The 12 Tastiest Items on the Taco Bell Secret Menu (2023 Update)

Last Updated on January 31, 2023 by Jim Edwards

Taco Bell has an amazing secret menu. If you like Mexican food and Taco Bell you will Love it!

Before we talk about the Taco Bell Secret Menu, here are a few interesting tidbits about Taco Bell’s History.

A Brief History Taco Bell History

Taco Bell is a well loved fast food franchise, and it all started in the San Bernardino area. It wasn’t called Taco Bell at this time, but the founder Glen Bell started Bell’s Drive-In and Taco Tia in 1954 before he created Taco Bell. Downey, California is where the first Taco Bell restaurant was established in 1962, around eight years after Bell’s Drive-In and Taco Tia.

In 1964, Kermit Becky, a retired Los Angeles police officer, officially became the first Taco Bell franchise owner when he opened his Taco Bell restaurant in Torrance, California. By 1967, Taco Bell opened its 100th restaurant and in 1970 Taco Bell had a total of 325 restaurants selling tacos. Glen Bell sold 868 Taco Bell restaurants to PepsiCo in 1978 and ultimately became a PepsiCo shareholder.

The Biggest Hits on Taco Bell’s Regular Menu

Now that we know some of the history of Taco Bell let’s dig into the menu. In 1984, the Taco Salad and Taco Bellgrande menu items were released.

In 1998, Taco Bell released the Gorditas and they were and still are a fast food favorite and success. We all know that aside from certain times of the year, you can only taste the refreshing Mountain Dew Baja Blast by going to your local Taco Bell, this favorite drink was released in 2004.

Crunchwrap Supremes were a huge hit when they were introduced in 2005, it wasn’t until 2006 that they were permanently added to Taco Bell menus. Melted pepper jack cheese stuffed in a shell first started hitting taste buds when Taco Bell added Quesalupas to their menu in 2016.

The most successful launch in Taco Bell’s history is of course their Nacho Fries that they first added to their menu in 2018. Even though the menu already has a lot of favorites on it, here are some menu secrets that might become your new favorite or can allow you to create your new favorite.

The Ultimate Guide to Jack in the Box Tacos

Taco Bell Secret Menu Items

Anything Lava Sauce

This sauce first appeared on the Volcano Taco, unfortunately the Lava Sauce got discontinued and no longer is on the Taco Bell menu. That’s no problem though, you can still have the Lava Sauce on any of your Taco Bell menu items.

All you have to do is order a side of nacho cheese and three fire sauce packets. Mix the fire sauce in the cup of nacho cheese and put it on anything you want or dip them Nacho Fries in it.

The Incredible Hulk

This secret menu item might be the item for you if you are a big fan of guacamole or are just looking for something a little healthier to soothe your cravings. You can order The Incredible Hulk by ordering a Beefy 5-Layer Burrito but telling them to substitute the nacho cheese for guacamole and you can taste The Incredible Hulk.

The Superman

Here is another guacamole secret menu item that may be a perfect match for your taste buds. You can order The Superman by ordering a burrito and have them double stuff it with meat, add red tortilla strips, sour cream, guacamole, and potatoes.

Or Nacho Fries if your local restaurant no longer has the potatoes. This burrito will be messy but it will be worth it. If you happen to not like guacamole you can order the double meat burrito with just red tortilla strips, sour cream and the fries or potatoes.

Double Grilled Quesadilla

The quesadilla is a favorite on the Taco Bell menu, but it could use a little extra crisp and sometimes the cheese isn’t melty enough for you. Next time you order your quesadilla you can ask them to double grill it to add the perfect crisp and melt the cheese even further. Maybe you’ll find yourself ordering your quesadilla double grilled every time after that.

Learn about Taco Bell’s Strawberry Bell Truffle collaboration with Milk Bar

The Hulk

This is a lesser version of The Incredible Hulk, instead of the Beefy 5-Layer you order a regular Bean and Cheese Burrito. Kindly ask the crew members to add an extra helping of guacamole to your Bean and Cheese Burrito to create The Hulk and make your taste buds happy.

