Mini Taco Salads, Salted Caramel Churros—Taco Bell's New Luxe Value Menu, Reviewed

Here's my take on all five new menu items, along with photos, so you can decide well in advance which one(s) you need to order first. (I can't be the only one who looks at the menu before they go to the restaurant, right?)

And if Jan. 22 seems too long to wait, fear not: If you download the Taco Bell app and sign up to be a Rewards member (which, BTW, is free), you can sample everything from the Mini Taco Salad to the Salted Caramel Churros as early as Jan. 16.

Note: Prices may vary, depending on location.

• Price: $2.49

Eat your heart out, Seven-Layer Dip. Taco Bell's offering its own six-layer dip, which basically takes away the biggest pain point of sharing Nachos Bellgrande with someone: Fighting for those few perfect chips that have just the right ratio of toppings. The dip features layers of beef, refried beans, nacho cheese sauce, reduced-fat sour cream, pico de gallo and its shredded three-cheese blend.

It's the kind of craveable slop Taco Bell is known for—so good you could eat it with a spoon, but why would you do that when it comes with a side of chips?

• Price: $2.49

When you want a filling meal and you're on a budget, look no further. Beef and crispy potato nuggets make for one hearty burrito, which is loaded with flavor, thanks to the addition of nacho cheese sauce, creamy Chipotle sauce and reduced-fat sour cream. (The latter helps round out the flavor, so it doesn't taste too salty.) Grilling the whole thing gives it a nice (albeit slight) crunch, too.

• Price: $2.99

Chicken Caesar salad fans, you've found your new favorite on-the-go snack. Trust. While it's not Caesar, there's a similar light, semi-virtuous-but-still-creamy-dressing-slathered vibe here. Grilled white meat chicken is tossed with Avocado Ranch sauce (which is pretty mild, as far as ranch goes), a three-cheese blend, lettuce and tomatoes. The way the tortilla is folded and grilled, it becomes almost crepe-like in how light and chewy it is.

It's the kind of meal that doesn't bog you down. All that's missing, dare I say it, is a Diet Pepsi and a side of (Nacho) fries.

• Price: $2.49

Full disclosure: I've been dreaming of this launch since Taco Bell teased it at Live Más Live, its annual menu unveiling, in February 2025. Back then, they were just a "what if we did this?" dream projected on Brooklyn Paramount's theater screen. Now, they're a reality—and they were worth the wait.

Each taco salad is a little larger than your palm, with a crispy-yet-not-greasy taco shell piled high with ground beef, refried beans, creamy Chipotle sauce, cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. The lettuce and tomatoes keep the dish from feeling heavy, and I liked that the shell was fresher-tasting and had a more crackly crunch than Taco Bell's standard tortilla chips.

Overall, it's pretty mild in flavor—the beef and beans swallowed up the creamy Chipotle, to the point that I thought it was just sour cream at first—so if you like spicier takes, you may want to drizzle it with some Fire sauce.

• Price: $2.49

I was ready to dismiss this as simply a new way to serve Cinnabon Delights, and boy, am I glad I was wrong. Yes, they're dusted in a sugary coating and have a creme filling, much like the Delights, but these mini churros echo the classic dessert with a genuine crunch that gives way to a chewy center (whereas the Delights are more pillowy and donut-like). Better yet, though, is the salted caramel sugar exterior, which is genuinely salty—offsetting the sweetness of the treat perfectly. I kind of wished it came with a caramel sauce for dipping, as they were just a bit dry, but that may have pushed things into sugar-shock territory.

This dessert is only available for a limited time, so you'll need to act fast to sample it yourself. (And you totally should.)