Review: Taco Bell's New Menu Items Are A Tasty, Dreamy Way To Start 2025

We're only a few weeks away before Taco Bell unveils a full year of new food and drinks at its second annual dog and pony show — Live Más Live. Instead of holding off dropping new goodies until then, the chain is getting 2025 off to a rip roaring start by dropping five new items: Cheesy Dipping Burritos, Steak Garlic Nacho Fries, Baja Blast Dream, Baja Blast Dream Freeze, and Baja Blast Strawberry Dream Freeze.

A burrito has long held a place in the pantheon of Taco Bell menu items, but forever remained a singular handful. Last summer, eaters in Detroit, Michigan got their first taste of Cheesy Dipping Burritos, which come as a snackable duo. That test run proved to be such a success that they are now ready for the national spotlight. Debuting on the same day is another snacky side item — a new take on nacho fries, topped off by steak garlic. To wash it all down, or perhaps to finish it all off as a dessert, Taco Bell is following the "dirty soda" trend and adding a creamy twist to Mountain Dew Baja Blast soda, as well as its slushy Freeze drinks to create a Baja Blast Dream, Baja Blast Dream Freeze, and a Strawberry Dream Freeze.

So, is Taco Bell's new items a total dream and a blast to intake, or are they doing their fans and customers dirty? The Takeout headed to our local Taco Bell on day one to see where the truth lies in this chew & view, and sip & say.

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Starting on January 16, the new items will be available at participating Taco Bell locations. They are all limited time offerings, available while supplies last. These items can be found on Taco Bell's menu under the "New" submenu. They can also be found individually under the "Cantina Chicken Menu," "Burritos," "Specialties," and "Drinks" submenus. They can be ordered in-store, at the register, at a kiosk, or via the drive-thru where available. Advance ordering for pick-up or delivery is available through Taco Bell's app and website.

Availability and pricing of the new items may vary by location. Both a pair of the burritos and an order of the nacho fries has the suggested retail price of $4.99. Baja Blast Dream dirty soda is available in sizes small, medium, and large, and sell respectively for $2.19, $2.99, and $3.39. The two Freeze drinks come in a regular 16-ounce cup size for $3.69, and a large 20-ounce one for $3.89. The burritos can be ordered with proteins grilled, marinated steak, or Cantina slow-roasted chicken. An order of the burritos comes with a single side dipping. Additional side sauces are available for à la carte purchase at $.50 and up. Taco Bell is also offering a new set of "Luxe Boxes," and the $9 version of it comes with a rotating selection of one of Taco Bell's new menu item innovation, plus an order of Doritos Locos Tacos, Crunchy Taco, Cinnamon Twists, and a Medium Fountain Drink.

I ordered a pair of both the Steak and the Slow Roasted Chicken Cheesy Dipping Burritos. On the surface, it's hard to differentiate one from the other. They looked like a thin burrito cut in two, with each half wrapped on both ends like one would expect. Both mini-burritos had a burned-in crispy cheesy bottom around that was greasy to the touch, and the other, a more clean surface, only showing some browning from the pressing stage.

Starting with the more rounded of the two burrito pairs, it turned out to be the steak one. The meat was thankfully tender to chew on, and was complemented inside with plenty of luscious avocado ranch sauce within. The combo was an excellent match of flavors. It's a saucy and juicy enough item that it doesn't even require the use of the included dipping sauce. The more pressed and flatter burrito pair housed the chicken. The meat was adequate enough, but would be better if it was more chunked like its steak cousin. Here the ranch sauce doesn't stand out as much, unfortunately allowing the chicken to hog most of the flavor with its not so attractive tomatoey sauce. This one was in more need of a side dip to mask the chicken's shortcomings.

Two steak Cheesy Dipping Burritos nets 480 calories, 25 grams of fat, 35 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of dietary fiber, and 29 grams of protein. The chicken version nets 490 calories, 25 grams of fat, 37 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of dietary fiber, and 30 grams of protein.

A plastic cover masked when pleasure hide underneath, displayed on a black plastic tray. The lid was actually hard to pry off, but it was worth the tour. This latest iteration of nacho fries had a lot under and over the hood. The fries are seasoned with vibrant red Mexican spices, and then topped with marinated grilled steak, pico de gallo, shredded cheddar cheese, nacho cheese sauce, and a new creamy Garlic Ranch Sauce, made with garlic and jalapeño peppers. Among a mass of toppings, the fries surprisingly held up well, maintaining a slight crispness.

While my first nibbles included the use of my hands, it looked like a messy journey from there so I succumbed to using a fork. As I picked and chose different combos of toppings, each one kept telling my mouth that this was a tasty dish. The steak, like the one in the new burritos, was soft and chewy. The cheese and healthy amount of garlic ranch provided combined to make a sea of salty flavors that is sure to engulf one's taste buds in a good way. While the pico tomatoes were a little mushy, they add a bit of night lightness to break up the savoriness of everything else.

