Taco Bell Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco Review: The Chain Takes On Birria With A New Protein Option
Taco Bell is perhaps best known for the impressive number of ways it can transform its limited ingredients into new and creative forms. Sometimes they are even tasty. Just this year, it brought back the Grilled Cheese Burrito and in June 2023, it was added as a permanent addition to the menu. Piggybacking off that success, the fast food Tex-Mex chain is introducing the new Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco. Not only does this new creation apply a layer of cheese to the exterior of the taco shells, but it also takes inspiration from a trendy dish: birria.
Inspired by birria tacos, which feature shredded, slow-braised beef in a light and crispy shell that can is dipped in a broth, the new Taco Bell Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco takes the same concept and puts a spin on it. Rather than a broth, these new tacos come with two dipping sauces: Taco Bell's signature queso sauce and the chain's mild red sauce that you would normally find on the bean burrito. In addition to the shredded beef tacos, Taco Bell also released a version with seasoned ground beef.
The new items are promising additions to the menu, especially with the new protein in the form of shredded birria-style beef. We tried both varieties of the Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco to determine if it lives up to the real thing.
What does the shredded beef Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco taste like?
First up is the star of the show. And let us tell you, this was truly one of the best Taco Bell items we've tried in a while. Even compared to the surprisingly decent Yellowbird Nacho Fries, the Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco manages to impress for the most part.
The biggest surprise was the quality of the shredded beef. The texture was extremely tender and while it didn't have the depth and spice of a good birria, it still had a good flavor that didn't immediately scream "Taco Bell!" The creamy jalapeño sauce was the perfect companion providing a slight kick. Another aspect that really works is the cheese on the outside. This part truly replicates the crispness and the cheesiness of a birria taco. Of course, it could be cheesier, but the way the taco shell is cooked is unlike anything else on the Taco Bell menu. By itself, this item is top-tier Taco Bell.
We aren't going to lie and say it doesn't get better when dipping into nacho cheese. However, this creamy cheese sauce isn't required. The red sauce is the real problem here, as it's no substitute for the birria broth that is typically served with the dish the Dipping Taco is trying to emulate. What you get instead is just fairly mild Taco Bell burrito sauce. Sure, it doesn't hurt to dip the taco, as the name instructs, but it's honestly perfectly fine without the lackluster dips.
What does the seasoned ground beef Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco taste like?
The next taco we tried was advertised as a Seasoned Ground Beef Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco. We assumed this would mean that instead of the birria-style shredded meat it would be filled with the typical ground beef filling you find in most Taco Bell items. Whether it was supposed to be or not, that's not what we got. Instead, our seasoned beef option had both meats stuffed inside the taco. It certainly looked like it was a bit lighter on the shredded beef, but there was no doubt it had both ground and shredded beef. And honestly, we aren't complaining.
It wasn't quite as good as the pure flavor of the featured Dipping taco but it was still pretty darn tasty. For some strange, perhaps Pavlovian, reason it felt like the ground beef lent itself better to the cheese and red sauce dips.
Nutritional info and how to buy Taco Bell's Grilled Cheese Dipping Tacos
Taco Bell's newest creation debuted on August 3, 2023, and will only be available for a limited time. Head to your nearest location (or open the official app) to snag one of these Grilled Cheese Dipping Tacos for $3.49. If you are ordering from GrubHub or a different third-party service, that price may be subject to change. While we don't know how long the new item will last, we do know the Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco is available nationwide so you should be able to find it locally right now.
The Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco has 290 calories, while the nacho cheese sauce has 60 calories per serving and the red sauce has 15. Calories-wise, this is obviously a little on the high side for the amount of food you are actually getting (assuming you don't use every last drop of the cheese sauce), but for Taco Bell it's fairly average.
The final verdict
It's pretty clear that what we got with Taco Bell's Grilled Cheese Dipping Tacos was not at all birria. However it was close, and we can't deny this was one of the most scrumptious new items to be added to the Taco Bell menu in some time. For that, we can't help but recommend this to anyone who is a fan of tacos or Tex-Mex-inspired cuisine. If you are a diehard birria fan, yeah, maybe not so much.
The shredded beef taco was quite tasty and while we wish the dipping sauces were a bit more unique, there is rarely anything wrong with dipping a Taco Bell item in even more nacho cheese. Overall, these were a pleasant surprise from top to bottom.