, easy, and best of all: cheap. Had I been unfairly writing Taco Bell off all of this time, even as others told me it had so much to offer? There was only one way to find out — I had to try the new Taco Bell menu items and decide for myself.

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

The Luxe Value Menu will launch nationwide on January 22 (although Taco Bell Rewards Members get special early access on January 16) and will feature five returning fan favorites from the Cravings Value Menu as well as five brand-new items, with all 10 choices available for $3 or less. Taco Bell states that "the menu delivers rich flavors, unique forms, and ongoing innovation that keeps things fresh all year long to satisfy any Taco Bell cravings," while providing "affordable indulgence, proving that value can be vast, elevated, and something worth bragging about."

The returning Cravings Value Menu items included are the Cheesy Roll Up for $1.19, Spicy Potato Soft Taco for $1.29, Cheesy Bean and Rice Burrito for $1.49, 3 Cheese Chicken Flatbread Melt for $2.29, and Cheesy Double Beef Burrito for $2.79. The five new items are the Mini Taco Salad, Beefy Potato Loaded Griller, Chips & Nacho Supreme Dip, Avocado Ranch Chicken Stacker, and Salted Caramel Churros. (Pricing and nutritional information for these below.) The Salted Caramel Churros will only be available for a limited time, and other items will rotate on and off the menu this year. Every item on the menu is available in vegetarian and dairy-free versions, as well.

For anyone who wants a guided auditory experience before tasting, there will be audio tracks available on Taco Bell's website to walk you through all 10 items on the menu. But for a firsthand account of the five new Luxe Value Menu items, read on for my personal reflections!

Of all of the new Luxe Value Menu items, I imagine that the Mini Taco Salad will be the hardest to consume on the go — it is not built for eating in the car. It's also a relatively small portion (as evidenced by "mini" in the name), so I wouldn't recommend ordering it as your primary meal; rather, it might be a good accompaniment.

There are a lot of ingredients here: seasoned beef, Chipotle Sauce, grated cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and refried beans, all housed in a small nacho-chip dish. To be honest, I felt like it was almost too much in one bite — the individual components all blended together in a way that was almost soupy. However, the lettuce and the chip bowl itself provided a nice crunch to offset the chewiness of the other elements.

You could eat this taco salad with a fork, but it also works well if you break off pieces of the chip bowl and use them to bring the mixture to your mouth. Either way, prepare for some drips from the interior to escape. 

The Mini Taco Salad costs $2.49. It contains 280 calories, 16 grams of fat, 490 milligrams of sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, and 9 grams of protein.

If you're a fan of Taco Bell's burritos, the Beefy Potato Loaded Griller tasted the closest to what I remember eating during late-night study sessions. It's rather plain-looking on the outside but full on the inside, with seasoned beef, potato wedges, Nacho Cheese Sauce, Chipotle Sauce, and Reduced-Fat Sour Cream.

You know the feeling you get after a long night out on the town, when you just want something warm, hearty, and saucy immediately? This is the solution. Just like the Mini Taco Bowl, it's quite messy, so be prepared to get at least one of the three Taco Bell sauces on your clothing and/or car interior. I would also suggest the Beefy Potato Loaded Griller as a brunch item, to pad your stomach before imbibing several mimosas or Bloody Marys — the potatoes remind me of a breakfast burrito.

The Beefy Potato Loaded Griller costs $2.49. It has 490 calories, 25 grams of fat, 1,120 milligrams of sodium, 54 grams of carbohydrates, and 12 grams of protein.

This side dish is similar to the Mini Taco Bowl, both in terms of ingredients and dipping potential. The Nacho Supreme Dip has seasoned beef, refried beans, Nacho Cheese Sauce, Reduced-Fat Sour Cream, pico de gallo, and a shredded three-cheese blend. The major difference here is that the chips are served on the side, rather than as part of the dish itself.

I quite enjoyed the Chips & Nacho Supreme Dip, as a self-proclaimed lover of a good dip. There's nothing better than a little interactive activity in your snacking! I will say that, once again, I would not recommend eating this in your lap as you drive — it's a much better option for enjoying at home while watching a movie or at a party.

The only drawback with this one is that I found the mixed temperature of the ingredients a bit odd. The sour cream, for example, was on the cooler side, while the beef and nacho cheese were hot, and the shredded cheese was lukewarm and not quite melted. For those who like variety in their textures, however, this might be the perfect fit for you.

The Chips and Nacho Supreme Dip costs $2.49. It has 360 calories, 19 grams of fat, 720 milligrams of sodium, 36 grams of carbohydrates, and 10 grams of protein.

The Avocado Ranch Chicken Stacker is certainly the most substantial of all of the Luxe Value Menu offerings. It appears to be a cross between a grilled chicken panini and a full quesadilla wrapped over itself. It contains grilled all-white-meat chicken, Avocado Ranch Sauce, a three-cheese blend, shredded lettuce, and diced tomatoes.

This menu item was my favorite of all of the savory options. The chicken was very well seasoned and cooked, and there was enough of it to feel like a full meal in and of itself. I will say that given the name of this dish, I was expecting slices or chunks of avocado to be included, or at the very least an avocado spread or taste. Instead, I didn't really taste any avocado at all — the Avocado Ranch Sauce tasted more like a traditional ranch dressing, overpowering any other flavors that were supposed to be included. This wasn't a deal-breaker for me, though, as I like a ranch sauce with chicken, and there was quite a lot of it.

The Avocado Ranch Chicken Stacker will be the most expensive item on the Luxe Value Menu at $2.99. It contains 360 calories, 16 grams of fat, 880 milligrams of sodium, 38 grams of carbohydrates, and 16 grams of protein.

I mentioned that the Avocado Ranch Chicken Stacker was my favorite savory option, but the Salted Caramel Churros are my favorite overall! Small, crispy on the outside, and soft and pillowy on the inside, these snacks are the perfect sweet and salty bite after a meal (or on their own). The churros are dusted in salted caramel sugar, and rather than being paired a traditional dipping sauce, they resemble more of a cannoli or creme-filled donut, with a sweet creme in the middle with a slight caramel flavor.

This item is also the only one on the Luxe Value Menu I would trust myself to eat on the go — the creme inside is just thick enough to not be gloopy and drop outside the shell, and the churros themselves are small enough to finish in just a couple bites. If you're a fan of a donut hole or even a mozzarella stick, these might just be up your alley, as well. But since these are also the only item on the Luxe Value Menu stated to be offered for a limited time, grab them while you can!

The Salted Caramel Churros are $1.99 for an order of three. They contain 230 calories, 16 grams of fat, 100 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, and 2 grams of protein in each serving.

Overall, I'm very happy to have rediscovered Taco Bell, particularly in this moment when the company is providing a more elevated experience for its customers while keeping prices reasonable. I am not a vegetarian, but the fact that all of these items are also customizable for those who do not eat meat or dairy also gives customers a lot of flexibility.

As mentioned before, I would not recommend eating and driving simultaneously with any of the Luxe Value Menu items (except for maybe the churros, which can be consumed quickly), as all of them left a massive trail of some kind of sauce in their wake. I'd rather have too much sauce than not enough, but I also think it's worth considering whether the liquid chaos is worth it if you are someone who eats on the go or is generally a messy eater (like me).

Although Taco Bell is, of course, well established as fast food restaurant, it's genuinely exciting to see the chain is still interested in innovating and improving the customer experience like a chef-driven establishment, and I look forward to visiting my local Taco Bell more often — particularly while those churros are on the menu.