Taco Bell's 2024 Menu: Everything You Need To Know

Around September each year, Apple gears up to announce its latest version of the iPhone and any other tech innovations it might be releasing soon. In 2024, it seems food brands have begun adopting this same approach, perhaps to create as much hype as possible around the menu as a whole, rather than focusing on one limited menu item at a time. Last year White Castle laid out its entire 2023 promotion schedule in one fell swoop, and now Taco Bell has taken the strategy to a whole new level by announcing every single new item that will hit the menu throughout all of 2024.

Taco Bell laid out its menu vision at its recent Live Más LIVE event in Las Vegas, a "first-of-its-kind fan experience for the brand where cult followers will get unmatched access to the biggest kept secrets of 2024 all in one place," according to the invite. Announcements at the event ranged from new menu items to upcoming brand collaborations to the launch of an emerging chef development program.

Since there are bound to be a slew of other announcements from Taco Bell soon enough, let's focus on the food for now. Here's everything you need to know about what's hitting the menu in 2024.

The new Cantina Chicken Menu will debut in March 2024. Although Taco Bell indicates in its announcement that all of this year's releases will feature "bold and intentionally Mexican-inspired flavors," the Cantina Chicken menu seems to have the most elements that align with that statement.

The chicken itself is brand new to the menu and meant to be the star of the show; it's oven-roasted, shredded, and seasoned with a blend of savory Mexican spices including pasilla. Pasilla is a dried chili pepper used in many traditional Mexican dishes, such as mole, due to its sweet and smoky flavor.

In addition to the seasoned protein, the Cantina Chicken Menu also includes new ingredients for Taco Bell, such as purple cabbage, pico de gallo, a white corn taco shell, and a new sauce: Avocado Verde Salsa.

The menu consists of five chicken-based offerings:

• Cantina Chicken Bowl: Seasoned rice, Cantina Chicken, black beans, lettuce, cabbage, Avocado Ranch Sauce, sour cream, pico de gallo, guacamole, and cheddar, served with Avocado Verde Salsa
• Cantina Chicken Burrito: Double portion of Cantina Chicken, lettuce, cabbage, Avocado Ranch Sauce, Creamy Chipotle Sauce, cheddar cheese, and pico de gallo, served with Avocado Verde Salsa
• Cantina Chicken Quesadilla: Flour tortilla filled with Cantina Chicken, 3-cheese blend, and Creamy Chipotle Sauce, with an exterior layer of crispy cheese, served with guacamole, sour cream, and Avocado Verde Salsa
• Cantina Chicken Crispy Taco: Cantina Chicken, Creamy Jalapeno Sauce, and 3-cheese blend, coated with an extra layer of cheese and served with Avocado Verde Salsa
• Cantina Chicken Soft Taco: Cantina Chicken, Avocado Ranch Sauce, lettuce, cabbage, cheddar cheese, and pico de gallo, served with Avocado Verde Salsa

The menu will be available nationwide at all Taco Bell locations starting next month.

The Cheesy Chicken Crispanada consists of marinated chicken slow-cooked with garlic, tomato, and onion combined with a blend of pepper jack, cheddar, and mozzarella inside a crispy pastry. The new item will hit Taco Bell locations nationwide on February 15. Taco Bell has conducted previous market tests of crispy chicken and ran a limited test of this empanada-inspired menu item last year.

Taco Bell has most definitely entered its poultry era. The Crispy Chicken Nuggets consist of white meat marinated in jalapeño buttermilk, breaded in a tortilla coating and deep-fried. The nuggets also come with two sauce options: the usual Bell sauce, made with tomatoes, red chiles, onion, and garlic, or a Jalapeño Honey Mustard. These little wonders were tested in Minneapolis back in October, WGN reported at the time.

The Cheesy Street Chalupas are made of a cheesy flatbread around a small tortilla stuffed with a mozzarella and pepper jack blend and fried together. The chalupa is then filled with a choice of chicken or steak, plus a sauce, and topped with diced onions and cilantro. A single order comes with two Cheesy Street Chalupas, which were first tested in October at select Taco Bell restaurants in Indianapolis.

MTN Dew's Baja Blast and Taco Bell are no strangers to each other. The brands originally collaborated to test out this Baja Blast Gelato in September 2023, to mixed reviews. The press release describes the dessert as a "complementary addition to any cheesy, spicy, saucy order on the Taco Bell menu."

Taco Bell took a big swing in 2023 when it chose to hop on the birria trend. Fortunately, the response to the brand's take on this Mexican dish was positive enough to lead to this launch of the Cheesy Enchilada Dipping Taco. This version contains slow-roasted chicken and a layered enchilada dipping sauce.

Continuing to take on more "Mexican-inspired" flavors, Taco Bell will offer a new Dulce de Leche Cinnabon Delights flavor in addition to the classic Cinnabon Delights already offered on the menu. Dulce de leche is a caramel spread used by many different Latin cultures. The flavor will be available at a limited number of locations, and the timing of the rollout is TBD.

Taco Bell is debuting the Cheez-It Crunchwrap nationwide, which features a real Cheez-It cracker 16 times the size of a normal Cheez-It cracker in place of the Crunchwrap's typical tostada. Various iterations of the Big Cheez-It have been kicking around the Taco Bell test kitchen since all the way back in July 2022, when we reviewed the massive cracker in its various forms and found it more amusing than appetizing. Along with the Cheez-It at the center, the new Crunchwrap has seasoned beef, nacho cheese sauce, and all the usual fixings in a flour tortilla.

In a collaboration that surprisingly hasn't happened sooner, Taco Bell is introducing three new menu items in partnership with the Tajín brand. Although Tajín's seasoning blend of chili pepper, lime, and salt goes with pretty much everything, Taco Bell has chosen to use it for a Tajín Crunchy Taco, Tajín Twists, and a Tajín Strawberry Freeze. The twists are the most striking new item in this lineup because they sound like a savory, punchy version of Cinnamon Twists, the longtime Taco Bell sweet treat.

In partnership with Portland-based hot sauce brand Secret Aardvark, Taco Bell will add Serrabanero sauce to its Nacho Fries at restaurant locations nationwide. The Nacho Fries first debuted in 2018, but have since had multiple comebacks and even a Vegan Nacho Sauce pairing. This new spicy sauce will let heat-seekers enjoy Nacho Fries in a whole new way.

In addition to the previously mentioned Avocado Verde Salsa packet coming to Taco Bell menus with the Cantina Chicken Menu, Taco Bell will also add a Disha Hot Sauce packet as a menu option. The new condiment is part of a collaboration with Musician Omar Apollo, whose Disha Hot is a secret family hot sauce recipe that has been passed down for generations.

Salt & Straw is a Portland-based ice cream company famous for making highly unique and delicious ice cream flavors. For those who mourned the loss of the iconic Choco Taco after its discontinuation in 2022, Taco Bell and Salt & Straw are basically resurrecting it with the release of the Ice Cream Chocolate Taco. This take on the classic is made with a waffle cone, cinnamon ancho ice cream, chocolate, and toasted brown rice, and comes paired with "sweet sauces and dips." Perhaps sensing our excitement, Taco Bell notes that this product is still in its testing phase, but it was served at the Live Más LIVE event in Las Vegas.

Beekeeper Coffee is a newer brand best known for its ready-to-drink cold brew coffee and latte flavors that feature a drop of honey. Taco Bell has partnered with the brand to create the Horchata Cold Brew Latte, and notes that while this product is still in its testing phase, it was served at the Live Más LIVE event in Las Vegas.