23 Discontinued Taco Bell Menu Items Fans Still Crave

Before Taco Bell fully committed to the "outside the bun" identity it built its entire marketing campaign around, it sold a burger.

The Bell Beefer started as the Chiliburger in 1962, became the Bell Burger in 1969, and was renamed the Bell Beefer in 1979. It was seasoned taco beef, lettuce, diced onions, and mild sauce on a hamburger bun — effectively a Sloppy Joe with Mexican spice. A Supreme version added shredded cheese and diced tomatoes.

According to Wikipedia, Taco Bell discontinued it around 1986 to maintain a more Tex-Mex-focused identity.

It made a brief return at select stores in 2012 but was not brought back broadly. Fans still advocate for its return on Facebook and Reddit. Taco Bell has so far declined.

The Seafood Salad is the single most regrettable item in Taco Bell history, and Taco Bell would likely agree. Introduced in 1986 to compete with McDonald's Filet-O-Fish and capture the Lent demographic, it was shrimp, whitefish, and snow crab in a crunchy tortilla bowl, topped with shredded cheese and black olives.

It lasted four years, which is either a testament to the power of limited options or a sign that someone at corporate lost track of what was on the menu.

Former employees noted that the smell of seafood cooking alongside taco beef created an olfactory experience that was difficult to describe positively. It was discontinued in 1990 and has never been referenced as a comeback candidate by anyone.

The Meximelt was so unremarkable in concept and so persistently beloved in practice that it spent over 30 years on the menu without anyone at Taco Bell headquarters being able to explain exactly why people loved it so much.

The trademark was filed in May 1988. The product was simple: seasoned beef, fresh pico de gallo, and a three-cheese blend of mozzarella, cheddar, and Monterey Jack, all melted together in a soft tortilla. It was basically a soft taco and a quesadilla merged into one thing.

In 2019, Taco Bell overhauled its menu and cut the Meximelt without explanation. Fan uproar was immediate. Taco Bell's own CMO later called it "one of our most requested comeback items."

It returned as the '80s representative on the Decades Menu, available nationwide from October 31 through December 18, 2024. When that promotion ended, the Meximelt went away again. However, it's currently available for a limited time on Taco Bell's Decades Menu, launched in August 2026.

Introduced in 1993 for 99 cents, the 7-Layer Burrito was built like a Tex-Mex time capsule: refried beans, seasoned rice, reduced-fat sour cream, guacamole, crisp lettuce, diced tomatoes, and a three-cheese blend, all wrapped in a flour tortilla.

It was one of the first legitimately filling vegetarian options at a major fast food chain, and it became a staple for budget-conscious college students and meat-free customers alike.

Taco Bell cut it on September 11, 2020, as part of a broad COVID-era menu simplification. Fans responded by developing intricate workarounds — customizing a Cheesy Bean and Rice Burrito Fresco-style and adding lettuce, guac, and sour cream — while lobbying for the real thing.

It briefly returned as part of the Decades Y2K Menu from September 9 to October 15, 2025. That promotion has since ended. The 7-Layer Burrito remains available at Taco Bell locations in the U.K., Canada, and India.

The Beefy Crunch Burrito arrived in December 2010 and was discontinued five months later, on May 10, 2011.

That discontinuation created a real, organized, multi-year grassroots campaign called the Beefy Crunch Movement, founded by Richard Axton on the exact date he was turned away from a drive-thru — May 12, 2011. The movement eventually grew to more than 64,000 members on Facebook alone. Nine of them got permanent tattoos of the burrito on their bodies.

The item itself was seasoned beef, Flamin' Hot Fritos, reduced-fat sour cream, seasoned rice, and nacho cheese sauce in a warm tortilla. The Fritos were available exclusively through Taco Bell at the time, which made it feel genuinely novel.

It returned for limited runs in December 2011, May 2013, April 2016, and in 2023, after winning a fan vote against the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco. The Beefy Crunch Movement's logo was printed on the wrappers during the 2016 run. As of August 2026, it's currently back on Taco Bell's Decades Menu.