A single order of these fries nets 490 calories, 31 grams of fat, 5 grams of saturated fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,200 milligrams of sodium, 39 grams of total carbohydrates, 4 grams of dietary fiber, 3 grams of sugar, and 14 grams of protein. It contains the allergens gluten, milk, eggs, and wheat.

Over the past few years, dirty sodas have risen from a Utah curio to a nationwide phenomenon. Taco Bell is joining the game and offering up two squeezes of a vanilla crème syrup to join its resident Mountain Dew flavor Baja Blast. The Taco Bell I went to had self-serve soda machines, so I was handed an empty cup with the two shots pumped in. As I tapped the Baja Blast fountain drink, its green June beetle color started to muddle with the white crème to form a color that looked like a matcha drink that was overly drowned in milk.

Baja Blast's strength lies in its lime flavoring, but when it crossed paths with the artificially strong vanilla créme, it was essentially neutralized. The great citrus taste had been plucked away, leaving behind a Mountain Dew version of cream soda. Not sure if anyone was screaming from any mountain for such a drink, but alas, if they were, here it is. As the ice melted, it helped to chip away at the vanilla's hold, but sadly didn't bring back any of the lime.

A small 16-ounce dirty Mountain Dew Baja Blast Dream nets 270 calories, a medium has 310 calories, and a large has 460 calories. The Zero version respectively nets in those sizes 50, 50, and 60 calories. A standard Baja Blast 16-ounce Baja Blast soda, without the flavoring nets 220 calories, 65 milligrams of sodium, 59 grams of carbohydrates, and 59 grams of sugar.

Taco Bell's slushy concoction is called a "Freeze," and for this dirty soda version of Baja Blast that name proved to be mighty true. While the vanilla créme certainly made its presence known with each sip, thankfully it was less jarring, and frankly less nauseating than its un-Freeze-en fountain brother. The vanilla balanced much better here with the lime, creating a drink that's closer to a dream than the daymare the soda version is. The result is a drink that successfully creates a lovely combo — a citrusy, milky slushy. It also had a much more presentable look, perfect for winter, looking like the white cap of frozen dew atop a tall mountain.

A 16-ounce Baja Blast Freeze contains 190 calories, 1 gram of total fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 45 milligrams of cholesterol, 48 grams of total carbohydrates, and 47 grams of sugar. It contains the milk allergen.

The Strawberry version of this Baja Blast is essentially the same drink, although it is mixed in with the Wild Strawberry Freeze slush. I'm not exactly sure mine was made correctly, based on the pristine images seen on the digital menu screens. My drink was devoid of any green substance, but the white crème added another level of beauty, swirling up several shades of red throughout this attractive looking drink.

Having been an instant fan of the Baja Blast Dream Freeze, I was curious if this one would be a step forward or backwards. I was immediately left with no doubt with my first sip of this Strawberry version. Strawberries and cream are already a known great partnership, and did not disappoint as a Freeze, which is a level up in awesomeness. The two flavors blended quite well together. I took a break from this treat, and when I circled back later, its taste somehow even improved, resembling a leaner Cherry Coke Slurpee one can fill up at 7-Eleven.

A 16-ounce Strawberry Freeze contains 190 calories, 1 gram of total fat, less than 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 45 milligrams of cholesterol, 48 grams of total carbohydrates, and 47 grams of sugar. It contains the milk allergen.

Nacho Fries are a solid item on Taco Bell's menu, and this Steak Garlic iteration is not only the latest, but perhaps its greatest take. The only drawback with this one is its temperature. It's best eaten right away, in-store, otherwise the fries will run cold on the go. When I took my leftovers home, it almost resembled a congealed loaded baked potato.

I am not a giant cream soda fan to begin with, and so the Baja Blast Dream wasn't a dream I needed fulfilling. Since I was left to my own devices as to what soda to fill my vanilla crème cup up with, I probably should have tried Wild Cherry Pepsi to recreate the awesome new soda that hit the market, but in fountain form. Luckily both Freeze versions of the Dream were heavenly delight behold and drink. If you had to choose one, go with Strawberry.

All the above are nice novelties to try in the interim, but the one item I hope stays around a lot longer are the Cheesy Dipping Burritos. Sure, they weren't exactly as "cheesy" as their name may have promised, but one would be hard pressed to not love these little mini-burritos. Skip the Cantina chicken version and order up the far superior steak version. It doesn't need the dip, but double your pleasure by doing so in more of that lovely avocado ranch sauce.

The fine folks at Taco Bell supplied a gift card for me to purchase the new menu items at a time and Taco Bell location of my choosing. There's nothing like eating new food first thing in the morning and that's when I had these new items at a Manhattan location. Sadly, one of the stores didn't have its Freeze machine in operation, so I had to go to a second location to finish the job. The items were all ordered in advance using Taco Bell's app, picked-up, and eaten in store.

The items were solely taste tested by me, and tested in the order based on temperature, with the warmer items first. The conclusions of this chew and review, and sip and say, were drawn upon the items' flavor, originality, value, Taco Bell-ness, overall lovability, and the likelihood of ordering again in the future.