The Saltiest Taco Bell Burrito On The Menu Also Boasts The Highest Protein

Taco Bell has always been the place to satisfy your cravings, may they be the gooeyness of melted cheese or the crunch of a hard shell taco. When you're really craving something salty, let it be known that if you order the Grilled Cheese Burrito with Steak — the standard menu item with the highest amount of sodium at 1,500 milligrams — you're also getting something that packs the highest amount of protein, an impressive 28 grams. That's great news for anyone looking to both satisfy a crave and bulk up their muscle mass.

However, you might not be thinking about bodybuilding when you're distracted by the burrito's combination of luscious ingredients, all packed inside a flour tortilla. First imagine seasoned rice, crispy tortilla strips, sour cream, a creamy chipotle sauce, and three cheeses — mozzarella, cheddar, and pepper jack — all combining together into a medley of chewy and crunchy textures. Then, add in cuts of steak, Taco Bell's heartier upgrade from the standard protein of seasoned ground beef. To top it all off, once the burrito is closed, more cheese is sprinkled on top, which is then melted as the burrito is grilled to give it a little char for added taste and texture.

If red meat isn't your thing, rejoice that there's also a version on the menu that puts chicken inside the tortilla instead of steak. There's no need to worry about missing out on that jolt of amino acids either, because coincidentally, it also packs 28 grams of protein.

The customization doesn't stop there. You can upgrade your own Grilled Cheese Burrito with Steak or Chicken with many other ingredients, and that's before you even consider all of Taco Bell's sauces — each of which pack a little more sodium. Add guacamole to slide in some smooth avocado, which can tame down the saltiness. For a kick of spice, add some jalapeños, which coincidentally up the sodium levels because they're pickled. Earthy flavors come in the form of black beans or refried beans, which boost both the sodium and the protein content. To neutralize the saltiness — and get your veggies in — vegetable add-ons include potatoes, purple cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions. If you don't have an aversion to cilantro, you might consider adding in some pico de gallo.

Perhaps the most out-of-the-box upgrade is seasoned fries, which alone, already pack a lot of sodium. They've become so popular as an inside-the-tortilla ingredient that it's a part of Taco Bell's highlighted "customer creation," the Steak & Fries Grilled Cheese Burrito. The beauty of Taco Bell's customization is that you can mix and match the available ingredients to tweak a burrito as you prefer, whether you're craving salt, looking for a protein boost, or otherwise.