Whether it's filled with kimchi, or combined with a chalupa, or even made with Kit-Kats,
a quesadilla at Taco Bell has more to it than you might think.
There's no shortage of places to grab a delicious quesadilla nowadays,
and the food's ubiquitous presence is easy to understand. After all, a griddle-cooked
tortilla is an incredibly effective delivery method for whatever fillings you could want.
There's no limit to what can be in a quesadilla, but the classics,
like cheese, chicken, and beef, are classic for a reason. So, as of December 2022, Taco Bell's
menu offers three standard quesadilla options to U.S. diners: chicken, steak, and cheese.
Each standard Taco Bell quesadilla contains a three-cheese blend and creamy jalapeño sauce,
so the only discernible difference between types is the protein. The lack
of distinction between quesadillas isn't a bad thing, though, since it simplifies
the process for restaurant staff, which helps customers get their food on time.
Actually, some key differences do exist between Taco Bell's standard quesadillas — namely,
the cost. While the cheese-only quesadilla's lower price of $3.99 is expected,
we were somewhat surprised to see the steak quesadilla cost 60 cents
more than its chicken counterpart as of December 2022. Then again,
since a 2022 beef shortage led to a 15% price increase for beef by September of that year,
the reason behind the different quesadilla prices is no real mystery at all.
"Beef. It's what's for dinner."
When something's existed for a relatively long time, it can be hard to remember what life was
like before that thing came around. We certainly feel that one of those things is Taco Bell's
quesadillas. Frankly, the now-staple menu item is so ingrained in the fast food restaurant's
identity that, from time to time, we still need to remind ourselves it wasn't on the original
menu. Some Reddit users recalled the occasional limited-time quesadilla promotion running in
the 1990s, but that isn't quite accurate. Taco Bell didn't offer the griddle-cooked
quesadilla nationwide until 2001, when it first advertised its then-new chicken quesadilla.
Interestingly, for such a popular item, there's very little information available regarding
the initial sale of Taco Bell's quesadillas. Sure, several commercials from 2001 announcing
the chicken quesadilla's release can be found, like this one, along with follow-up commercials
releasing soon after in following years. But beyond that, we came up largely empty-handed
regarding the development of, and thought process behind, Taco Bell's quesadillas.
Not that we necessarily need to know all the details surrounding Taco Bell's fateful
decision. After all, it's clear the quesadilla won't be disappearing from the Taco Bell menu
anytime soon — and two decades after it first appeared, that's really all that matters.
We can't imagine many folks disagree with the idea that Taco Bell has taken
its "think outside the bun" slogan to heart. But the fast food restaurant's commitment to
avoiding bun-based food items isn't the only way it seems to follow the wisdom in its catchphrase.
After all, Taco Bell has a long history of thinking outside the box as well,
and doing the unexpected when it comes to menu items. This includes introducing the quesarito
in June 2014, which combined a quesadilla and burrito into one mashed-up masterpiece.
Now, if you've never had the unparalleled pleasure of eating a Taco Bell quesarito,
you can probably envision the experience. After all, a beef,
rice, cheese, and sour cream-filled burrito is a delectable delight all on its own;
but taking that burrito, and wrapping it inside a quesadilla? It's like a gift straight from heaven.
While we were sorely disappointed to discover the quesarito was removed from menus in 2020, the
news wasn't all bad. Because while the item was taken off of menus at its actual restaurants, the
quesarito remains available for purchase on Taco Bell's online exclusive menu as of December 2022.
"Hell yeah! Hey, come on, baby. Come on! Yes!"
Despite what
some may believe, there's no real requirement when it comes to a quesadilla's filling,
at least, according to the Mexican Spanish Dictionary. Though many Americans likely
assume that a quesadilla has to include some kind of cheese, since the name seemingly
combines "queso" and "tortilla", that isn't actually the case. In Mexico City,
for example, the food is actually served sans cheese unless requested by the customer.
Given this lack of restrictions, Taco Bell deciding to test a dessert quesadilla in select
U.S. markets in 2017 is slightly less bizarre than it might sound. Their attempt, however, still
might catch you a bit off guard: the chocodilla, which is a quesadilla filled with Kit-Kat bars.
Now, we really do remember when Taco Bell tested the chocodilla, which featured Kit Kat
candy pieces and melted chocolate grilled inside a tortilla. But given its lack of
longevity beyond a short test run, we assumed the Taco Bell dessert item was nothing more than
a short-lived experiment. However, according to Taco Bell, the chocodilla is still sold in
seven different countries outside the U.S. as of 2022, including Guatemala, Costa Rica, and Spain.
We suppose it's nice that the option to gorge yourself on a chocolatey,
non-savory quesadilla still exists around the world. Then again,
since we're struggling to wrap our minds and taste buds around the notion of melted candy
inside a grilled tortilla, we're not exactly sprinting to grab our passports and try one.
Taco Bell has never seemed comfortable resting on the laurels of existing Mexican dishes. Sure,
tacos, burritos and quesadillas make up the core components of its menu. But the
consistent addition of absurd items, which often seem like the work of a madman stitching
together different foods, illustrates a clear ability to innovate. This includes
several quasi-quesadilla creations introduced by the fast food chain, such as a smaller,
shredded chicken quesadilla melt, which was just introduced in December of 2022.
