Discontinued Taco Bell Menu Items That Are Unlikely To Return

If you're in the market for a cheesy, meaty, carb-tastic meal, it's hard to beat Taco Bell. With a history stretching over 60 years, the chain has served up some of the nation's favorite Mexican (or, to be more accurate, Mexican-inspired) food. The numbers speak for themselves; to date, Taco Bell has expanded to an eye-watering 8,000 locations in over 30 countries worldwide, each offering a fan-favorite mix of tacos, quesadillas, burritos, and other Tex-Mex staples.

But this menu hasn't always been the same. While it's never strayed too far from its roots, Taco Bell has reinvented its offerings plenty of times over the years, with the menus of the 1960s, 1980s, and today all bearing key differences. Some of the items scrapped over the years were likely removed due to poor sales, but there are also plenty of axed items that boast notable fanbases that are still rooting for their return to this day. Taco Bell has even acquiesced on some occasions, bringing back much-missed items for a renaissance run or two. In the spirit of nostalgia, we've rounded up some of the many discontinued (and delicious) Taco Bell menu items that may make their own brief return at some point, but are unlikely to ever be restored full time.

If we hold one grudge against Taco Bell, it's for removing the Enchirito from its permanent menu. This magical concoction was a cross between an enchilada and a burrito, wrapping up beef, beans, onions, cheddar, and red sauce in a flour tortilla. While it's not entirely clear when it made its debut, it was at some point around 1970 when Taco Bell registered the product's name with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

We're not sure if it's due to poor sales or Taco Bell's desire to play with our emotions, but the chain has dropped and reintroduced the Enchirito multiple times over the years. It was first axed in 1993, when Taco Bell claimed that it was making way for new menu items. However, customers continued to request the Enchirito in-store, leading to its reinstatement with the dawn of the new millennium. It then disappeared again in 2013 before returning for a brief stint (emphasis on "brief") in 2022 after Taco Bell Rewards Members voted for it to come back in a poll. The Enchirito beat out another much-missed favorite, the Double Decker Taco (more on that later), taking home 62% of the vote.

The Enchirito made yet another triumphant return in 2023. Sadly, that wasn't enough to make the Enchirito a permanent fixture. While there's no saying what could happen in the future, Taco Bell has made its stance on offering the Enchirito on a full-time basis pretty clear.

The only thing better than a taco is a Double Decker Taco. This iconic menu item wrapped a stuffed taco shell with a tortilla wrap filled with beans and first hit Taco Bell in 1995 when basketball legends Shaquille O'Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon — fresh off playing each other in the NBA Finals — starred in an advertisement riding a tandem bicycle. While it was initially supposed to be a limited-time item, it proved popular enough to make the permanent menu in 2006.

After a 13-year run, Taco Bell bid adieu to the Double Decker Taco in 2019. Three years later, it lost to the Enchirito in a 2022 poll for the return of a long-lost menu item. However, fans managed to finesse its return by doing what works best: being loud on the internet. With users lamenting the loss of the Double Decker Taco in a Reddit AMA with Taylor Montgomery, Taco Bell's Chief Marketing Officer, the chain announced its third run in 2023. "The insane amount of love for this product from fans across our social platforms was impossible to ignore," Montgomery said (via Taco Bell), adding that "we couldn't deny them the joy of the Double Decker Taco any longer."

Unfortunately, that last bit doesn't seem to be entirely true. The Double Decker Taco's run was once again limited. While it made another short return in 2024, we continue to live in a world where the Double Decker Taco isn't on the full-time Taco Bell menu.

In 2009, somebody at Taco Bell looked at a taco and decided that the best way to celebrate Halloween was to dye the shell black. Or, at least, that's how we like to think the concept of the Black Jack Taco came about. This culinary delight — which was launched in mid-October and ran all the way through to December 27 of that same year — consisted of a black taco shell filled with beef and pepper jack sauce.

While Taco Bell went as far as to give the Black Jack Taco away as a freebie after nightfall on Halloween, it doesn't seem to have caught on as a favorite with customers. This mysterious taco proved to be a one-hit wonder and hasn't returned for spooky season since. As per those who remember its short stint, that may be for the best. "I don't necessarily want to see this one again because of the fact it could turn your poop weird colors," noted one Taco Bell fan on Reddit. In fact, the fondest thing that many customers seem to recall best is the Black Jack Taco's price point, with each taco costing just 89 cents. The glory days.

The Bell Beefer is a legendary figure in Taco Bell lore. Sandwiching helpings of ground beef, lettuce, and diced onions — plus diced tomatoes and cheese, if you splashed out on the "supreme" version — into a burger bun, it was more of a sloppy Joe than anything else. Originally known as the Chili Burger, it debuted as one of five core menu items at Taco Bell in the 1960s alongside tacos, frijoles, burritos, and tostadas. It underwent two name changes in its lifetime, going from the Chili Burger to the Bell Burger, then to the Bell Beefer.

