Taco Bell fans will have a brand new cheesy menu item to try at select locations starting this month.
The Cheesy Street Chalupas are available in select restaurants in Indianapolis as the chain tests out the brand new menu entrée.
The chalupas are stuffed with mozzarella and pepper jack cheese shells and then filled with your choice of shredded chicken or grilled marinated steak, along with a blend of cilantro and onions plus jalapeno ranch sauce, according to the product description.
And depending on location, the new meal costs between $5.49 and $5.99 at 13 Taco Bell restaurants within the city.
Taco Bell also recently added another menu item to select restaurants in Minneapolis. The Crispy Chicken Nuggets will be available in five or 10 counts, featuring a spicy jalapeno buttermilk marinade and coming with either the Bell Sauce or Jalapeno Honey Mustard.
The chicken nuggets are also priced under $10, with a five piece between $3.99 and $4.99 and 10 nuggets priced between $6.99 to $8.99.
The introduction of these two new items signals Taco Bell may be bringing back more chicken options on a larger scale.
The Tex-Mex fast food chain initially stopped selling shredded chicken during the pandemic as it sought to optimize its menu. Since then, fans have been petitioning for it to return to restaurants to no avail.
For a limited time, guests got access to shredded chicken at Taco Bell once again when it unveiled its rolled chicken taco this year alongside a test empanada stuffed with chicken and cheese. However, since then, Taco Bell has only sold grilled chicken in its staple burrito and quesadilla products.
If the test runs in Indianapolis and Minneapolis prove successful, Taco Bell customers could possibly see the entrée hit restaurants nationwide next year.
Fan feedback to the Cheesy Street Chalupas has been mostly positive, according to social media posts by customers who tried the item.
“Very filling. Very bready/doughy but I’m crazy for deep fried bread of any kind. I really liked the roasted chicken. Very cheesy,” one Taco Bell fan wrote on Reddit.
Another shared: “They were a tad over fried and could’ve used a bit more onion and cilantro, but overall they were pretty tasty and I plan on getting them again very soon. I hope it goes nationwide.”
Other New Menu Items
This isn’t the only new development when it comes to Taco Bell’s menu.
Vegan customers were excited to try the chain’s vegan nacho cheese sauce this fall. The sauce is said to pair well with Taco Bell’s Nacho Fries or the Vegan Crunchwrap, which was a limited-time test item.
“With the new Nacho Fries with Vegan Nacho Sauce, ordering vegan at Taco Bell has never been easier, so fans can feed their cravings without compromising or customizing,” the company said in a press release last month.
The chain’s breakfast menu has also gotten an upgrade, with the new Toasted Breakfast Tacos now available nationwide. Each taco comes with eggs, melted cheese and either bacon, sausage or potato pieces in a tortilla for just $1.49.