As fans, we know we don’t need to tell you just how amazing the Taco Bell menu is, but it really is an anomaly. It’s incredibly rare to see fast food chains release menu items at the speed and volume that Taco Bell does—but that’s why customers love the brand so much. Well, that and the delicious Crunchwrap Supreme and Quesarito.
We’re only a few short days into 2026 and Taco Bell is already stunning fans with its announcements. First, it brought back the Volcano Quesarito, then it announced a partnership with MGA Miniverse for a new line of collectibles.
With a new year ahead of us, it’s inevitable that Taco Bell is planning dozens of releases—and likely another Live Más Live event to drum up excitement for those launches. However, we’re still thinking about some of the menu items announced at last year’s Live Más Live event that have yet to hit menus—like the Mini Taco Salad and Quesocrisp Taco.
Now, after nearly a year of waiting, the Mini Taco Salad is finally coming to menus, plus it will be joined by four additional brand-new items hitting the all-new Luxe Value Menu.
Taco Bell Announces New Luxe Value Menu
Taco Bell’s Cravings Value Menu is a drive-thru staple, offering 10 menu items priced under $3 each. However, after the success of 2025’s $5, $7, and $9 Luxe Cravings Boxes, Taco Bell has decided to revamp its value menu to offer more elevated menu items at the same $3 and less price point.
The new Luxe Value Menu features the Mini Taco Salad, Beefy Potato Loaded Griller, Chips & Nacho Supreme Dip, Avocado Ranch Chicken Stacker, and Salted Caramel Churros. Additionally, five of the original Cravings Value Menus will transfer to the new Luxe Value Menu, including the Cheesy Roll Up, Spicy Potato Soft Taco, Cheesy Bean and Rice Burrito, 3 Cheese Chicken Flatbread Melt, and Cheesy Double Beef Burrito.
Taco Bell tested its new value menu in Indianapolis last summer, and there is just one slight tweak.
The Avocado Ranch Chicken Stacker has been renamed from the Chipotle Ranch Chicken Stacker, and now features grilled chicken, Avocado Ranch Sauce, cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes in a folded, grilled tortilla instead of using both Avocado Ranch Sauce and creamy chipotle. Otherwise, everything is the same.
The Mini Taco Salad features a fried tortilla bowl piled high with beef, refried beans, Chipotle Sauce, cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. The Chips & Nacho Supreme Dip includes a cup of dip layered with beef, refried beans, nacho cheese sauce, sour cream, pico de gallo, and cheese that’s served with tortilla chips for dipping. The Beefy Potato Loaded Griller is stuffed with beef, crispy potatoes, nacho cheese sauce, Chipotle Sauce, and sour cream in a grilled tortilla.
Taco Bell’s new Salted Caramel Churros are crispy on the outside and filled with a creamy salted caramel-flavored filling. These churros, which are Taco Bell’s second take on the dessert following its Milk Bar Birthday Cake Churros, are the only limited-time item on the Luxe Value Menu. The other nine items will be sold permanently, with one LTO coming in throughout the year.
The new Luxe Value Menu hits Taco Bell restaurants nationwide on Jan. 27, but Taco Bell Rewards Members have early access to the new menu beginning Jan. 16.
I tried the new Luxe Value Menu first, and here is my honest review.
My Honest Review of Taco Bell’s New Luxe Value Menu
There’s something about a taco salad with the fried tortilla bowl that reminds me of eating at my hometown Mexican restaurant. And let me tell you, Taco Bell’s Mini Taco Salad was worth the wait.
The new Mini Taco Salad features amazing taco flavors, all offered in a delicious fried tortilla cup. It’s not just a taco shell, but a true golden, crispy tortilla shaped and fried into a bowl. While it’s tasty and packed with hearty flavors, my only complaint about the taco salad is that it’s not very drive-thru-friendly.
You can’t necessarily eat this item in your car because you need a fork and a knife. Picking it up and biting into it might work, but you’re guaranteed to have a mess of beef, cheese, and lettuce everywhere. Additionally, you need to eat it fresh; otherwise, that crispy fried tortilla will lose some of its appeal as it becomes soggy. But it’s worth a trip inside your Taco Bell restaurant, I promise you.
As someone who tends to douse her Taco Bell items in Diablo and Fire Sauces, I was pleasantly surprised by my lack of need for sauce on the Beefy Potato Loaded Griller. That burrito-like griller is incredibly saucy and cheesy, thanks to the Chipotle sauce, nacho cheese sauce, and sour cream. It also packs a lot of hearty bang for your buck with beef and potatoes.
The sleeper hit for me is the Chips & Nacho Supreme Dip. This is my preferred way of eating drive-thru nachos since the chips won’t get soggy, and every chip can have the same amount of delicious toppings. The pot of dip has the perfect blend of savory flavors from the beef, beans, and cheese, with a hint of freshness thanks to the tomato, onion, and cilantro-packed pico de gallo.
I was a little underwhelmed by the Avocado Ranch Chicken Stacker. It’s the freshest item on the menu, with grilled chicken and only a few other ingredients, but I’m not a huge fan of the chicken. I wish Taco Bell had loaded the Stacker with its slow-roasted Cantina Chicken instead to give it just a bit more flavor.
The Salted Caramel Churros are divine, and I need Taco Bell to add a churro offering on its full-time menu. The dessert is crispy, crunchy on the outside, with the perfect amount of cinnamon sugar, and filled with a creamy interior that has the right balance of salt and decadent caramel. My advice here is to let the churros cool off a bit before trying them, because as the filling cools, it develops a deeper salted caramel flavor (and you won’t burn your mouth).
If this is how Taco Bell is starting 2026, then we’re definitely in for a treat this year.
