What Taco Bell's Menu Looked Like The Year You Were Born

if there's one beloved fast food restaurant that's got something for everyone it's taco bell so what did taco bell's menu look like the year you were born here's a look at how the popular fast restaurants menu has changed over the years when taco bell first opened in 1962 and for the first few years it was around the menu was pretty limited as with most fast food joints taco bell didn't always have a menu that spanned several pages but on their original menu there weren't just tacos and burritos believe it or not the original taco bell menu featured six different food items all of which cost just 19 cents 19 cents uh-huh excuse me where are you going i have to get my taco not only did the original taco bell sell the things you would expect like tostadas two kinds of burritos frijoles and tacos it also featured one unique item for just 19 cents back in 1962 you could get yourself a chili burger from taco bell after the first taco bell opened and more and more franchises started popping up all over the country the menu started to change prices gradually went up from that measly 19 cents but for the most part things remained pretty low key in 1970 taco bell introduced something called an encharito and yes it sounds pretty freaking delicious the encharito was a burrito topped with cheese red sauce and three olives wait a minute what's that oh that is an encharito now that's got pinto beans cheese on the top while the anchorito remained on the menu until 1993 it was definitely the most popular during the first few years after it was introduced in 1975 taco bell attempted to prove that they didn't just serve tacos in fact one menu item launched in 1975 called the bell beefer looks like an interesting take on a taco yes during the 1970s taco bell served something called the bell beefer which stuck around until the 1990s when it was discontinued like other taco bell items honestly that's kind of sad because the bell beefer had a ton of potential think of it like a taco but in hamburger form it was made with taco seasoned beef cheese lettuce and tomato sandwiched between two burger buns basically the bell beefer was like a taco sloppy joe for some reason it just wasn't as popular as other taco bell items and sadly is no longer around believe it or not taco bell has been serving dessert options for quite some time yes there are some popular modern day options but one of the oldest and most classic taco bell desserts actually came about a long time ago although it wouldn't be surprising if the restaurant brought them back someday called cinnamon crisps this taco bell item from 1980 was both satisfying and unique the cinnamon crisps were basically cinnamon and sugar dusted tortilla chips apparently they were seriously loved by just about anyone who tried them sadly the cinnamon crispies were discontinued and replaced with a similar menu item the cinnamon twists these days when you think of taco bell you probably don't think of chili sure the chain restaurant offers spicy food and plenty of ground beef but isn't chili a wendy's menu staple not taco bells however in the early 1990s it turns out that chili was all the rage at taco bell in 1990 taco bell introduced the chili cheese burrito the item was literally just chili and cheese wrapped in a warm flour tortilla but fans loved it originally the chili cheese burrito was on the low end of the cost spectrum at taco bell and was part of the 59-79-99 deal which referred to the number of cents necessary to buy the meal sadly taco bell ended the chili cheese burritos run in the mid-90s though fans weren't pleased with that decision they were so vocal about their disappointment in fact that they convinced the chain restaurant to bring it back years later some taco bell locations even continued serving the chili cheese burrito for years after it was supposedly discontinued back in the days before social media blew up at the announcement of a new fast food item places like taco bell could launch new menu items in a relatively subtle manner in 1995 they did just that when they rolled out several new menu items that didn't exactly scream fast mexican cuisine in 1995 taco bell had made a public announcement that it was bringing three new menu items to taco bells nationwide all featuring one beloved ingredient bacon taco bell launched a blt soft taco chicken club burrito and bacon cheeseburger burrito the newer items also made the menu look like it hailed from a mexican-influenced deli whether or not said bacon items were actually good is up for debate but they clearly didn't stick around for long as a glance at the modern menu will tell you if there was ever a need for a time machine it would definitely be to go visit a taco bell in 1998. seriously the 1998 taco bell menu looked amazing and for one good reason for a few years in the late 1990s and early 2000s it was all about the gordita viva gorditas taco bell launched the gordita in 1998. the menu item was basically a flatbread style taco reminiscent of an authentic mexican gordita as if that doesn't sound delicious enough the menu featured three different gordita flavors supreme fiesta and santa fe then in 2001 they introduced the cheesy gordita crunch a gordita wrapped around a taco for the ultimate and cheesy and crunchy fortunately the cheesy gordita crunch is still available at taco bells across the united states back in 2003 taco bell gave the world what it really wanted with a new kind of burrito called the spicy chicken burrito it's true it's the spicy chicken burrito at the time of the spicy chicken burritos launch taco bell's chief marketing officer greg creed told business wire with our new spicy chicken burrito we are offering burger board consumers another exciting choice and taste at a reasonable price the burrito featured shredded chicken with plenty of spices rice and salsa all wrapped in a tortilla unfortunately it was a limited menu item that only ran until october 12 2003 if you've ever been to a taco bell then you probably know that one of the fast food chain's