Taco Bell Adds New Cheesy Menu Item

Taco Bell is combining its beloved Mexican-style cuisine with an American cuisine staple. The fast food restaurant chain this month debuted a mashup of a taco and grilled cheese, the new Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco is now available to purchase at Taco Bell locations nationwide.

The new menu item, perfect for cheese-lovers, debuted on Aug. 3. Inspired birria, a slow-cooked Mexican meat stew, the menu item features the chain’s newest protein offering, slow-braised shredded beef, which is packed in a freshly fried daily white corn shell along with a three-cheese blend of cheddar, mozzarella, and pepper jack melted on the inside. That three-cheese blend is also grilled on the outside, offering a double helping of cheesy goodness. But Taco Bell didn’t stop there. The Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco comes with warm nacho cheese sauce and a savory red sauce for dipping.

The Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco’s addition to the menu comes after Taco Bell spent two years perfecting its shredded beef recipe. The new protein option is slow-braised in a blend of spices, which the fast food company says makes it “the ideal centerpiece of the Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco.”

“The rich and spicy flavors often found in birria were a major point of inspiration as we created the new Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco. By combining slow-braised shredded beef with the two dipping sauces, our fans can enjoy a new range of flavors they may have never had from Taco Bell before,” Liz Matthews, Global Chief Food Innovation Officer at Taco Bell, said in a press release. “This Mexican-inspired dish represents an evolution of what fans typically expect from Taco Bell. We’re excited to bring this menu item nationwide after an incredibly successful test in 2022.”

Now available on menus nationwide for a suggested price of $3.49 a la carte or as part of the Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco Deluxe Cravings Box for $9.49, the Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco is just the latest to join Taco Bell’s Grilled Cheese platform. The chain is also currently testing the new Shredded Beef Grilled Cheese Burrito at participating locations in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The burrito features a melty three-cheese blend on the inside and the new slow-braised shredded beef simmered in spices until tender and juicy, as well as a classic, flavorful green sauce. The burrito is currently only on menus in Oklahoma City, and there is no word if it will eventually roll out nationwide.