If you were to ask me what I thought was the best thing Taco Bell has ever done, I’d answer without hesitation: the Chalupa. There have been variations of the original, but rarely have they outshined the OG. When I went into the app to order, a pop-up informed me of the newest menu item: the Cheesy Street Chalupa. Originally a test menu item from October of 2023, the Cheesy Street Chalupas consist of smaller Chalupa shells stuffed with mozzarella and pepper jack cheese, either steak or Cantina Chicken, Jalapeño Ranch, fresh onions, and cilantro.

Ordering the item gets you two smaller Chalupas that I’d estimate are about half the size of a regular Chalupa but much more dense because they’re stuffed with cheese. Unfortunately, you cannot ask for one of each protein when ordering a pair. I get why (to keep the process easy for the employees), but for the sake of trying them, it would have been nice to mix and match. They come in branded, specialty packaging that helps to keep them from getting too messy in transit.

Starting with the Steak Cheesy Street Chalupa, I was impressed by its heft. Knowing it was smaller than the standard item, I worried it would also be less substantial. My first bite would prove that thought to be very wrong. The first flavor to hit was a familiar one of salty steak, followed by the brightness of the fresh onions and cilantro and the creaminess of the Jalapeño Ranch sauce. I could tell cheese was present between the shells, but it wasn’t strong enough to stand out. I was also (pleasantly) overwhelmed by the amount of bread in the bite.

I didn’t hate the Steak variety, but it didn’t wow me. The flavors all seemed to be working independently of one another and not creating a cohesive experience.

After a swig of Baja Blast, I tried the Cantina Chicken Cheesy Street Chalupa. The difference was like night and day. The flavor of the Cantina Chicken works so unbelievably well in this item. The roasted chicken works with the fresh onions, cilantro, and Jalapeño Ranch sauce to create what is probably the closest I’ve had to “authentic flavor” at Taco Bell. If I had to point to a negative, it would be the lack of pepper jack flavor in the cheese between the shells, but I don’t think it is missed much.

I would be failing you, dear reader, if I didn’t mention the bready nature of this item. While I loved it, some may not like the bread-to-toppings ratio. These items had an almost bao bun vibe in that the bread was very much a star.

The Taco Bell Cheesy Street Chalupas are a nice limited-time offering. While the Steak version didn’t quite meet my expectations, the Cantina Chicken knocked it out of the park. Both succeed in offering a new flavor profile to the menu and will (hopefully) lead to more uniquely flavored menu items. These little bread bombs are available for a limited time, so I would definitely recommend trying them while you can.

Purchased Price: $5.49 each
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Steak), 10 out of 10 (Cantina Chicken)
Nutrition Facts: Steak – 410 calories, 25 grams of total fat, 35 milligrams of cholesterol, 750 milligrams of sodium, 27 grams of total carbs, 3 grams of dietary fiber, 3 grams of total sugar, and 19 grams of protein.

Cantina Chicken – 410 calories, 25 grams of total fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 670 milligrams of sodium, 28 grams of total carbs, 4 grams of dietary fiber, 3 grams of total sugar, and 19 grams of protein.

I am a big fan of citrus flavors. I start my morning with lime-flavored Greek yogurt, have a mandarin orange with lunch, and often cap off the day with a lemon or lime-flavored Outshine popsicle for dessert. Last week, I ate a whole slice of Key Lime Cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory, after a full dinner, and my in-laws looked at me like I was a monster who had just stomped all over Tokyo. “I can’t believe you finished that whole thing,” my mother-in-law said with something akin to awe.

Citrus and cake together? Believe it. Don’t get me wrong, I felt sick for the rest of the night, but it was worth it.

So, I was excited to try one of Taco Bell’s new Limonada Freezes. However, I was a little confused: typically, “limonada” is the Mexican version of lemonade that uses limes instead of lemons. According to Taco Bell’s press release, this limonada uses lemon and not lime, which I find a little disappointing. Taco Bell, inauthentic? You don’t say. Personally, I like lime more than lemon (you’ll notice I pigged out on the Key Lime cake and not the Lemon Meringue at CF), so I wondered if this would hurt my impression of the product.

Honestly? It doesn’t really matter because you can’t taste it either way.

My first sip reminded me strongly of cream soda, and it was quite tasty and addictive; I sucked down half that drink in record time. I kept looking for the citrus, and though I believe it is there, especially in the aftertaste, it’s overpowered by the vanilla cream flavor. What it’s really missing is the lip-puckering shot of sourness that lemonade usually provides. There’s none of that sensation of the sweet fighting with the sour you get from good lemonade.

I have to note that I didn’t allow the icy parts of the drink to melt; I stirred them up with my straw and drank up the icy slurry that way. In other words, I was enjoying the drink so much that I couldn’t even wait for the bottom portion to melt into liquid before I polished it off. It’s extremely sweet, but that’s what you’re looking for when you order a Freeze.

So Taco Bell has created an excellent summertime beverage for fans of cream soda, but calling it a limonada (or a lemonade) is a bit of a stretch. However, Taco Bell is also offering regular and strawberry versions of the Limonada Freeze, so if you’re looking for that sweet/sour punch, the Bell has got you covered.

I’m still kind of annoyed that we didn’t get a true lime-based limonada, but I guess I’ll just drown my sorrows in more cake.