Now, the quesarito may be the best known example, but it certainly wasn't
Taco Bell's only attempt to combine its quesadilla with another menu item. In fact,
the chain's taken multiple swings at creating quesadilla-like items through the years, and even
publicly prioritized the improvement of its melted cheese when introducing the quesalupa in 2016.
Like many other items, the quesalupa — a part quesadilla, part chalupa hybrid — has
made intermittent appearances on the menu since its initial release. In that sense,
maybe Taco Bell just can't stop itself from adding melted cheese and a grilled tortilla
to its items, no matter how long that item may really end up surviving on the menu.
You might not expect a restaurant known for its gut-busting options,
like steak white hot ranch fries, to offer many healthy options to consumers. But just
because Taco Bell often embraces the less nutritious side of Mexican cuisine doesn't
mean health-conscious diners should avoid the restaurant at all costs.
After all, as shown by its fairly robust vegetarian menu,
Taco Bell can be much healthier than you might think, at times. So
while we wouldn't necessarily call Taco Bell's quesadillas healthy,
its standard varieties aren't nearly as bad for your health as you'd expect from a fast food item.
For starters, each standard Taco Bell quesadilla, which includes cheese, steak,
and chicken, comes with a good amount of calcium, iron, and protein. Additionally, since its creamy
jalapeno sauce is the likely culprit of the item's nutritional deficiencies, asking for
light or no sauce can reduce the calorie and fat intake in Taco Bell's quesadillas even further.
Now, we want to be clear that the standard Taco Bell quesadillas make for a somewhat healthier
option, not just any sort of quesadilla hybrid item. And, according to CNN, the best option
may actually be a smaller chicken quesadilla variety, rather than the full sized thing.
"Is smaller better? Let's tackle this together!"
To say taste preferences vary by country and culture isn't exactly
a new thought. With that said, from an international brand's perspective,
that knowledge is downright essential to long-term growth and sustainability.
The decision makers at Taco Bell obviously understand this, which
helps explain why different quesadilla options are offered in different countries. Of course,
the presumed logic behind Taco Bell's decision not
to offer some of its internationally-sold quesadillas in the U.S. is easy to see.
For example, the chocodilla we mentioned earlier didn't last in the U.S.,
but succeeded in other countries. When it comes to other items, though, we're a little less
understanding. Take the pulled pork quesadilla available in the United Kingdom for example.
We love the sound of that item, and abhor our inability to order it on
this side of the pond. The same goes for the popular kimchi quesadilla in South Korea,
which accounted for 10% of Taco Bell's total sales in the country in 2016.
We're not entirely sure why corporate brands feel the
need to try and be cool in the 21st century, but we blame social media.
After all, we can't even begin to count the number of times we've witnessed a corporate
social media account utterly embarrass itself by trying to seem like part of the young, cool crowd.
"How do you do, fellow kids?"
"What?"
Then again, not all attempts to appeal to modern consumers are cringey — like Taco
Bell offering quesadilla menu hacks on its website for customers to use, for example.
Secret menu hacks have had a bit of a moment in recent years, so Taco Bell getting in on
the action is no surprise. Now, if we're being honest, the fact that the chain only provides
a couple of possible quesadilla hacks felt a bit underwhelming. But since both quesadilla
hacks sound fantastic, we're not inclined to be too harsh towards the Bell in this instance.
Additionally, Taco Bell encourages customers to share their own personal quesadilla hacks with
the restaurant on social media. Frankly, we can't help but salute Taco Bell's willingness
to encourage customer customization — and wish more companies would follow its lead.
When Taco Bell decided to throw its hat into the fast food breakfast ring in 2014, we reacted with
little more than a shrug. We don't mean to denigrate the Mexican chain's breakfast menu,
of course. Rather, we simply figured it was about time such a large fast food company expanded
to the early morning hours. Now, while its breakfast announcement was far from unexpected,
its lack of a breakfast quesadilla option before 2017 was utterly jaw-dropping.
Our apologies for the momentary hyperbole, but we still can't believe a breakfast quesadilla
wasn't among the restaurant's initial A.M. offerings, given the food central place at
Taco Bell. Of course, since Taco Bell now sells a folded-over tortilla filled with scrambled eggs,
meat, and cheese, we might as well recover from the shock and move on.
Somehow, the breakfast quesadilla still wasn't on Taco Bell's permanent menu when it was included
in the $5 Breakfast Box. Luckily, there's now a standalone bacon breakfast quesadilla
that has been on the menu since December 2022. Fingers crossed it stays that way.
"Alright, fingers crossed."
The rise of fake meat over the past ten years has
been fairly astonishing to witness. We're not complaining by any means,
but if you'd told us in 2010 that a slew of convincing fake meat products would be
available by the end of the decade, we can't say we would've believed you. Clearly, though,
fake meat isn't going anywhere and Taco Bell is jumping on the trend. Taco Bell collaborated with
Beyond Meat to release a steak quesadilla made with Beyond steak in September 2022.
Of course, as is often the case with these things, the Beyond steak quesadilla was
relegated to a limited-time release specific to Dayton, Ohio for this initial run. So while
us non-Ohio residents will have to wait our turn to sample the Beyond steak at Taco Bell,
we're willing to wait. Then again, since the new quesadilla reportedly hit all the expected flavor
notes found in a regular steak quesadilla, we just might have to plan a road trip to Dayton ASAP.