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The Volcano Taco launched in the fall of 2008: a bright red crunchy taco shell filled with seasoned beef, a three-cheese blend, and Lava Sauce — a spicy nacho cheese made with habanero and red jalapeño peppers.

Taco Bell made the entire Volcano Menu permanent in 2009, then pulled it entirely in 2013 when the Fiery Doritos Locos Taco made the red-shell concept redundant.

A Change.org petition for the Volcano Menu's return gathered more than 2,000 signatures. After a decade away, Taco Bell brought back the Volcano Taco, Volcano Burrito, and Lava Sauce from June 29 to August 2, 2023 — Paris Hilton promoted the return using her "That's hot" catchphrase, which was either inspired or painful depending on your tolerance for that kind of thing. However, as of 2026, the Volcano Menu is no longer available.

The Enchirito is the oldest and most resilient discontinued item in Taco Bell history. Invented in 1968 by crew member Dan Jones, who had observed an "enchilada burrito" hybrid on the East Coast, it debuted on the national menu on April 9, 1970 — a flour tortilla packed with seasoned beef, beans, and diced onions, rolled up and smothered in red sauce, topped with shredded cheddar and, in the original version, three black olive slices, served in a reheatable aluminum foil tray.

The first discontinuation, in 1993, sparked enough backlash that fans kept ordering it off the secret menu for years. Taco Bell officially returned it in 2000, though without the olives and in a different tortilla. That second run lasted until July 2013, when it was replaced by the Smothered Burrito.

In 2022, Taco Bell held an app-based vote between the Enchirito and the Double Decker Taco — 760,000 people voted, and the Enchirito won with 62%. It returned for two weeks in November 2022. It came back again for a limited run from May 25 to June 28, 2023 and appeared once again in July 2026, though it has yet to become a permanent addition on the menu.

The concept was simple and somehow had never been done: a crunchy taco wrapped inside a soft flour tortilla, with refried beans acting as an edible adhesive between the two shells.

It debuted as a limited-time offer in 1995 in commercials directed by Spike Lee, featuring Shaquille O'Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon, before becoming a permanent menu item in June 2006.

It was discontinued on September 12, 2019, then came up for a fan vote in 2022 — losing to the Enchirito — but returned anyway from December 5 to 20, 2023, after persistent fan pressure during a Reddit AMA with Taco Bell's CMO. It came back again from October 10 to 30, 2024.

It appeared once more on the Decades Y2K Menu from September 9 to October 15, 2025. It is not currently available in the U.S., though it remains on menus in Australia and the U.K.

The Naked Chicken Chalupa replaced the tortilla shell entirely with a piece of fried, Mexican-spiced chicken breast, folded into a taco shape and filled with lettuce, cheddar cheese, diced tomatoes, and avocado ranch sauce.

It launched nationally in January 2017 after a two-year testing period, and Taco Bell sold more than 25 million of them in the first run.

It was always presented as a limited-time offer, and it has cycled on and off the menu consistently since — returning in May 2018, May 2021 (timed deliberately to coincide with the chicken sandwich wars), and additional limited runs since then.

The Naked Chicken Chalupa is not currently on the permanent menu, but it did make a temporary return in August 2026 as part of Taco Bell's Decades Menu promotion.

A note on the Choco Taco: it was not a Taco Bell original. It was invented in 1983 by Alan Drazen and sold primarily through ice cream trucks before being licensed to Klondike, which distributed it nationally — including, for periods, at Taco Bell restaurants.

Taco Bell did a limited co-branded test in Los Angeles and Milwaukee in February 2022. Klondike discontinued the product entirely five months later, in July 2022, citing supply chain constraints after a "spike in demand" across its portfolio.

The internet responded with grief disproportionate to its status as a $2 ice cream novelty. Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian publicly offered to buy the rights. Klondike said a comeback was possible "in the coming years."