Purchased Price: $3.79
Size: Regular (16 oz)
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 190 calories, 1 gram of fat, 0.5 grams of saturated fat, 5 milligrams of cholesterol, 95 milligrams of sodium, 47 grams of carbohydrate, 0 grams of fiber, 45 grams of sugar, and 0 grams of protein

Taco Bell’s new Cantina Chicken Menu features three major new ingredients:

1. A slow-roasted chicken with a mix of Mexican seasonings, including garlic, onions, and chilies.
2. Avocado Verde Salsa that features tomatillos, green chili peppers, and avocado pulp.
3. Shredded purple cabbage.

Okay, the addition of purple cabbage makes it more like 2.5 major new ingredients, but the purple stuff is a welcomed addition that not only brings color but also a pleasing crunch to those menu items with it.

Cantina Chicken Crispy Taco

This was my favorite from the new menu, which features slow-roasted chicken, three-cheese blend, creamy jalapeño sauce, and three-cheese blend grilled on the outside of a white corn tortilla shell. Sure, it looks like the white corn tortilla shell got bear-hugged by the grill press because it was almost split into two when I pulled it out of its wrapper, but it’s still delightful.

There are few ingredients, but what made the difference for me was the cheese grilled on the shell, which gave it a different crunchy texture and a notable cheesiness that also let the jalapeño sauce and the mild flavors of the slow-roasted chicken come through. It was a nice cheesy chicken taco with a slight kick from the jalapeño sauce, and the addition of the Avocado Verde Salsa gave it a mild avocado flavor, making it taste even better.

Price: $3.79*
Rating: 8 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 290 calories, 16 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 50 milligrams of cholesterol, 520 milligrams of sodium, 17 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, less than 1 gram of sugar, and 16 grams of protein.

Cantina Chicken Soft Taco

The soft taco version doesn’t contain the exact same ingredients as the crispy taco. It’s stuffed with slow-roasted chicken, avocado ranch sauce, lettuce, shredded purple cabbage, pico de gallo, and cheddar cheese.

Peel back that flour tortilla, and you’ll see a rainbow of ingredients I don’t find quite as tasty as the crispy taco version. There are a lot of different flavors here, more so when the Avocado Verde Salsa is added, but among those flavors, it’s hard to notice the chicken. Maybe mine didn’t have much, or maybe there’s too much of a rainbow of ingredients. It’s a fine tasting product, but it was kind of a letdown after tasting the crispy taco one first.

Price: $3.99*
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 210 calories, 10 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 520 milligrams of sodium, 19 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 2 grams of sugar, and 12 grams of protein.

Cantina Chicken Burrito

This menu item has double the slow-roasted chicken than the soft taco version, avocado ranch sauce, creamy chipotle sauce, lettuce, shredded purple cabbage, pico de gallo, and cheddar cheese in a flour tortilla. So basically, it’s a thicker, meatier, and saucier Cantina Chicken Soft Taco, but it tastes better than the smaller menu item.

With more chicken stuffed inside, the protein and its seasonings are more noticeable than with the soft taco. What’s not noticeable is the cheddar cheese, but that was expected with the inclusion of two sauces. With more space in a burrito-sized flour tortilla for additional chicken, there’s more of a flavor balance, even with the inclusion of the Avocado Verde Salsa, which kind of makes it taste like there’s a little guacamole in it. Overall, a solid tasting product.

Sometimes, I make fun of Taco Bell with these split burrito shots by saying it’s always a sea of brown, red, and white, but the purple cabbage here adds some desperately needed color. But let’s be honest, the number of folks who cut Taco Bell burritos in half is tiny. Raises hand.

Price: $7.59*
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 540 calories, 30 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 85 milligrams of cholesterol, 1170 milligrams of sodium, 43 grams of carbohydrates, 6 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 25 grams of protein.

Cantina Chicken Quesadilla

The simplest of the Cantina Chicken menu features the chicken, creamy chipotle sauce, and a three-cheese blend in a folded and grilled flour tortilla. This seemed the perfect vessel to showcase the new slow-roasted chicken and Avocado Salsa Verde because there’s little in the quesadilla to get in the way if you don’t dip it into the included guacamole and sour cream containers.

However, without the new sauce or any of the dips, the quesadilla’s flavor doesn’t really tickle my taste buds. But even with them, I can’t say I enjoyed this as much as the other offerings on the Chicken Cantina Menu. Adding the guacamole and sour cream overwhelms the ingredients in the quesadilla, and the new sauce enhances the avocado-ness of the guacamole. While the menu item is fine, I’d pick any other Cantina Chicken Menu item over this one.

Price: $7.99*
Rating: 6 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 570 calories, 32 grams of fat, 16 grams of saturated fat, 90 milligrams of cholesterol, 1330 milligrams of sodium, 43 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, and 29 grams of protein.

Cantina Chicken Bowl

Finally, we have the priciest of the bunch but also the most filling. It comes with slow-roasted chicken, seasoned rice, black beans, Avocado Ranch sauce, reduced-fat sour cream, lettuce, shredded purple cabbage, pico de gallo, guacamole, and cheddar cheese. I’m a fan of any bowl Taco Bell dumps multiple ingredients into, and I’m definitely a fan of this one.

But with mostly the same ingredients as previous bowls, it all tastes too familiar, even with the new chicken and the squeezing of an entire Avocado Salsa Verde pouch all over it. Because it contains a generous helping of guacamole, the new sauce kind of blends in with the avocado, making it less noticeable. But I did like the purple cabbage in this. I know. Praising purple cabbage seems weird, but as I mentioned at the beginning of this review, it does add color and crunch. Despite tasting similar to previous Taco Bell bowls, I’d repurchase it.

Price: $9.99*
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 490 calories, 24 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 80 milligrams of cholesterol, 1150 milligrams of sodium, 44 grams of carbohydrates, 11 grams of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, and 25 grams of protein.

*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.