If there's one beloved fast food restaurant that's got something for everyone, it's Taco Bell.
So, what did Taco Bell's menu look like the year you were born? Here's a look at
how the popular fast restaurant's menu has changed over the years.
When Taco Bell first opened in 1962, and for the first few years it was around, the menu was pretty
limited. As with most fast food joints, Taco Bell didn't always have a menu that spanned several
pages. But on their original menu, there weren't just tacos and burritos, believe it or not.
The original Taco Bell menu featured six different food items, all of which cost just 19 cents.
"19 cents?"
"Uh-huh."
"Excuse me."
"Where you going?"
"I have to get my taco."
Not only did the original Taco Bell sell the things you would expect,
like tostadas, two kinds of burritos, frijoles, and tacos, it also featured one unique item.
For just 19 cents back in 1962, you could get yourself a chili burger from Taco Bell.
After the first Taco Bell opened, and more and more franchises started popping up all over the
country, the menu started to change. Prices gradually went up from that measly 19 cents,
but, for the most part, things remained pretty low-key.
In 1970, Taco Bell introduced something called an Enchirito. And, yes, it sounds pretty freaking
delicious. The Enchirito was a burrito topped with cheese, red sauce, and three olives.
"Wait a minute. What's that?"
"Oh, that is an enchirito. Now that's got pinto beans… cheese on top."
While the Enchirito remained on the menu until 1993, it was definitely the most popular during
the first few years after it was introduced. In 1975, Taco Bell attempted to prove that they
didn't just serve tacos. In fact, one menu item launched in 1975, called the "Bell Beefer,"
looks like an interesting take on a taco. Yes, during the 1970s, Taco Bell served something
called the Bell Beefer, which stuck around until the 1990s when it was discontinued like other
Taco Bell items. Honestly, that's kind of sad, because the Bell Beefer had a ton of potential.
Think of it like a taco, but in hamburger form. It was made with taco-seasoned beef,
cheese, lettuce, and tomato sandwiched between two burger buns. Basically,
the Bell Beefer was like a taco sloppy joe. For some reason,
it just wasn't as popular as other Taco Bell items and sadly is no longer around.
Believe it or not, Taco Bell has been serving dessert options for quite some time.
Yes, there are some popular modern-day options,
but one of the oldest and most classic Taco Bell desserts actually came about a long time ago,
although it wouldn't be surprising if the restaurant brought them back someday.
Called Cinnamon Crispas, this Taco Bell item from 1980 was both satisfying and unique.
The Cinnamon Crispas were basically cinnamon and sugar-dusted tortilla chips.
Apparently, they were seriously loved by just about anyone who tried them. Sadly, the Cinnamon
Crispas were discontinued and replaced with a similar menu item, the Cinnamon Twists.
These days, when you think of Taco Bell, you probably don't think of chili. Sure, the chain
restaurant offers spicy food and plenty of ground beef. But, isn't chili a Wendy's menu staple, not
Taco Bell's? However, in the early 1990s, it turns out that chili was all the rage at Taco Bell.
In 1990, Taco Bell introduced the Chili Cheese Burrito. The item was literally just
chili and cheese wrapped in a warm flour tortilla, but fans loved it. Originally,
the Chili Cheese Burrito was on the low-end of the cost spectrum at Taco Bell, and was
part of the "59-79-99 deal," which referred to the number of cents necessary to buy the meal.
Sadly, Taco Bell ended the Chili Cheese Burrito's run in the mid-90s, though fans
weren't pleased with that decision. They were so vocal about their disappointment, in fact,
that they convinced the chain restaurant to bring it back years later. Some Taco Bell locations
even continued serving the Chili Cheese Burrito for years after it was supposedly discontinued.
Back in the days before social media blew up at the announcement of a new fast food item, places
like Taco Bell could launch new menu items in a relatively subtle manner. In 1995, they did just
that when they rolled out several new menu items that didn't exactly scream fast-Mexican cuisine.
In 1995, Taco Bell had made a public announcement that it was bringing
three new menu items to Taco Bells nationwide, all featuring one beloved ingredient: bacon.
Taco Bell launched a BLT soft taco, chicken club burrito, and bacon cheeseburger burrito.
The newer items also made the menu look like it hailed from a Mexican-influenced deli.
Whether or not said bacon items were actually good is up for debate,
but they clearly didn't stick around for long, as a glance at the modern menu will tell you.
If there was ever a need for a time machine, it would definitely be to go visit a Taco
Bell in 1998. Seriously, the 1998 Taco Bell menu looked amazing, and for one
good reason. For a few years in the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was all about the Gordita.
"Viva gorditas!"
Taco Bell launched the Gordita in 1998. The menu item was basically a flatbread-style taco
reminiscent of an authentic Mexican gordita. As if that doesn't sound delicious enough,
the menu featured three different Gordita flavors: Supreme, Fiesta,
and Santa Fe. Then, in 2001, they introduced the Cheesy Gordita Crunch,
a gordita wrapped around a taco for the ultimate in cheesy and crunchy.
Fortunately, the Cheesy Gordita Crunch is still available at Taco Bells across the United States.
Back in 2003, Taco Bell gave the world what it really wanted with
a new kind of burrito called the Spicy Chicken Burrito.
"It's true! It's the spicy chicken burrito."
At the time of the Spicy Chicken Burrito's launch,
Taco Bell's Chief Marketing Officer, Greg Creed, told Business Wire:
"With our new Spicy Chicken Burrito,
we are offering burger-bored consumers another exciting choice in taste at a reasonable price."
The burrito featured shredded chicken with plenty of spices, rice, and salsa all wrapped
in a tortilla. Unfortunately, it was a limited menu item that only ran until October 12, 2003.
