Taco Bell Reportedly Bringing Back One of Its Most Popular Menu Items
Taco Bell is reportedly bringing back one of its most popular menu items that was discontinued in 2020. Fans have been begging Taco Bell for a Mexican Pizza comeback for over a year now, and it sounds like they're going to get their wish. Food blogger Markie_devo announced on his Instagram page that the beloved menu item will be back on Taco Bell menus in April or May of 2022.
The Mexican Pizza – consisting of seasoned ground beef and refried beans sandwiched between two crips "pizza shell" tostadas, then smothered in diced tomatoes, a three-cheese blend and a spicy pizza sauce – gained a cult following quickly after its 1985 introduction to Taco Bell menu. When the pizza was removed from the menu in November 2020, customers were outraged and have been hoping for its return ever since.
What's more is that Taco Bell might be taking things a step further, potentially developing a few new and improved versions of the Mexican Pizza. According to food blog Living Mas, that includes a "double cheesy" version, a spicy chorizo version, and a bacon-ranch version. A dessert version is also apparently a possibility.
The Mexican Pizza 2.0 will also reportedly come in a new carrier, as the unsustainable original packaging was one of the main reasons it was discontinued in the first place. "We know some fans may be sad to see this one go, we are too," Taco Bell said about its Mexican Pizzas when they were discontinued. "One silver lining of saying goodbye to the Mexican Pizza that might help you rest easy is that removing it from our menus helps us work towards our commitment to leave a lighter footprint on our planet. Currently, Mexican Pizza packaging accounts for over 7 million pounds of paperboard material per year in the U.S."
In that same vein, the company recently announced a set of new philosophies aimed toward positively impacting employees, diners and the planet. The company's 2022 commitments to employees include a number of pledges like "removing roadblocks to education," "increasing access to quality jobs," and "addressing racial equity and driving change." The company is aiming to reduce packaging waste, saying on its website that despite attracting 42 million customers weekly, less than 3% of Taco Bell's food goes to waste. However, NPR reported that more than 8 billion sauce packets go to landfills every year. The restaurant has begun chipping away at that problem through the TerraCycle hot sauce packet recycling program, and is currently testing a windowless Quesadilla bag in San Francisco and hoping to begin using it in other markets in 2022, according to a press release.