Last night, Taco Bell hosted Live Más Live in New York City — a live event similar to a tech keynote where, instead of the newest Apple iPhone or Disney movies, the company revealed all the new Taco Bell items for 2025. Company leaders shared insights into the fast food chain’s test kitchen, 10 new Taco Bell items confirmed to be hitting menus in 2025, and of course, a first taste of some of TBell’s newest innovations.
What new Taco Bell items are coming in 2025?
First things first, Taco Bell chicken nuggets are making a comeback in 2025. In addition to the a la carte tortilla chip-coated nuggets that were tested in late 2024 and discontinued in early 2025, this year’s menu innovations will also include Taco Bell Crispy Chicken Strips, Tacos, and Burritos alongside Avocado Ranch and Spicy Ranchero Sauce.
To complement the Taco Bell Chicken Nuggets, Taco Bell is teaming up with Mike’s Hot Honey to create a bold and spicy Mike’s Hot Honey Diablo sauce that will hit menus later this year alongside Crispy Chicken Nuggets. Of all six sauces I tried, the Hot Honey Diablo was by far my favorite — the sweet and spicy sauce (with an extra Diablo kick) paired so well with the crunchy tortilla chip nuggets.
Taco Bell Chief Marketing Officer Taylor Montgomery also confirmed that Toasted Cheddar Street Chalupas are also coming back in 2025, potentially as soon as April. This twist on the street chalupa can be ordered with slow-roasted chicken or marinated grilled steak and features cheddar baked into the shell, an extra layer of crispy cheese toasted on the outside for the perfect crunch, and a brand-new Chile Lime Crema Sauce.
If crispy cheese is your thing, the 2025 Taco Bell menu will also include a new Quesocrisp Taco. This taco, which includes slow-roasted chicken, features a shell made out of crispy cheese. Plus, the fan-favorite Grilled Cheese Burrito is coming back, but this time, with shredded beef.
My favorite item was the Rolled Poblano Quesadilla. This cheesy new addition features marinated steak or slow-roasted chicken plus poblano peppers rolled into one amazing quesadilla. I tried the new quesadilla with steak, and I will be dreaming about it until it makes its way onto menus officially.
The 2025 Taco Bell menu also includes a new Flamin’ Hot Burrito featuring nacho cheese sauce, Flamin’ Hot Fritos, sour cream, seasoned beef, and Taco Bell’s new Flamin’ Hot Rice wrapped in a warm tortilla. This was the item I was most excited to try, but also the most underwhelmed by, and TBH, would not order again (especially when the Rolled Poblano Quesadilla is an option).
Stepping up its value offers, Taco Bell introduced the $5, $7, and $9 Luxe Cravings Boxes earlier this year to deliver more choices and value for every fan. Early 2025 drops also included the Caliente Cantina Chicken Menu (which features the all-new red jalapeño Caliente Sauce), Milk Bar Birthday Cake Churros, and Steak and Queso Crunchwrap Sliders. All three of these new menu items were available to taste at the event, and I can confirm the Steak and Queso Crunchwrap Sliders are as delicious as they are adorable.
After bringing back nostalgic fan favorites for last year’s Decades Menu, the brand announced that they’re going to do it again with Taco Bell products from the early 2000s and 2010s, including the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos and Double Decker Taco.
What new Taco Bell drinks are coming in 2025?
To celebrate 21 years of the Baja Blast, Taco Bell decided that the newly legal drink is allowed to stay out later — and deserves an upgrade. For the first time in the drink’s history, there’s a new Baja Blast flavor coming out this summer: Mountain Dew Baja Midnight.
This purple spin on the Taco Bell Baja Blast features flavors of passion fruit alongside the familiar tropical lime soda of Baja Blast. I didn’t know the Baja Blast could get any better, but the Baja Midnight was sweet, refreshing, and paired so well with all of the tacos, burritos, and quesadillas I tried.
What new Taco Bell coffee drinks are coming in 2025?