If you've ever been to a Taco Bell then you probably know that one of the fast food
chain's signature beverages is the distinctive blue-green drink known as Mountain Dew Baja Blast.
The drink is really only available at Taco Bell, making it extra special for restaurant-goers.
The unique flavors of the beverage make it even more of a one-of-a-kind choice.
As delicious as the Baja Blast is, it was only introduced at Taco Bell in 2004.
Needless to say, the drink quickly became a popular addition to the menu.
Perhaps Taco Bell's most popular item of all time is the Crunchwrap Supreme.
A warm tortilla filled with beef, nacho cheese, lettuce, tomato, and a crunchy tostada shell? Um,
heck yes! The Crunchwrap Supreme was introduced in 2005, becoming so popular amongst eaters
that the chain restaurant made it a permanent menu item only a year later in January 2006.
The Taco Bell menu from 2006 to 2012 was pretty standard,
with only a few new inventions. However, one of those newbie menu items, the Volcano Taco,
took the fast food world by storm. It you were born in that time period, the Taco Bell menu
was probably pretty impressive thanks in large part to the Volcano Taco's widespread popularity.
According to Mental Floss, Taco Bell launched the Volcano Taco between 2008 and 2009.
The menu item was filled with distinctly spicy nacho cheese. As tasty as that sounds,
it didn't stick around too long, as it was replaced by the Doritos Locos Taco,
which remains one of the most popular items on Taco Bell's menu.
For the most part, Taco Bell has stayed pretty close to its typical menu offerings of tacos,
burritos, and other Mexican-style foods. But in 2013, Taco Bell finally offered two new
and truly different menu items launched during the 2013 Super Bowl. According to
Taco Bell's press release, the commercial spots first aired during the big game and
featured the new Cantina Bell Steak Burrito and, for the first time at Taco Bell, churros.
The Taco Bell Cantina Steak Burrito featured thick-cut, flavor-packed steak, rice, black beans,
along with hefty toppings like lettuce, guacamole, pico de gallo, and salsa. Oh, and it was topped
with a creamy cilantro sauce. Yes, that probably sounds familiar for any Chipotle fans out there.
To Chipotle's relief, the Cantina Steak Burrito is no longer on the Taco Bell menu.
Taco Bell finally decided to become an all-day restaurant in 2014
when they launched their breakfast menu. Yes, Taco Bell decided to serve up early-morning
breakfast to its patrons that year, making the menu pretty expansive.
A Taco Bell breakfast isn't a foreign idea,
as it has stuck around since its initial launch. However, there have been some changes.
The original Taco Bell breakfast menu featured three main items:
a Waffle Taco, the A.M. Crunchwrap, and Cinnabon Delights. Sadly, the Waffle Taco wasn't a huge
hit and is no longer on the Taco Bell menu. The A.M. Crunchwrap and Cinnabon Delights, however,
are still on the Taco Bell breakfast menu, along with a variety of newer breakfast burritos.
In 2013, Taco Bell introduced a new menu item that was almost like a delicious little handheld snack,
called the Stuft Nacho. The item was pretty simple, consisting of beef, nacho cheese,
tortilla strips, and sour cream wrapped in a flour tortilla and folded to look like a
giant nacho chip. The item was super popular but was sadly taken off the menu in 2014.
Fans of the Stuft Nacho got to celebrate when Taco Bell brought back the delectable
hand-held snack in 2015, though the joy was short-lived as they discontinued it soon after.
While the Stuft Nacho didn't have a long run on the Taco Bell menu,
it was definitely a big deal in 2015, and possibly the most popular menu item at the time.
As if Taco Bell hadn't done enough to revolutionize fast food,
the chain restaurant took things up a notch with their 2016 menu. That year,
Taco Bell's menu featured a lot of tried and true items, plus the limited release edition
of a new creation that was the talk of the town. Sure, Taco Bell had tried new things in the past,
with plenty of failed experiments, but nothing quite like this new menu item on the block.
In February 2016, Taco Bell launched the Quesalupa, which was basically
a taco but with a hard shell filled with pepper jack cheese. It sounds simple, but it was a huge
launch on Taco Bell's part. Specifically, Taco Bell spent a reported $5 million to announce the
Quesalupa during a Super Bowl commercial. The Quesalupa is no longer on the Taco Bell menu,
but in 2016, it was the central focus of the chain's offerings.
For whatever reason, 2017 was the year that Taco Bell decided to forgo taco shells or
tortillas for some items and go totally naked. As scandalous as it sounds, in 2017,
Taco Bell launched a few new menu items utilizing that word,
including a Naked Chicken Chalupa and a Naked Egg Taco. The chalupa was basically lettuce,
tomatoes, cheese, and sauce wrapped in a tortilla-shaped piece of fried chicken.
The Naked Egg Taco followed in the same vein. The breakfast menu item
was basically a breakfast taco, but instead of having eggs in the tortilla,
the egg was the tortilla. It was messy, strange, and overall just not good.
Basically, everyone can agree that french fries are one of the most delicious foods in the world.
Crispy, hot, salty, with the perfect amount of chewiness in the middle — french fries are the
stuff dreams are made of. Add cheese to the equation and you've got yourself a winner.
That's something Taco Bell discovered in 2018 when they gave the world nacho fries. In response,
the world collectively freaked out. Specifically, Eater reports that Taco Bell sold 53 million
orders of Nacho Fries in just three months. However, as popular as nacho fries were in 2018,
they were only a limited-time offering. While the chain brought them back in 2019 and 2020, their
checkered past makes customers worry that the future of the nacho fry remains, sadly, uncertain.
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