Taco Bell's Enchirito Won't Be Here Long

Taco Bell has brought back its beloved Enchirito for a very short window of time, from November 17 through November 30. Fans voted for its return in a recent interactive marketing push by Taco Bell, in which a poll determined whether the Double Decker Taco or the Enchirito would be briefly resurrected. This has long been one of my favorite items at Taco Bell, and since it's been officially off the menu since 2013, I wanted to see if it held up to my rosy memories.

A Taco Bell Enchirito is a combination of an enchilada and a burrito, featuring a soft flour tortilla filled with seasoned beef, refried beans, and onions, then drenched in red sauce and shredded cheddar. Then the entire thing is then heated up until the cheese on top is melted. Because of this, they aren't the prettiest things you'll ever see. When something is covered in that much sauce and melted cheese, it's bound to look like a sloppy mess. That's exactly why it's served up in a bowl.

I am happy to say the Taco Bell Enchirito tastes exactly the same as I remember it: It's pretty much an enchilada made out of Taco Bell ingredients, and what makes it really unique is the ungodly amount of red sauce applied to the thing.

The red sauce itself doesn't have a ton of flavor; it's got an ambiguous chile and cumin thing going on, and it even has a vague name (it really is just called "red sauce"). Overall, the Enchirito doesn't have a lot of texture aside from just soft and wet, though the onions give it a little bit of a bite when you get to them.

My fiancée had her first Enchirito today. "This is unlike anything else on the Taco Bell menu, which is why I can see why people are nostalgic for it," she said. "If you've never had one before, I'm not so sure you'd be as impressed."

She also noted that the Enchirito is fairly small for its price, and she's not wrong. The tortillas are the same size as those used for Taco Bell's soft shell tacos, and you only get one Enchirito per order. Our local Taco Bell sells them for $3.79 each.

The Enchirito still has the same drawback as it ever did, though: It's pretty difficult to eat. You have to use a fork, and unless it's been sitting for a while in the red sauce, you won't be able to cut all the way through it without a knife. That means this is sit-down food only. Do not eat this in the car. You've been warned.

Ordering the Enchirito "Supreme" adds on tomatoes and sour cream. The sour cream cuts through the saltiness of the red sauce, and the tomatoes make the whole meal seem a little fresher. If I'm feeling frisky I'll add guacamole, too. I know, I'm a total wild one.

My first-timer fiancée said that she'd like it better if it contained chicken instead of the seasoned beef, which is an easy substitution via the app or in person. Remember, when it comes to customization, you can always let your imagination run wild at Taco Bell.

The Enchirito isn't the only addition to the menu this month: the 7-Layer Nacho Fries ($4.39 by us) are a new item as well. The dish features Taco Bell's seasoned fries (which come and go seemingly at random) covered in black beans, tomatoes, sour cream, nacho cheese, creamy chipotle sauce, shredded cheese, seasoned beef, and a revamped guacamole.

Our order of fries was missing the black beans, but I'm not sure that would have changed too much other than to add some more heartiness to the dish. These were just fine, hitting the sweet spot of substantial snack or light meal. There's not a ton to say about them other than that they're pretty loaded and appeal to those who love a bunch of shit on top of their fries. Consider using a fork.

The new guacamole recipe is, according to Taco Bell, "made with real Hass avocados, freshly prepared daily, featuring tomatoes and crisp onions added to every batch. It is also an American Vegetarian Association certified vegan menu item."

I couldn't really tell the difference between this stuff and the old guacamole, but that might also be because there was so much other stuff loaded onto the 7-Layer Nacho Fries. I don't think Taco Bell's guacamole is going to give Chipotle's guac a run for its money just yet, if ever. Still, I like having the option of anything fresher, so the fact that it's been tinkered with is good.

Enchirito fans, you don't have much time to get your fill before these beefy little hybrids are gone. November 30 is just over a week away, at which point they'll be removed from the menu again for who knows how long. Because of its form factor, an Enchirito can't just be hacked together by making customizations in the Taco Bell app, so if you've been missing them for nearly a decade, you'd better go grab one now before it's too late.