After a successful test run in Chula Vista, California, Taco Bell announced plans to launch more Live Más Café locations. Inspired by Gen Z’s love for specialty drinks, this new addition offers 30 unique beverages handmade by “Bellristas” including Churro Chillers, Agua Refrescas, specialty coffees, Dirty Mountain Dew Baja Blast Dream Soda, and more.
The Live Más Café pop-up at the event featured four beverage options: Iced Mexican Mocha specialty coffee, dulce de leche canned cold brew, Dragonfruit Berry Lemonade, and a Strawberry Passionfruit Refresca. I also got to try the Dirty Baja Blast, which added a creamy spin to the drink for delicious soda float vibes.
What new Taco Bell items could be coming out soon?
Live Más Live also included a look inside the Taco Bell Test Kitchen and 18 new menu items that the TBell Food Innovation Team is dreaming about — and I got to taste test a few of them.
Taco Bell shared the new Weak Knees Fire Sauce, a new condiment that combines the iconic Fire sauce with Bushwick Kitchen’s Weak Knees Gochujang Sriracha. The sauce is smoky, spicy, and has an extra brightness thanks to a pop of citrus. If you’re a fan of Sriracha, this sauce is a must-try.
Another sauce collab on the Taco Bell docket is Zab’s Hot Ranch, which combines Zab’s Datil Pepper Hot Sauce with Taco Bell’s Spicy Ranch sauce for a creamy condiment with a slow burn of heat. This sauce was good, but not as good as the Hatch Chile Buttermilk Ranch, which was the perfect blend of tangy buttermilk ranch and spicy smoked green pepper.
And since it wouldn’t be Taco Bell without the iconic purple color, the company also announced a new Purple Chile Sauce featuring three unique chiles: ají panca, habanero, and ghost pepper. I had to sign a waiver before trying the new purple sauce, but it wasn’t outrageously spicy by any means — and the lingering heat was incredible.
Other potential new items include tempura-battered Crispy Fajitas with white habanero ranch, Queso Fundido Rolled Chicken Taquitos, a Short Rib Chile Relleno Burrito, a Brisket Taco, and Poutine Fries featuring a bed of seasoned Taco Bell fries topped with pork, gravy, and cheese curds.
The Food Innovation Team is also working on new twists for menu classics, including the Mexican Pizza Empanada; a bite-sized version of the taco salad that was on Taco Bell menus from 1984 to 2017; and a Tacodilla, which is an oversized taco shell made with a grilled tortilla stuffed with carne asada, melted cheese, and guajillo pepper sauce.
As for sweet treats, Taco Bell is currently testing an Ube Strawberry Cookie. This crisp and chewy sugar cookie is stuffed with rich vanilla ube cream featuring strawberry pieces, and rolled in sugar sprinkles. While I loved the purple cookie outside and the distinct ube flavor, the rich frosting filling was way too sweet for my liking.
And while Taco Bell did tease a pumpkin spice empanada, it seems more likely that fans will get a Salted Caramel & Toffee Cream Empanada Bite, which is a twist on the Caramel Apple Empanada featuring salted caramel and toffee cream.
What else is happening at Taco Bell this year?
Last year’s Live Más Live event introduced TBX, a culinary collaboration program designed to support emerging chefs and offer fans entirely new ways to experience their favorite Taco Bell menu items. Last year’s collab with Chef Lawrence “LT Smith” featured a Southwest Hot CHX Crunchwrap Supreme, and this year’s TBX collab is all about bringing a new type of carne asada to Taco Bell. The company announced a partnership with LA-based author and award-winning restauranteur Bricia Lopez, who is a leading expert of Oaxacan cuisine, for TBX season two.
Last but not least, Taco Bell is excited to add “Fan Style” to its app. Whether it’s adding guacamole and fiesta strips to a Cantina Chicken Burrito or swapping tomatoes for pico de gallo in a Crunchwrap Supreme, Taco Bell fans will have the opportunity to influence Taco Bell’s menu with “Fan Style,” an in-app feature that allows fans to customize, name, and share their unique Taco Bell customization with friends, family and other fans. According to Montgomery, we can expect more details on Fan Style — and new Taco Bell release dates — to come later this year.