A Look Back At The '70s Taco Bell Menu

Taco Bell has come a long way since its founding in 1962. Back then, only five items were featured on the menu — and two of them were burritos. Who would have guessed that one day, the chain would serve tacos that used fried eggs as shells or burritos with cayenne popping candy as a seasoning? Long before Taco Bell was an innovator and a risk-taker, the menu stayed pretty stable. In fact, it wasn't really until the 1980s that it started to diversify with taco salad, seafood salad, and the Meximelt. The chain did add a few items after that original 1962 menu, becoming chain staples throughout the '70s. A few changed names over the years and others were discontinued, though Taco Bell occasionally brought them back.

In the 1970s, Taco Bell focused heavily on fresh food — it was even deemed "The Fresh Food Place." The restaurant advertised that it made everything fresh in-house. According to former employees, that even included making refried beans in pressure cookers on site. Though the menu was limited, it was still focused on giving customers a fresh and tasty experience. Even with just a handful of items available throughout the decade, Taco Bell stood apart from traditional fast food burger joints. So, what was on the menu back then? Here are the Taco Bell items you'd find in the '70s.

The modern Taco Bell menu offers numerous kinds of burritos. From seven-layer burritos and chili cheese burritos to a beefy bean burrito, multiple burrito offerings are part of the chain's DNA. The early menu included the Green Burrito, which was a bean burrito with onion, shredded cheese, and green sauce (though not the verde sauce sometimes available in sauce packets), It also included fresh chili strips.

While the red sauce burrito was never as distinct as the green one, this Bean Burrito with the standard Taco Bell signature sauce had been on the menu since 1962. Most of us would just call it a Bean Burrito today, but for a time it was sold as a distinct menu item separate from the green burrito. Ads revealed that it as being made with crushed chili peppers, though not as hot as the Green Burrito.

In 1975, Taco Bell's burrito evolved into a Burrito Supreme. This version contained beans, onion, cheese, and red sauce, accompanied by seasoned beef, lettuce, tomato, and sour cream. The earliest versions included sliced olives, a staple in many Taco Bell dishes at the time. The Supreme label has stuck around, but usually just means a regular burrito with sour cream and tomato.

This combination of enchilada and burrito was trademarked by Taco Bell in 1971. Although it was discontinued in the early '90s (though it has returned on occasion), fans online still tag Taco Bell in posts begging its official return to the menu. The Enchirito consisted of beef, beans, and onions wrapped in a tortilla and covered in sauce, cheese, and olives. A new version came out in 2022 only to vanish again after just two weeks, leaving an Enchirito void yet to be filled.

Another original menu item, the Tostada was a flat, crispy tortilla topped with beans, lettuce, cheese, and red sauce. Though some menus listed them as "Tostados," Tostada is the proper name for the dish. Either way, Taco Bell discontinued the item in 2020, along with a dozen other items in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It briefly came back as part of the retro "Decades" Menu in 2024.

Known today as Pintos N Cheese, Frijoles was another original menu item that has evolved over the years. This simple side dish contained refried beans with cheese and red sauce and was made in-store with pinto beans cooked in a special sauce before blending smoothly. Modern refried beans at Taco Bell come as a dehydrated product that employees rehydrate with boiling water.

Every restaurant needs drinks, and most offer Coca-Cola or Pepsi products these days. While Coke was on the Taco Bell menu in its early days, in the '70s, you could get a cool, refreshing Royal Crown Cola. PepsiCo bought Taco Bell in 1978, replacing RC with Pepsi products after that. RC Cola is hard to find these days, but it still exists if you ever want to recreate a vintage Taco Bell meal.

Taco Bell experimented with a burger-like sandwich for years. Closer to a Sloppy Joe than a burger, it was sometimes called a Chili Burger, Bellburger, or Bell Beefer. The '70s Chili Burger was made from Mexican-seasoned beef, lettuce, and red sauce on a hamburger bun. For a time, there was allegedly a Surf and Turf Deluxe version, which added shrimp and a scoop of tuna. The Beefer was discontinued in the '90s, to the disappointment of many.

A late addition to the '70s menu at Taco Bell, Cinnamon Crispas debuted in 1979. A predecessor to modern Cinnamon Twists, Cinnamon Crispas were deep-fried flour tortilla chips heavily dusted in cinnamon and sugar. The dessert was very much like a dessert version of a Dorito. Fans on Facebook and Reddit maintain that Crispas were superior to the Twists.

We can look back fondly on dollar menus today, but in the 1970s, Taco Bell was offering even better deals. One of its earliest combos was called the Bellringing Special. Available for a limited time in 1974, customers could get a Tostada, a Bean Burrito, and a large drink — all for just $0.59.

Of course, the final item on the Taco Bell menu was, well, tacos. One of the original menu items still going strong today, tacos were only available in crunchy form in the '70s. Just like today, the old-school taco was filled with seasoned beef, cheese, and lettuce. Unlike today, however, it was also sauced for you with Taco Bell red sauce.