Taco Bell's menu is cheap and extensive, and it often features new items. Sometimes, these
experiments work, but other times they flameout in a blaze of glory. These are the biggest flops in Taco Bell's history.
Taco Bell is obviously known for making inexpensive and fast Mexican food. And for a lot of people,
Mexican food of course means tacos. So in an effort to jazz up its breakfast menu in 2014, the chain introduced the waffle taco.
It was basically exactly what it sounds like. That is to say, a waffle folded into a taco-like
shape, then filled with sausage and scrambled eggs, with a packet of syrup on the side that
you can drizzle over the top. The result was surprisingly delicious, and it was popular
in its test market of Orange County, California. Unfortunately, though, this sticky attempt
at getting more people to buy Taco Bell breakfast wasn't the draw that the company had hoped
for. It was ultimately pulled from the menu just a year after it was introduced nationwide.
"Next think you know, they'll be twerking, with their waffle tacos hanging out."
In 2015, right on the heels of the waffle taco flop, Taco Bell set out to test another
breakfast invention: the biscuit taco. It couldn't have taken much thought to come up
with this one. It was almost an exact replica of the waffle taco, but with a taco-shaped
biscuit instead of a waffle to hold the eggs and breakfast meats in place. It also offered
a few different meat options, like fried chicken with a honey jalapeno sauce.
Taco Bell was hoping once again to reignite the interest in its breakfast menu and to
compete more closely with McDonald's breakfast. The chain did see an initial bump in customer
attention after introducing the waffle taco, but that initial interest fizzled out quickly.
With the introduction of the biscuit taco, Taco Bell execs hoped to see that bump happen
again. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to last, and like the waffle taco,
the biscuit taco got cut from the menu after about a year.
Taco Bell's Black Jack Taco was introduced as a limited-time offer in 2009. It was spookily
released in October to coincide with Halloween. It was obviously meant as a gimmick, but it
wasn't a very good one. It was more or less a basic taco, as it included beef, Baja sauce,
lettuce, and cheese. What set it apart was that it was encased in a black-colored taco
shell. So really the gimmick was just food coloring. And that food coloring reportedly
had a very unfortunate side effect, as it could make customers' stools green.
Since the Black Jack Taco was released as a special seasonal option, it wasn't meant
to be added to the permanent menu. However, limited-time offers can be reintroduced in
subsequent years if they're successful, thus giving customers something to look forward
to. Clearly, though, the Black Jack Taco wasn't the success story that Taco Bell was hoping
for. When it was pulled from the menu in 2009, it disappeared like a ghost and has never
been seen or heard from again.
Sometimes the best-tasting menu items can still end up flopping. It isn't because the
people who try them don't like them, but rather because not enough people try them, and restaurants
have to make way for new and different marketing attempts. That was certainly the case with
Taco Bell's Fully Loaded Nachos. This part-nachos, part-taco salad concoction came filled to
the brim with beef, beans, cheese sauce, shredded cheese blend, sour cream, chips, guacamole,
tortilla strips, and salsa, all served in an edible taco-shell bowl. Fans raved about
how big the nachos were and what a great deal it was. Unfortunately for them, though, the
Fully Loaded Nachos lasted on the menu for just one year from 2008 to 2009.
If you're hoping the Fully Loaded Nachos will be brought back at some point in the future,
it's probably time to stop dreaming. Although, if you're into menu hacks, there's a way that
you can recreate them by customizing a Fiesta Taco Salad with a bunch of other ingredients.
However, the details are a bit complicated and could include as many as eight up-charges,
so it may not ultimately be worth the effort. But if you're really committed, go for it!
Otherwise, you might want to just cut your losses and order a Nachos Supreme instead.
Around the same time that Taco Bell was introducing and nixing its Fully Loaded Nachos and Black
Jack Tacos, they also quietly removed a fan favorite from their menu: the Spicy Chicken
Crunchwrap Supreme. This version of the brand's signature Crunchwraps lasted from 2006 to
2009, so it wasn't an outright flop. Ultimately, it's still not clear if it was kept on the
menu for only three years just because the other, still available Crunchwrap Supreme
was and still is doing well.
Fans of this item loved it so much that they created a "Bring back the Spicy Chicken Crunchwrap
Supreme" group on Facebook. The group even remained active for six years after this menu
option was removed from the menu. There was also even one fan who called corporate headquarters
to beg for the Spicy Chicken Crunchwrap Supreme to be resurrected. But unfortunately, there's
been no indication from Taco Bell that that'll be happening anytime soon, or ever. And considering
that the Facebook group only has 26 members,
this Crunchwrap Supreme may not be popular enough to bring back anyway after all.
BLT sandwiches are indisputably delicious. How can you go wrong with bacon, lettuce,
and tomatoes, with perhaps a spread of mayonnaise layered between two slices of hearty bread?
It's pretty much a summertime staple. But what do you get when you take those same ingredients,
top them with shredded cheese and then fold them up in a soft taco shell? It's significantly
somehow less appealing, especially when it's being served at a Mexican fast-food restaurant.
