Taco Bell's Steak And Bacon Grilled Cheese Burrito + Nacho Fries With Vegan Nacho Cheese Review: These New Items Are Legit
Taco Bell has been introducing new items at a rapid clip and with no end in sight. This week alone saw the launch of several new items, including three Toasted Breakfast Tacos and a Steak and Bacon Grilled Cheese Burrito. Additionally, Nacho Fries are making a return, but this time you can have them with Taco Bell's new Vegan Nacho Sauce.
To some lucky Taco Bell customers, these new items aren't exactly novel, as they were test-marketed before the current nationwide launch. This past April, those in Cleveland and Akron got their hands on the Steak and Bacon Grilled Cheese Burrito, as well as a Cali Steak Grilled Cheese Burrito, with the latter proving to not be as worthy as the former for seeking a wider audience. In June, the Vegan Nacho Sauce started appearing in Los Angeles, New York, and Orlando.
With something new for carnivores, vegans, and vegetarians, there's a lot to unwrap here. Is the Steak and Bacon Grilled Cheese Burrito only a mouthful to say, or does it live up to its tasty-sounding name? And what of the Vegan Nacho Cheese, paired up with the Nacho Fries? Is this the one vegan cheese everyone will be slurping up and talking about, or just another attempt gone awry? We scooted on over to our local Taco Bell to take it all in, and here is our chew and review!
What does Taco Bell's Steak and Bacon Grilled Cheese Burrito taste like?
As we unwrapped the paper on the new Steak and Bacon Grilled Cheese Burrito, the browned bottom of the tortilla looked like any other pressed burrito in the Taco Bell stable. When flipped over, a new kind of browning was afoot, where melted cheese, frozen in time, added a crustiness to the edges. One thing that was not present, however, at least in our order, was bacon decamped within that cheese casing. With the bacon missing on the outside, we hoped it would be present on the inside. Luckily, it was.
While the standard tortilla was soft, it was a bit surprising that there wasn't much crunch to this one based on the grill marks and crusty melted cheese; it probably would have been crunchier if the bacon hadn't been missing from the exterior. Luckily, inside the burrito, the bacon bits and doughy potato bites added the missing texture our eyes saw. The steak pieces were juicy and tender, but the sauce was the star. While the sour cream and nacho cheese do their usual tricks in this burrito, it's the tangy chipotle sauce, which reminded us of spicy mayo, that let it be known it was the boss of this new item. Still, the combination of all the above pulled off what it intended to be: a tasty burrito that's a little different than those offered in the past.
What do Taco Bell's Nacho Fries with Vegan Nacho Cheese taste like?
Taco Bell's Nacho Fries are dusted with a lovely seasoning with an orange hue. And because they have a battered shell, they stand firm and remain crisp and dippable, even after sitting out and cooling off for a while.
The Vegan Nacho Cheese, like any side Taco Bell dip, came in a typical black sauce cup. Popping off the lid, we were kind of shocked to see a plume of steamy smoke emit from the cup, signaling that this cheese was ready for some hot action. Before even taking a dip into it with the Nacho Fries, we forked a bit of the Vegan Nacho Cheese to taste on its own. As we lifted the sunny yellow cheese midair, it shared the consistency one would find with regular nacho cheese, where it appears both gooey and still at the same time. When the Vegan Nacho Cheese's texture touched the tongue, it felt runny, like a pasty liquid, but still, it had a smoky, but not spicy bite to it. Most importantly, it did what it needed to do and passed the taste test, tasting like nacho cheese. When we finally added a Nacho Fry to the taste test party, it only got more raging, making us do a double-take as we never would have known it was vegan in the first place.
What is Taco Bell's Steak and Bacon Grilled Cheese Burrito made of?
The Steak and Bacon Grilled Cheese Burrito includes marinated grilled steak, nacho cheese sauce, creamy chipotle sauce, potato bites, reduced-fat sour cream, and a three-cheese blend all rolled up in a warm flour tortilla. It is then topped with an additional helping of the three-cheese blend and cured bacon. The three-cheese blend consists of mozzarella, cheddar, and a Monterey Jack and American cheese blend with peppers. It contains gluten, milk, eggs, and wheat products.
A single burrito has 700 calories, 39 grams of total fat, 85 milligrams of cholesterol, 1730 milligrams of sodium, 57 grams of total carbohydrates (with 4 of them being dietary fiber), 5 sugars, and 30 grams of protein.
What are Taco Bell's Nacho Fries with Vegan Nacho Cheese made of?
The Nacho Fries are seasoned fries made from potatoes, vegetable oil, and seasoned with maltodextrin, garlic, paprika, sugar, onion, salt, paprika extract, citric acid, disodium guanylate & inosinate, spices, aged cayenne red peppers, vinegar, natural flavors. The Vegan Nacho Sauce consists of water, modified food starch, soybean oil, and contains 2% or less of chickpea protein, maltodextrin, modified tapioca starch, sea salt, dipotassium phosphate, jalapeno peppers, distilled vinegar, salt, natural flavors, yeast extract, lactic acid, cellulose gum, sodium stearoyl lactylate, potassium citrate, color added (beta-apo-carotenal, beta-carotene), disodium inosinate and guanylate, potassium salt.
It is certified vegan by the American Vegetarian Association, and contains gluten and wheat products. Taco Bell notes that while the product may be vegan, containing no animal ingredients, some restaurants might use the same frying oil to prepare menu items that may or may not contain animal ingredients.
A regular-sized order of fries and sauce has 310 calories, 17 grams of fat, 780 milligrams of sodium, 35 grams of carbs, and 4 grams of protein. The Vegan Nacho Cheese by itself is a serving size of 1.4 ounces and nets 45 calories, 3 grams of fat, 200 milligrams of sodium, and 4 grams of carbs.
When, where, and how to order Taco Bell's new items and how much they cost
The new Steak and Bacon Grilled Cheese Burrito and Vegan Nacho Fries with Cheese are available at participating nationwide locations of Taco Bell for a limited time only. They can be purchased in-store directly at the counter, via the handy kiosk, or the drive-thru, where available. Advanced orders for pick-up and delivery are available online and through the app in some areas. Both the site and app allow complete customizations of your order, as well as special money-saving offers.
The Steak and Bacon Grilled Cheese Burrito can be found under the New, Combos, or Burritos menus. The suggested retail price for one purchased a la carte is $5.99. A combo, which comes with a large fountain drink and a crunchy taco, is also available for the suggested retail price of $8.99.
The Nacho Fries with Vegan Nacho Sauce can be found on Taco Bell's New, Specialties, and Sides & Sweets menus. They are available in both regular and large, with respective retail prices of $2.19 and $2.99. The Vegan Nacho Cheese can also be ordered as a stand-alone side sauce cup with the suggested retail price of 60 cents.
The final verdict
For a new product called the Steak and Bacon Grilled Cheese Burrito, it's rather curious that the main thrust is a sauce that's been around the block for Taco Bell for quite a while and not the meats The chipotle mayo is certainly the icing on the top — er, in the middle — that ties together this tasty, multi-layered burrito that's certainly worthy of seeking out.
As for the Vegan Nacho Cheese,? Regular ol' nacho cheese isn't shaking in its boots that a solid imitation has appeared on the scene. However, we do give kudos to Taco Bell for making this alternative sauce work, as many restaurants have failed to make a viable vegan cheese in the past. Not only would be dip into this vegan nacho cheese again, we might even add it to our next burrito.