Sadly, by the mid-1990s, Taco Bell decided that the end was near for the Bell Beefer. Fans have tried tirelessly to bring it back in the years since. San Francisco apparently even saw a spate of rallies known as "Stank Festivals," where customers pushed for the Bell Beefer's return. Considering how willing Taco Bell has been to experiment with quirky food items in recent years (case in point: the Mexican Pizza and the Big Cheez-It) and its habit of bringing back much-missed items for brief victory laps, we're surprised the Bell Beefer is yet to reappear. Never say never, but at least for now, it's not looking good.

While today you can take your pick from Cinnamon Twists and Cinnabon Delights when craving a sweet treat at Taco Bell, once upon a time you could order the delight that was the Caramel Apple Empanada. This arrived on the menu in 2000, where it remained for 19 years until it received the axe.

Why Taco Bell wanted to deprive us of the majesty of warm apple and caramel encased in golden pastry, we don't know. In 2024, the chain did us the honor of bringing it back as part of its Decades Menu, which celebrated long-lost items of years gone by. Fans were over the moon to see it return, and reviews claimed that the Caramel Apple Empanada was as tasty as ever. However, there was discontent over one key detail: it had nearly tripled in price. No longer part of the Dollar Cravings menu (which was itself axed in 2018), it cost $2.99 in November 2024. As one fan noted on Reddit, "We've literally begged for them for years, they knew they could name their price."

Pricier though it may have been, at least the Caramel Apple Empanada was still an option. The dessert was added to the Decades Menu nearly a month after the other items but was still only around for a limited time. It has since been scrapped from the Taco Bell menu once again, with no return date in sight.

You may not think of McDonald's Filet O' Fish as a threat to Taco Bell, but it seems like the latter did in the 1980s. An advertisement introduced its Seafood Salad in 1986 as a "refreshing change from anything on a bun" (via MrClassicAds1980s), highlighting its use of fresh veggies, shrimp, whitefish, and snow crab. All of this was mixed in a taco salad shell, combined to create one of Taco Bell's most unique offerings to date.

It's hard to establish when or why Taco Bell decided to ditch its Seafood Salad. If the words of those who tried the Seafood Salad in its heyday are anything to go by, we're not missing out. As one Reddit user so aptly put it, it was an "abomination." Kudos to Taco Bell for trying something new, but perhaps this is one menu item that's best left in the past.

Taco Bell's Volcano Taco didn't just bear one of the coolest names in fast food history; it also tasted delicious. The taco used Lava Sauce — a spicy nacho cheese sauce — as the finishing touch in a bright red taco filled with ground beef and lettuce. Originally launched in 2008, the taco had a short but sweet (or, to be more accurate, spicy) run before being brought back as a permanent menu item — alongside a Volcano Double Beef Burrito and Volcano Nachos – in 2009.

Four years later, Taco Bell scrapped the entire menu. Those rooting for its return were left bereft, despite a petition pushing for the menu's reinstatement that gained nearly 2,000 signatures. Finally, in 2023, Taco Bell deigned to give customers the chance to enjoy its Volcano Menu once again. It even enlisted Paris Hilton to promote its limited return, with the socialite utilizing her iconic "that's hot" catchphrase for the occasion.

Sadly, the taco has been MIA since this limited run came to an end. Customers are still manifesting a comeback one day regardless. As one Reddit user said, "Taco Bell would have all my money if they brought them back. I honestly don't care how much they would cost, the Volcano Taco is the greatest thing they ever produced." Considering the number of discontinued Taco Bell items that generate this much fervor, we won't get our hopes up just yet.

Waffles are amazing. Tacos are amazing. Put them together, and you have something that is — surprise, surprise — twice as amazing. Taco Bell's Waffle Tacos burst onto the scene in 2013 when the chain started testing them in select restaurants throughout Southern California (where, as food historian Andrew Smith told USA Today, it had perhaps its strongest chance of success because "in California, anything named 'taco' would probably sell better at breakfast than anything not named 'taco'").

Launched in an attempt to make a mark on the fast food industry's surging breakfast market, each waffle was folded to mimic a taco shell around scrambled eggs, syrup, and a sausage patty. The Waffle Taco proved popular enough to earn a nationwide launch in 2014, with customers given the choice between bacon and sausage. Today, however, it's nowhere to be seen on the chain's breakfast menu. It's still missed by fans enough to warrant the occasional plea for Taco Bill to give it a second wind, but for now, there's no word on when or if this day will ever come. Looks like we'll just have to make do with our Breakfast Crunchwrap in the meantime.

When Taco Bell announced its Kit Kat Chocoladilla in 2017, customers were quick to point out one issue: "ladilla" literally means "crab louse" in Spanish, which isn't exactly the most appetizing product name. Questionable marketing choices aside, the Kit Kat Chocoladilla was notable because it didn't actually herald from Taco Bell's U.S. operations. Customers were previously able to purchase the Kit Kat Chocadilla at Taco Bell restaurants in the U.K., with one theory suggesting that the name had to change stateside due to its similarity to the Hostess snack Chocodile.

