The Fast Food Restaurant With The Best Value Menu

These days, not even fast food is reliably cheap; however, hunting down different chains' value menus can be helpful if you're looking for a meal that will give you the most food for your money. Fast food value menus could include the likes of cheap single items, specialty combo meals, or dollar menus (which are a much rarer breed). If there was a genuine fast food $1 menu out there, there's a good chance we would have placed it quite high in our ranking of fast food value menus, but the deals at Taco Bell might be even better.

People love Taco Bell for many reasons. It has variety and flavor, good vegetarian options, and is surprisingly one of the healthiest fast food chains out there. Taco Bell is also the kind of food you get a late-night hankering for — and your local store will probably be open. Taco Bell's pros also extend to its prices and "Cravings Value Menu." This menu features 10 items ranging from tacos to burritos and more, each priced at $3 or less. Taco Bell also offers combo meals separate from the Cravings Value Menu, which can get customers multiple food items at a steal.

Items on Taco Bell's Cravings Value Menu are priced at $3 or less. This ensures you get both your burrito (like the Cheese Double Beef Burrito) and your side (like the Cheese Fiesta Potatoes) for under or near $6. The sneaky part? There's a good chance there are plenty of other items scattered across Taco Bell's menu that are under $3. Basics like a crunchy taco or bean burrito aren't part of the Cravings Value Menu, but the prices speak for themselves.

Taco Bell has an even bigger edge over other fast food restaurants with its combo meals. The Cravings Box is an online exclusive meal that starts at $5.99, but prices may vary based on your location. Also, the Cravings Veggie Box, filled exclusively with vegetarian items, is often cheaper than a regular Cravings Box. In fact, the many vegetarian items on the chain's menu are part of the reason Taco Bell is so cheap. Each Cravings Box includes a specialty item (think Crunchwraps or Chalupas), a classic item (basic tacos and burritos), a side dish, and a drink. Even if you average each of these four items as $3 separately for a total of $12 (which may even be a low estimate considering that Crunchwraps can be over $6), you would still be saving half of that cost by ordering a $5.99 Cravings Box. It's a great value meal that, for many, is hard to pass up.