In 2024, Taco Bell partnered with Salt & Straw to create a spiritual successor — the Ice Cream Chocolate Taco, with cinnamon ancho ice cream in a waffle shell — available at Salt & Straw scoop shops. The original Choco Taco, made by Klondike, has not returned.

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Introduced around 2004 and retired in 2019, the Caramel Apple Empanada was a crispy fried pastry filled with warm apple pieces and a creamy caramel filling — the kind of thing that sounds like it should exist at every fast food chain but somehow only existed at one.

It was priced at $1 for most of its run and developed a following substantial enough that fans complained loudly when it disappeared.

It returned as part of the Decades '00s Menu, available from November 21 through December 18, 2024, at $2.99 — nearly triple its original price. One Reddit user responded: "We've literally begged for them for years, they knew they could name their price."

It returned again as part of the Decades Y2K Menu in September 2025 before ending with that promotion on October 15, 2025. It is not currently available.

The Fiesta Taco Salad was introduced in 1984 and lasted 36 years on the menu — one of the longest runs of any item on this list.

The concept was a taco salad served inside a crunchy, edible tortilla bowl, filled with seasoned beef, refried beans, shredded lettuce, cheddar cheese, salsa, and sour cream. It was simple, filling, and reliably good for a chain that didn't always prioritize salad.

Taco Bell cut it in 2020 as part of the same COVID-era simplification that removed the 7-Layer Burrito, Mexican Pizza (since returned), and dozens of other items. Unlike the Mexican Pizza, the Fiesta Taco Salad has not come back. Fans still request it online. No return date has been announced.

The Chili Cheese Burrito — also known as the Chilito — was introduced around 1990 and was never fully discontinued in the traditional sense.

When Taco Bell pulled it from most menus in the late 1990s, the company left the decision to individual franchise owners, which meant certain locations continued serving it for decades. A dedicated "Chili Cheese Burrito Tracker" website was built by fans to locate restaurants that still made it.

The burrito itself was beefy chili and melted cheddar cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla. Taco Bell's own press materials called it "a cult favorite and most passionately pursued menu item."

It returned nationwide as the Y2K-era representative on the Decades Y2K Menu from September 9 to October 15, 2025, priced at $2.99. That promotion has since ended. Franchise locations that kept it on their menu throughout the years may still have it — check locally.

The Cheesarito was the simplest item Taco Bell ever sold: melted cheese, scallions, and taco sauce rolled in a soft flour tortilla, served at a price low enough that it barely registered as a purchase. It was on the menu from the 1970s and quietly discontinued sometime in the 1990s.

What kept it in the conversation was the secret menu. For years after its official discontinuation, you could order a Cheesarito at most Taco Bells, and the staff would make one from available ingredients.

That workaround disappeared in 2020 when the Mexican Pizza sauce — a key component of the order — was removed from kitchens during the COVID simplification. The secret menu hack no longer works. It has not been brought back officially.

The Grilled Stuft Nacho was introduced in 2013 and discontinued in 2014 — a lifespan of roughly a year, but enough time to build a fan base that continues lobbying for its return.

It was a flour tortilla folded and pressed into a triangular nacho shape, filled with seasoned beef, nacho cheese sauce, reduced-fat sour cream, and crunchy red tortilla strips. It was a genuinely clever concept: nacho flavors in a portable, hand-held format that didn't fall apart the way actual nachos do.

It returned briefly in 2015 before disappearing again. It has not come back since. A dedicated online community still petitions for its return.

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The Waffle Taco was Taco Bell's entry into the fast food breakfast wars that were escalating in the mid-2010s, with McDonald's, Subway, and others all competing for the morning customer.

The item was a soft waffle folded into a taco shape around scrambled eggs, sausage or bacon, and a drizzle of syrup.

It launched nationally in March 2014 alongside Taco Bell's first-ever nationwide breakfast menu — an event the chain promoted with a campaign featuring real people named Ronald McDonald.