Despite that, in 1995 Taco Bell released the BLT Soft Taco as part of its Sizzlin' Bacon
menu. It ended up flopping, as did the other items on the Sizzlin' Bacon menu, like the
Bacon Cheeseburger Burrito and the Chicken Club Burrito. That particular menu was completely
nixed by the following year. The failure wasn't just about Taco Bell's misguided effort to
serve remixed sandwiches. It also came down to customer complaints about undercooked and
overcooked bacon. Apparently, Taco Bell may have mastered a mean shredded chicken, but
getting bacon just right seems to be out of its wheelhouse.
"At Taco Bell, we're piling on the bacon."
For whatever reason, Taco Bell executives can't seem to learn their lesson about introducing
"taco-like shells" to the breakfast menu. These experiments in using other foods in
place of an actual taco shell never end well. But for some reason the fast food chain tried
this strategy again in 2017. This time they used an egg as the shell. That's right: an egg
On one hand, Taco Bell may have been trying to get in on the high-protein, low-carb, anti-grain
trend with the Naked Egg Taco. That explanation doesn't really make much sense, though, considering
that these so-called "tacos" came stuffed with fried potatoes, but that's a whole other
issue. On the other hand, a weird, unnaturally white and yellow shell-shaped egg isn't exactly
appealing to look at. Nor was it appealing to eat either, as it was reportedly greasy,
hard to hold, and missing the fresh flavor of a real fried egg.
"What the-?"
After the Naked Egg Taco's initial limited edition run in 2017, it was actually brought
back briefly in 2018. This was possibly due to the very polarized reactions from food
critics and fans. My Recipes' "Extra Crispy" blog, for instance, gave the Taco Bell Naked
Egg Taco credit for being both the best fast-food breakfast and the worst fast-food breakfast
of 2017. Ultimately, though, its odd, Instagram-worthy look couldn't make up for its lack of sales,
and it hasn't been back on the menu since 2018.
Almost every year, Taco Bell execs keep proving that they just can't resist ruining breakfast.
That may sound a bit harsh, but after the debacles with the waffle taco, biscuit taco,
and naked egg taco, you think they would've learned their lesson. But in 2018, they test-drove
yet another breakfast concept: the French Toast Chalupa. Maybe they thought that if
they called it a chalupa instead of a taco, it would be better received. We'll probably
never know for sure what they were thinking.
In April 2018, customers in Dayton, Ohio tried out the new chalupa concoction, which consisted
of a french toast "taco shell" stuffed with scrambled eggs and bacon or sausage. And of
course, like the waffle taco, it also came with a side of syrup for drizzling or dipping.
Unlike some of Taco Bell's other failed breakfast options, the French Toast Chalupa never even
made it past the testing phase. It just didn't have what it takes to make the cut.
In probably the most gimmicky product release of all time, Taco Bell thought it would be
a good idea to offer a burrito featuring a spicy version of the "pops in your mouth"
substance found in Pop Rocks candy. For its Firecracker Burrito, the fast food chain didn't
use actual Pop Rocks but rather, a packet of flavored "popping crystals" that customers
could dump into the innards of their burritos before taking a bite. They would then be met
with a resulting "firecracker" in their mouth. It might sound laughable, but somehow it made its way onto the menu.
This might be an idea that any 12-year-old kid would love to try out at least once. But
if Taco Bell had high hopes that this would be a lasting menu item that adults would keep
ordering, then they couldn't have been thinking 100% clearly. The firecracker burrito had
a brief run in 2017, only to disappear after its limited-time release, never to be seen again.
Once again, it's unclear what exactly Taco Bell execs were thinking when they added Naked
Chicken Chips to their menu in 2017. These so-called "chips" were basically thinner,
triangle-shaped chicken nuggets that came with a side of nacho cheese dipping sauce,
or topped with sauce and other items, like jalapenos. To be fair, these chicken chips
aren't necessarily a terrible fast food menu item in general, but they're also not exactly
on brand for Taco Bell. Chicken nugget-like products are generally better suited for actual
chicken joints like Chick-fil-A, or burger places like McDonald's.
But that didn't stop Taco Bell from giving them a go. They tried to make them with a
south-of-the-border flare, hence the cheese and jalapenos. But ultimately the Naked Chicken
Chips were a dud. Or as the Facebook page Spork & Barrel put it so succinctly,
"Naked Chicken Chips from Taco Bell: These are really stupid."
But perhaps unsurprisingly, there were some customers who actually liked them. Those fans
balked when the chips were tossed from the menu, even going so far as to put together
a Change.org petition to bring them back. But with a measly 1,900 signatures, it's clear
that the Naked Chicken Chips just weren't popular enough.
"Taco Bell's Naked Chicken Chips are tantalizing triangles of temptation."
Taco Bell is not a sandwich joint. Yet somehow, inexplicably, the company has tried multiple
times to turn popular sandwiches into burritos, tacos, or chalupas. It doesn't make a lot
of sense, or any sense at all really. Mexican food is good because it's different from typical
sandwich fare. And if you've got a hankering for a fast food sandwich, you can easily grab
a satisfying one from somewhere like Subway or Quiznos.
But in 1995, Taco Bell went ahead and released its Chicken Club Burrito, which was basically
just a chicken burrito with bacon, ranch, and some lettuce and tomatoes thrown in. All
those flavors may very well be reasonably good together, but nobody was asking for them
to join forces in a burrito. Ultimately, this item lasted on the menu for just about a year.
And although there are still some fans out there who wax poetic on their nostalgia about
this vintage menu item, after more than 20 years in the fast food graveyard, it's highly unlikely it will ever return.
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