If there’s one food trend we could have never predicted for 2025, it would be the rise of specialty beverages. In the age of value menu wars and chicken strip showdowns, we just didn’t think frozen drinks and endless riffs on the dirty soda would be the talk of the town. But these days, it seems every fast food chain wants to give Starbucks and Dunkin’ a run for their money.
Chick-fil-A recently announced a new restaurant concept, Daybright, which will only serve drinks—following in the footsteps of McDonald’s, which added several specialty drinks to the menu in August from its (since shuttered) drink-focused spin-off, CosMc’s. And another unexpected chain is angling for a piece of the specialty drinks pie: Taco Bell. Through its Live Más Café locations, the chain began to test new drink innovations, and has been consistently bringing standouts—like its Agua Refrescas—to the entire U.S. since. And now, Taco Bell fans have something extra sweet (and new!) to sip on.
Taco Bell Introduces New Strawberry Vanilla Cream Soda Freeze
Taco Bell
Of course, the iconic Baja Blast has been bringing fans to the drive-thru for decades. But the Tex-Mex chain’s recent iterations on frozen slushy drinks, which it calls Freezes, are enough to warrant a special trip. Over the past few years, Taco Bell has been consistently iterating on the frozen format with new and exciting flavors, offering everything from Dragonfruit to Limonada to a Baja Blast-flavored Freeze. And now, there’s a new flavor on the menu.
Following the launch of its Orange and Vanilla Cream Soda Freezes last month, Taco Bell is introducing a new cream soda-flavored Freeze. According to Taco Bell, the Strawberry Vanilla Cream Soda Freeze is a “sweet vanilla cream soda frozen slushy drink with a swirl of vanilla crème and strawberry flavor.” The cool beverage features a creamy, lightly carbonated texture, essentially creating a dirty soda in slushy form.
Frankly, the combination of a strawberry slushy and rich vanilla creamer sounds like a match made in soda pop shop heaven. Add in the hint of soda carbonation for an almost Icee-like sipper, and we’re totally sold. If you are too, you’ll want to head to Taco Bell soon. While the drink is available across the entire U.S., it’s only around for a limited time. And, there’s one other catch.
For now, the Strawberry Vanilla Cream Soda Freeze is available exclusively for Taco Bell rewards members. We can’t count the number of times we’ve stressed how much it pays to be a rewards member (often literally) for your favorite fast food chains, but now it’s especially true, as this drink won’t appear on the regular drive-thru menu—at least not yet. But there is good news—while the Strawberry Vanilla Cream Soda Freeze is priced at $3.79 for a small or $3.99 for a medium, you can get it for just $1 during Taco Bell’s Happier Hour, which runs from 2-5 p.m. daily. We just found our new favorite afternoon pick-me-up.