The Cheesarito

This is a relatively cheap menu item, it might be the cheapest item you can order off of this list of Taco Bell Secrets. Order a Cheese Roll-Up off of the dollar cravings menu and ask them to not only fill it with melty cheese but also add onions and taco sauce to the Cheese Roll-Up.

In addition, you can also add anything else to customize your dollar cravings such as rice, guacamole, sour cream, tomatoes, lettuce, fries or potatoes, or even a meat like ground beef or steak.

Doritos Shell Anything

You can customize a lot of stuff on the Taco Bell menu and use your imagination and creativity to name those creations. Keep in mind that you can add the flavor packed taco shells to your creations as well. Just order anything and ask them to crunch up the Doritos Locos Shell and add it inside of your menu item.

Fresco Style

Many vegans already know about this Taco Bell menu secret, but in case you don’t know about it this menu secret is for you. Just simply ask for your food to be made ‘fresco style’ and the crew members replace the cheese and sour cream on your item with pico de gallo.

You can also replace the meat in any item with black beans to add a little protein to your meal instead of just taking out the meat.

Cheesy Gordita Crunch

Some of the Taco Bell locations still have the favorite Cheesy Gordita Crunch on the menu but others don’t. If your Taco Bell is one of the ones that no longer feature the Cheesy Gordita Crunch on their menu, that’s ok you can simply ask them to make you one. Many crew members know how to create the Cheesy Gordita Crunch even though it no longer exists on their menu.

Chili Cheese Burrito

Some Taco Bell locations may have these delicious gems on their menus, but a lot of Taco Bell locations have removed the Chili Cheese Burritos off of their menu. Your local Taco Bell can not make this item if they no longer carry the chili, but if they do you can still order this menu item.

The secret to this item is not the Chili Cheese Burrito itself, but the fact that you can add chili to any of your Taco Bell food items and give your taste buds an ultimate treat.

Read -> Taco Bell’s Dollar Menu – What Items are Best?

Free Onions

Taco Bell does not normally add onions to most of their menu items, but it is an option. As most of the company’s restaurant locations, adding onions to your menu item is free of charge. When ordering, just simply ask the crew member to add onions onto your food.

The ingredient currently isn’t automatically on many food items because a lot of people do not have a taste for onions, but some of us do and we thank Taco Bell for having them available to add them to our menu items.

Download the Taco Bell App

If you don’t have it already, you can get the Taco Bell app in the Apple or Google Play Stores. You can download the apps here. Downloading the app to order online will allow you to make customizations to any of your menu items at the tips of your fingers.

Using the app you can swap the meat in your item for a different meat, black beans, or refried beans. If you want both meats, you can simply just add the other meat you want in the add on section. There is also an option to make almost anything a supreme, with sour cream, and tomatoes.

Anything your mind can think and dream up can be created by using the Taco Bell app to order your food, but don’t take my word for it, check it out for yourself. You can customize any of the menu items almost any way you want through the app, but kindly asking the crew members at Taco Bell works too.

Related: Taco John’s Menu

Video: Taco Bell’s Secret Menu

In this very fun video, they try many of the items we are talking about. It helps you see what the Taco Bell menu items look and taste like – give it a watch.

If you love Mexican food, also see our write up of Torchy’s Secret Menu.

 

Summary

Taco Bell not only serves as one of the favorite fast food restaurants, but also does some things for the community and people. In 1992, the Taco Bell company paired with Boys and Girls Club of America and created a program called the TEENsupreme, in 2002 the TEENsupreme program hit the donation mark of 10 million dollars, which allowed them to support over 500,000 teens that participate in the program.

In 2012, they helicoptered around 10,000 Doritos Locos Tacos to Bethel, Alaska. The Live Mas Scholarship program was started in 2016 and is aimed at helping, supporting, and empowering the next generations of creators, innovators, and dreamers.

You may not be a fan of the Taco Bell menu, but you have to admit they are a company that attempts to help and serve the people by not only serving the delicious menu items but also creating programs for the youth. Next time you visit your local Taco Bell, try some of these menu secrets.

Be warned though, using these menu secrets when ordering from your local Taco Bell might have your mouth watering and your taste buds screaming.

Finally, be sure to see the Best items on Taco Bell’s Breakfast Menu

Image Credit: “Taco Bell” by JeepersMedia is licensed under CC BY 2.0