Wilder Shaw / Cheapism
Taco Bell serves nearly 1 billion burritos annually, with an ever-changing lineup of goodies. But with nine different burritos on the menu, most of which sound identical, how are you supposed to know what to choose?
Well, I hit the drive-thru and grabbed one of each to chow down for a ranking. Here is every Taco Bell burrito currently available, ranked from best to worst.
Prices and availability are subject to change.
$6.19
Taco Bell is now offering "slow-roasted" chicken in addition to the standard chicken, which is a perfect centerpiece of the new Cantina menu. The Cantina Chicken Burrito, packed with the new chicken, purple cabbage, lettuce, chipotle sauce, avocado ranch sauce, pico de gallo, and melty cheese, is extremely solid across the board.
The chicken is noticeably tastier (get rid of the old chicken in that case, Taco Bell!) and I love the crunch you get from the cabbage. Best of all is the brand new sauce that's served with the burrito, across the front of which reads: "Really pulls it all together." Taco Bell isn't lying. The sauce, which sings with the brightness of avocado and cilantro, brings everything into beautiful harmony, and I dig it. This will be a tough loss once it's run its course.
$2.49
Taco Bell is playing to my extreme bias here, but there is a very special place in my heart for a bean and cheese burrito. This reminds me of the bean burrito from Al & Bea's in Los Angeles, which is the biggest compliment I could possibly give it. Taco Bell's beans don't really have much of a depth of flavor to them, but the addition of the onions are outstanding. The acid cuts through the fattiness of the beans and cheese beautifully. While this is still melty and hot, it's tremendous.
$1.69
The CBRB is exactly in the middle of where classic Mexican food ends and Taco Bell's food begins. It's mostly tethered to the earth, full of beans and rice, but the nacho cheese sauce and creamy jalapeño sauce are pulling it back towards the wastelands of Taco Bell's ingenuity.
This is the best thing about it. I love that rich, deep flavor, a flavor that can only be described as "Taco Bell." It tastes like Taco Bell. You know what I mean?
$5.69
I ordered everything as it came, and in the future, ground beef is probably the lowest protein on my list. It's possible the Burrito Supreme, which is a name that Taco Bell has trademarked, could have been higher were it filled with something else, but this is how it's served.
It's still tasty, and the lettuce and tomatoes really shine the whole thing up. I'd get it again.
$2.49
I made a noise out loud when I bit into this. The insides of the burrito were very hot, save for the sour cream, which was ice cold. I did not expect it. Is this how it's supposed to be served?
I'm not sure what about this is an enchilada, but it's tasty enough. We're looking at a chicken burrito, layered with rice, cheese, and red sauce. The central disagreement I've always had with Taco Bell is over its use of sour cream. Taco Bell goes absolutely ballistic with the stuff, and it's always been this way. Maybe I'm the one person on the planet who doesn't want a gallon of sour cream in my food, because nobody seems to agree with me on this.
$5.49
Taco Bell's Grilled Cheese Burrito, in case you're unaware, is a burrito covered in melted cheese on the outside as well as the inside. As you can imagine, this makes it very difficult to hold, which I assume is why they've included a second wrapper. This thing is an absolute grease bomb, and after you so much as graze it, your fingers are glistening with oil.
I'm surprised by how much I like Taco Bell's black beans. They actually have layers of flavor and pair nicely with the cheese and sauces. Think of this as a far more decadent version of the classic bean burrito.
$5.49
This comes with Taco Bell's standard ground beef, so you can probably do better than this at the base level. Steak for a dollar more seems like a safe bet.
I have a fundamental issue with the concept of this burrito. I've seen it prepared in actual restaurants with a griddled piece of cheese on the outside, making it easier to hold and providing a bit of crunch, almost in the spirit of a quesataco. I far prefer it that way. There is a time and place for dipping your fingers into melty cheese, but I don't think this is it.
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$4.39
To suggest that this burrito has layers, let alone five, is taking a lot of liberties. There are five ingredients (beef, cheese, beans, nacho cheese sauce, and sour cream), yes, but it's less of a layer and more of a tidal wave.
This baby is dense, and since everything in this burrito is essentially the same consistency, they all form together into a big log of filling. Nothing in here tastes bad, but it's very aggressive and I think I'd need to lay on the ground for a while if I ate the whole thing.
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$2.79
I understand that there are people in this world that want to consume a big tube of ground beef and nacho cheese, but I am not one of those people. I don't much care for nacho cheese and same goes for Taco Bell's ground beef, which is served in double portion here.
It's fun that this comes with tortilla strips, but once they've sat inside the burrito for more than a minute, they immediately get soft and become fully lost inside the beef and cheese sauce. And then on top of it all, you've got a whole bunch of rice. For $2.79, this is an incredible fill-up value, but I'm not ordering it for pleasure any time soon.
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