It was discontinued in 2015 and replaced by the Biscuit Taco. The Biscuit Taco was also discontinued. Taco Bell later pivoted to the Breakfast Crunchwrap, which remains on the menu. The Waffle Taco has not returned and is not expected to.

The Black Jack Taco was a standard crunchy beef taco in a black-dyed taco shell, filled with seasoned beef, lettuce, a three-cheese blend, and Baja sauce with a pepper jack cheese sauce.

It launched in mid-October 2009 as a Halloween promotion — Taco Bell gave them away free from 6 p.m. to midnight on October 31 — and ran through December 27, 2009.

It has never returned. It is most remembered not for its flavor but for an unintended side effect: the black food dye in the shell was reported to turn consumers' stool green, a phenomenon that generated enough online discussion in 2009 to become one of the more memorable footnotes in fast food history.

The Taco Light was introduced in the 1980s as a lower-calorie alternative to the regular crunchy taco. Its most distinctive feature was a puffy, deep-fried corn tortilla shell — thicker and airier than a standard taco shell — filled with seasoned beef, shredded cheese, and vegetables.

It was discontinued in the early 1990s, replaced by items that leaned into Taco Bell's flavor-forward rather than calorie-conscious identity. The puffy shell concept is still occasionally referenced by fans who remember it as a genuinely different textural experience.

The Cinnamon Crispas were Taco Bell's dessert option for over a decade: flat fried tortilla chips dusted with cinnamon sugar, sold for 39 cents.

They were on the menu from the 1970s until the late 1980s, when they were replaced by Cinnamon Twists — the spiral-shaped, extruded corn puffs that remain on the menu today.

The Cinnamon Crispas still have advocates who argue that the fried chip format was superior to the Twists. They have not returned. Cinnamon Twists are available at all Taco Bell locations.

The Smothered Burrito was introduced in July 2013, the same day the Enchirito was discontinued — it was, in part, the Enchirito's replacement.

A large flour tortilla filled with seasoned beef, rice, and beans, then covered in red sauce, nacho cheese, and sour cream, it was meant to capture the same smothered-enchilada energy as the item it replaced.

Fans were not convinced. The Smothered Burrito lasted until 2019, at which point Taco Bell cut it in the same revamp that eliminated the Meximelt. The Enchirito, this item was built to replace, has since made three limited comeback appearances. The Smothered Burrito has made none.

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In 1995, Taco Bell launched the Sizzlin' Bacon Menu to capitalize on what was at the time a widespread fast food bacon craze. The BLT Taco was a limited-time summer item: bacon, lettuce, and tomato inside a standard crunchy taco shell, with club sauce and cheddar cheese.

It was on the menu for one summer and never returned. Of all the items on this list, the BLT Taco is the one most likely to be met with a shrug. It was fine. It tasted like what it was. The internet has not particularly mourned it.

Introduced in the 2000s and discontinued in 2020 alongside a wave of other items during COVID-era menu streamlining, the Half-Pound Beef and Potato Burrito was exactly what it advertised: a large flour tortilla packed with seasoned beef, crispy potato bites, and nacho cheese sauce.

Taco Bell's potato items as a category were removed wholesale in August 2020. The Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes and Spicy Potato Soft Taco eventually returned after sustained fan pressure. The beef and potato burrito format has not.

Taco Bell introduced Crispy Chicken Wings in January 2022 as a limited-time offer available only on Thursdays through Saturdays: bone-in wings with Mexican seasoning, served with a jalapeño-infused spicy ranch dipping sauce. They were sold in quantities of five or ten.

The wings lasted roughly a month before disappearing. Taco Bell has not brought them back, and bone-in chicken wings are not a format the chain has returned to since. It was a genuinely unusual entry for a chain that built its identity on bun-less, fork-optional formats — chicken wings require both hands and produce a pile of bones, neither of which is a natural fit for a drive-thru.

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