signature beverages is the distinctive blue green drink known as mountain dew baja blast the drink is really only available at taco bell making it extra special for restaurant goers the unique flavors of the beverage make it even more of a one-of-a-kind choice as delicious as the baja blast is it was only introduced at taco bell in 2004. needless to say the drink quickly became a popular addition to the menu perhaps taco bell's most popular item of all time is the crunchwrap supreme a warm tortilla filled with beef nacho cheese lettuce tomato and a crunchy tostada shell um heck yes the crunchwrap supreme was introduced in 2005 becoming so popular amongst eaters that the chain restaurant made it a permanent menu item only a year later in january 2006. the taco bell menu from 2006 to 2012 was pretty standard with only a few new inventions however one of those newbie menu items the volcano taco took the fast food world by storm if you were born in that time period the taco bell menu was probably pretty impressive thanks in large part to the volcano taco's widespread popularity according to mental floss taco bell launched the volcano taco between 2008 and 2009. the menu item was filled with distinctly spicy nacho cheese as tasty as that sounds it didn't stick around too long as it was replaced by the doritos locos taco which remains one of the most popular items on taco bell's menu for the most part taco bell has stayed pretty close to its typical menu offerings of tacos burritos and other mexican style foods but in 2013 taco bell finally offered two new and truly different menu items launched during the 2013 super bowl according to taco bell's press release the commercial spots first aired during the big game and featured the new cantina bell steak burrito and for the first time at taco bell churros the taco bell cantina steak burrito featured thick cut flavor packed steak rice black beans along with hefty toppings like lettuce guacamole pico de gallo and salsa oh and it was topped with a creamy cilantro sauce yes that probably sounds familiar for any chipotle fans out there to chipotle's relief the cantina steak burrito is no longer on the taco bell menu taco bell finally decided to become an all-day restaurant in 2014 when they launched their breakfast menu yes taco bell decided to serve up early morning breakfast to with patrons that year making the menu pretty expansive a taco bell breakfast isn't a foreign idea as it has stuck around since its initial launch however there have been some changes the original taco bell breakfast menu featured three main items a waffle taco the am crunchwrap and cinnabon delights sadly the waffle taco wasn't a huge hit and is no longer on the taco bell menu the am crunchwrap and cinnabon delights however are still on the taco bell breakfast menu along with a variety of newer breakfast burritos in 2013 taco bell introduced a new menu item that was almost like a delicious little handheld snack called the stuffed nacho the item was pretty simple consisting of beef nacho cheese tortilla strips and sour cream wrapped in a flour tortilla and folded to look like a giant nacho chip the item was super popular but was sadly taken off the menu in 2014 fans of the stuffed nacho got to celebrate when taco bell brought back the delectable handheld snack in 2015 though the joy was short-lived as they discontinued it soon after while the stuffed nacho didn't have a long run on the taco bell menu it was definitely a big deal in 2015 and possibly the most popular menu item at the time as if taco bell hadn't done enough to revolutionize fast food the chain restaurant took things up a notch with their 2016 menu that year taco bell's menu featured a lot of tried and true items plus the limited release edition of a new creation that was the talk of the town sure taco bell had tried new things in the past with plenty of filled experiments but nothing quite like this new menu item on the block in february 2016 taco bell launched the quesalupa which was basically a taco but with a hard shell filled with pepper jack cheese it sounds simple but it was a huge launch on taco bell's part specifically taco bell spent a reported 5 million dollars to announce the quesalupa during a super bowl commercial the quesaloopa is no longer on the taco bell menu but in 2016 it was the central focus of the chain's offerings for whatever reason 2017 was the year that taco bell decided to forego taco shells or tortillas for some items and go totally naked as scandalous as it sounds in 2017 taco bell launched a few new menu items utilizing that word including a naked chicken chalupa and a naked egg taco the chulupa was basically lettuce tomatoes cheese and sauce wrapped in a tortilla shaped piece of fried chicken the naked egg taco followed in the same vein the breakfast menu item was basically a breakfast taco but instead of having eggs in the tortilla the egg was the tortilla it was messy strange and overall just not good basically everyone can agree that french fries are one of the most delicious foods in the world crispy hot salty with the perfect amount of chewiness in the middle french fries are the stuff dreams are made of add cheese to the equation and you've got yourself a winner that's something taco bell discovered in 2018 when they gave the world nacho fries in response the world collectively freaked out specifically eater reports that taco bell sold 53 million orders of nacho fries in just three months however as popular as nacho fries were in 2018 they were only a limited time offering while the chain brought them back in 2019 and 2020 their checkered past makes customers worry that the future of the nacho fry remains sadly uncertain check out one of our newest videos right here plus even more mashed videos about your favorite fast food chains are coming soon subscribe to our youtube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one you

Channel: Mashed

Views: 377,723

Keywords: mashed, taco bell, taco bell menu, fast food menu, menu

Id: t5Xcvqa4dQ4

Length: 12min 55sec (775 seconds)

Published: Sat May 15 2021