At this point, I feel as if I don’t need to explain what Taco Bell’s Nacho Fries are, and how there’s always a loaded version of them that usually features standard Taco Bell ingredients that, in the past, may have been chosen by pulling out slips of paper from a flipped-over bell. In the present, I imagine the physical pulling has been replaced by an in-house AI chatbot called Gidget, after the chihuahua from the 90s Taco Bell commercials.
If Gidget does exist, its latest creation is the new Chicken Bacon Ranch Nacho Fries, featuring slow roasted chicken, pico de gallo, bacon, cheese, nacho cheese sauce, and avocado ranch sauce. There are also Chicken Bacon Ranch Street Chalupas, which include almost everything above minus the nacho cheese sauce, wrapped in toasted cheddar chalupa shells. However, when the Toasted Cheddar Street Chalupas debuted last year, I wrote that “if it ever comes back, I’m sure I won’t be sticking it and its bread-y flavor in my mouth again.” So I didn’t give them a try and stuck with the fries. Hey! That rhymes!
A quick search of this site confirms that chicken, bacon, and ranch are a common fast food combo, and the Nacho Fries are an excellent vessel for highlighting them, providing a slightly crispy, seasoned bed for those toppings to rest on. I was skeptical that the nacho cheese sauce could be paired with the avocado ranch, since one might cancel out the other. But the orange goop added a cheesier layer that complemented the creamy, slightly tangy avocado ranch rather than competing with it.
The biggest letdown was the chicken, but mainly because my order didn’t seem to have much of it. It looked less like a star of the menu item and more like it had been accidentally included in my order on its way to being added to another order. At least, there were enough bacon crumbles to make up for it. The pico de gallo was a welcome addition, bringing bright, acidic bursts with each forkful, and doing a nice job of cutting through the richness of the sauces.
Overall, Taco Bell’s Chicken Bacon Ranch Nacho Fries are as good as many of the previous loaded Nacho Fries iterations. There’s a lot of flavor, and the fries are a great carrier for all the sauces and toppings. But at the same time, there’s nothing about it that makes it a must-order, and if you happen to miss this limited-time offering, there’s no need to feel any amount of FOMO.
Besides, Gidget will have something new for us soon enough.
Purchased Price: $6.99 each
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 350 calories, 24 grams of fat, 4 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 940 milligrams of sodium, 22 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 13 grams of protein.
If I were to try these, I might opt to omit the pico de gallo salsa, since 1) raw onions and my digestion don’t get along, and 2) I’m one of those people for whom cilantro tastes soapy. Otherwise, this looks like a hearty enough side that I could probably have it as a light entree at Taco Bell.