Taco Bell Is Giving Us Giant Boxes of Nachos Again

It's no replacement for the chain's dearly departed potatoes, but it's something.

Courtesy of Taco Bell
Courtesy of Taco Bell

Taco Bell's major menu cuts officially rolled out nationwide on Thursday, forcing us to say goodbye to more than a dozen longtime favorites like the 7-Layer Burrito, the Beefy Fritos Burrito, and the chain's beloved crispy potatoes in their entirety. And while the menu overhaul was a blow to "fourth meal" fans everywhere, it wasn't all bad. In addition to improving efficiency and safety at the chain's restaurants, the revamped menu includes the return of a popular limited-time offering.

The $5 Grande Nachos Box is back -- for a third time -- on the menu as of August 13, according to a Taco Bell spokesperson. The box, which comes with a medium drink, is meant to be a whole meal, though that probably won't stop you from ordering a few soft tacos on the side for good measure. The box starts with a layer of warm tortilla chips that's then topped with a double portion of seasoned beef (compared to Nachos BellGrande) along with refried beans, nacho cheese sauce, shredded cheese, sour cream, pico de gallo, and a scoop of guacamole. We highly recommend adding Chipotle Sauce and jalapeños to make your box spicy.

Courtesy of Taco Bell

To be clear, the $5 Grande Nachos Box is not a permanent menu addition, so you'll only have a little while to get your hands on it (and probably covered in refried beans). You can order it for pick-up in the drive-thru or for delivery via Taco Bell's mobile app. It's worth pointing out, however, that the whole "$5" part of its name doesn't apply in some places. When we tried ordering it from a location in New York City, it appeared on the menu as the Grande Nachos Box for $6.79. 

Along with the return of the $5 Grande Nachos Box (or, if you're in NYC like me, the Grande Nachos Box), Taco Bell's updated menu includes just one new permanent offering, the Beef Burrito, which joins the value section with its $1 price point. The burrito is made with seasoned beef, rice, nacho cheese sauce, and Creamy Jalapeño Sauce. The chain also announced that it's testing a new, elevated take on the Crunchy Taco and that it will continue to offer the stupidly cheesy Grilled Cheese Burrito for a little while longer. So, that's it. That's all the good news for now.

Taco Bell promises there will be more soon.

“We need to make sure right now that we are giving consumers what they want and that they’re getting it through the drive-thru. In order to do that, slimming down and streamlining operations really enables a quicker, speedier experience for consumers,” Heather Mottershaw, Taco Bell’s vice president of Product Development, recently told Forbes. “But this is phase one. What this also does is, when the time’s right and consumers are ready, it allows us to build out new options and new innovations.” 

Sign up here for our daily Thrillist email and subscribe here for our YouTube channel to get your fix of the best in food/drink/fun.

Tony Merevick is Senior News Editor at Thrillist. Send news tips to news@thrillist.com and follow him on Twitter @tonymerevick.