The Kit Kat Chocoladilla took a flour tortilla and filled it with crushed Kit Kat pieces and melted chocolate. It initially launched in select restaurants throughout Wisconsin and was slated to run until mid-November. While Taco Bell seemed encouraged by the initial response to the Kit Kat Chocoladilla, telling USA Today that "the attention is speaking for itself," it doesn't seem to have made enough impact to stick around for the long run. Unlike a lot of the items on this list, Taco Bell hasn't brought the Kit Kat Chocoladilla back for a second run. It has, however, made its way to Taco Bell restaurants in Portugal and Spain, where we can only assume that customers were much more open to the concept than domestic fans.

In case you needed proof that no fast food fixture is ever truly safe from discontinuation, Taco Bell featured the Meximelt on its menu for roughly 30 years before giving it the axe. The chain first registered its trademark for the Meximelt in 1988 before phasing it out at some point by 2019. It came packed with pico de gallo, three kinds of melted cheese (mozzarella, cheddar, and Monterey Jack), and seasoned ground beef in a classic Taco Bell flour tortilla.

Taco Bell never explained why it decided to scrap the Meximelt after such a lengthy run. All we know is that fans were pretty devastated by its departure, with many having ordered it regularly since childhood. Taco Bell gave it a brief reprise in October 2024 as a part of its Decades Menu (when it also admitted that it was "one of our most requested comeback items"), but it still doesn't compare to the luxury of being able to order a Meximelt any time you want. In the words of one particularly passionate Reddit user, "I was and am still enraged. Long live the Meximelt!!!" Preach.

Taco Bell may offer Cinnamon Twists on its desserts menu today, but there was a time when Cinnamon Crispas were the star of the show. Found at Taco Bell in the 1980s, these were essentially just fried tortilla chips dusted with cinnamon sugar.

It's not totally clear why Taco Bell decided to swap the Cinnamon Crispas with the Cinnamon Twists. The latter were introduced in 1989 as part of a promotional campaign for the release of the "Batman" movie in 1989. While they clearly proved popular enough to endure for over three decades, many people still compare them negatively to their predecessor. Customers have complained that the Cinnamon Twists are inferior and have less cinnamon flavor than the Crispas.

There is a chance that nostalgia has softened public opinion on the Cinnamon Crispas. Some have noted that they did have their flaws. "They had so much waste with all the broken pieces and crumb," pointed out one Reddit user. "So twists better margin. A step backwards for food. A step forward for profit?" Another Reddit user claimed that the Cinnamon Crispas were so sharp that they posed a practical risk while eating. "Someone probably got gouged in their esophagus one too many times," they wrote while questioning their discontinuation.

Taco Bell has never shied away from bold creations, but the Naked Egg Taco is up there with the most unique. Added to the breakfast menu in 2017, this replaced the taco shell with a fried egg and wrapped it around potatoes, cheese, and bacon or sausage. Taco Bell seemed confident about its launch, even encouraging customers to book a table in select restaurants to try it early.

While we appreciate the vision behind the Naked Egg Taco — which is just one installment in a long line of Taco Bell's attempts to innovate the taco shell — there's a reason why if it ain't broke, you don't fix it. Sales were seemingly strong enough to warrant its return in 2018, but Taco Bell hasn't brought it back since. As per one former Taco Bell worker on Reddit, it was "a pain to make" and, if not totally fresh, would break apart under the heaters. At the same time, it was also so hot when fresh that it was tough to handle.

Years later, Taco Bell actually issued an apology of sorts for the Naked Egg Taco. Assisted by breakfast spokesperson Pete Davidson, it admitted that it had gone "a bit crazy with its breakfasts," citing the Naked Egg Taco as one of its faux pas. With that in mind, we wouldn't count on being able to order a Naked Egg Taco again any time soon.

In 2012, Taco Bell set out to expand its snack offerings. The idea was to provide more options, both sweet and savory, to fill the gap in demands between lunch and dinner. Loaded Grillers played a key role in that strategy. Initially available in three varieties (the Loaded Potato Griller, the Beefy Nacho Loaded Griller, and the Loaded Buffalo Chicken Griller), each was inspired by a different popular appetizer.

While all three flavors received plenty of love from customers — especially when they were priced at just $1 apiece — Taco Bell decided to remove Loaded Grillers from its menu in April 2020. This came at a time when a lot of fast food restaurants were streamlining their menus in response to COVID-19. Not only did Taco Bell axe its Loaded Grillers, but it also scrapped the likes of the Triple Layer Nachos, and the Nachos Supreme. As explained in an email to Today, this was to help "make ordering faster, safer and easier than ever for customers and team members." Years later, the Loaded Grillers are yet to make a comeback.