Taco Bell Cheesy Street Chalupa Review: A Small Bite That Delivers A Spicy Kick To The Taste Buds

Taco Bell never fails to amaze its die-hard diners with novel creations available alongside its core offerings. The latest in this ongoing parade of comfort food creativity comes in the form of Cheesy Street Chalupas, a tweaked take on the usual chalupas that infuses the familiar recipe with the savory excitement of the Mexican street food scene. While the Bell sometimes pushes the envelope of authentic presentation in its Tex-Mex dishes, this latest effort to add regional flair to easygoing fare is an admirable attempt at keeping up with what's popular in contemporary cuisine and elevating humble eats by adding a dash of upscale ingenuity.

Not every chalupa Taco Bell tosses on the menu rises to the challenge, however; with such a broad spectrum of possibilities, there's bound to be a blend that comes up as the worst chalupa in the pack. Is it possible that Cheesy Street Chalupas can conquer the competition to be a bell-ringer of an order? Or will it crack under the pressure and sink to the bottom of the bag? We raced to the counter of our nearby Taco Bell to give these street-style treats a fair shot at shocking our taste buds into a new realm of fast food enjoyment, knowing full well the possibility for failure existed. Luckily, we're not quitters.

Maybe your standing Taco Bell order includes a taco and a chalupa, which in culinary circles are distinctly different. Cheesy Street Chalupas are a solution that lets you order both bites at the same time. The Cantina Slow-Roasted Chicken Cheesy Street Chalupa, a name so expansive it can hardly fit in a single line on the light-up menu board, fills the inner shell with shredded slow-roasted chicken dressed with a fiery jalapeno ranch sauce and layers of onions and cilantro; the Steak Cheesy Street Chalupa replaces the chicken with strips of steak and has the same toppings as the chicken version. And the outer soft flour tortilla embraces a crunch fried flour tortilla with mozzarella and pepper jack cheese, letting you get in touch with your inner chalupa without getting your hands greasy. You can customize them by throwing on your favorite Taco Bell add-ons like guac and salsa or ordering extra toppings to take the flavors to the max.

If attentive readers are sensing a bit of deja-food after reading these descriptions, it's because Taco Bell teased the Cheesy Street Chalupa in chicken form back in 2023. The test was a single-city release that sounded an alarm for the full-blown launch happening now.

Soaring fast food prices make it a challenge to grab your favorites without having to skip paying your electric bill or taking a bite out of your gas budget. Luckily, Taco Bell takes your finances into consideration by pricing these new chalupas at a reasonable $5.49 for a double dish-out. This price may fluctuate based on location. But even with a small increase, it's a budgetary bullseye that keeps fast food dining affordable. That may be inspiration enough to bring fans to the counter.

Compare this price for a two-pack to the $5.69 price for a single Chalupa Supreme or the $4.99 price for a Black Bean Chalupa. Maybe one of these individual items will quell your hunger, but if you want a second one, you'll be paying almost twice the price of a pair of Cheesy Street Chalupas, which provide a more deluxe version of the same recipe. It's nice to have choices, but Taco Bell is clearly nudging customers toward these newcomers on the menu.

The Cheesy Street Chalupas may have just hit the menu, but their expiration date is already headed our way. Playing coy as it always does, Taco Bell isn't letting on to how long this prime pair-up will be around. While it's nice to have a special release to make your summer season tastier, it would be good to know whether popularity could drive the decision-makers to create a permanent spot for these temporary temptations. Leave it to one of the biggest names in fast food to play its chalupa-loaded hand close to its vest.

If you've heard these groovy goods were in the pipeline and were eyeing local locations for the official release date, congratulations — you're probably ahead of the pack and should have no trouble finding them at your neighborhood Taco Bell! If you're just finding out for the first time, you haven't missed anything yet. There's plenty of time to get your grips on your own Cheesy Street Chalupas, though it's advisable that you step on the gas.

Just when you think all the possibilities for Taco Bell specialty items have been exhausted, the chain throws out a curveball that gives the fan favorite a tempting new twist worth trying. If it's not a hexagonal UFO-shaped Crunchwrap Supreme, it's the Ultimate Chicken Taco, where folded fried chicken forms the shell like edible origami. There was even the mythically named Quesalupa, an ancestor of the new chalupas that fans clamored for. The current menu features a pair of chalupa options, the Black Bean Chalupa and the Chalupa Supreme. These create a soft landing spot for the Cheesy Street Chalupas, making them feel like less of a wild swing and more of a measured menu expansion.

Anyone new to the chalupa world should know that this creation is simply a taco with a fried flour shell. The cage rattle provided by the Cheesy Street Chalupa is a second flour tortilla added around the fried shell with a swath of sauce captured between like edible adhesive. It amounts to a chalupa stuffed inside a street taco for double the fast food fun in one item.

Drive-thru dining isn't usually known for its adherence to the nutritional side of the healthful eating spectrum. There's no deviation from the norm with the Cheesy Street Chalupa, no matter which option you go with. The chicken version weighs in at 410 calories, bringing to the table 25 grams of fat, 6 of which are saturated; that represents 30% of your recommended daily intake. You'll also be consuming 670 milligrams of sodium, or 29% of what you should have in a 24-hour stretch. The 19 grams of protein are nice, but the other elements pretty much wipe out the benefit of that.

If you're thinking the steak version might ring up with a slightly more favorable tally, think again. You'll get the same 410 calories, 19 grams of protein, 25 grams of fat and 6 grams of saturated fat. But the sodium count increases to 750 milligrams, or 33% of your daily allowance. And since these Cheesy Street Chalupas come in two-packs, you can double all of that to end up with a troubling sum. So no, these aren't going to be a wise addition to your health regimen. Consider them more of a fun snack for occasional enjoyment. Your body will appreciate the restraint.

The new Cheesy Street Chalupas are smaller than expected, staying true to the palm-sized street taco motif. That makes doubling up seem like a more sensibly sized meal. The double shell sandwiches a fried flour taco shell inside a soft flour tortilla, with a spread of spicy cheese smeared between them. Right off the bat, you're getting three layers of taste and texture that supremely complement one another. A generous sprinkling of onions and a smattering of cilantro bring in the freshness before you reach the soft chalupa heart. The steak is presented in tiny strips, while the chicken is evenly shredded, both properly sized for the format and slathered in spicy jalapeno ranch. Yeah ... there's a lot to love in these tiny stuffed tacos.

One bite is all it takes to bring this mighty mix to your taste buds simultaneously. The spicy sauce is a kick to the taste buds, softened by the protein and cooled by the vegetables. And the soft-crunch blend from the double shell makes sure your teeth stay busy with something more than the mostly smooth fillings within. They may not be around forever, but Cheesy Street Chalupas are worth celebrating while they're here. Think of them as a food festival with an undetermined end date, and get your hands on a few before the party's over.

Having never tried the basic chalupa selections at Taco Bell, tasting the Cheesy Street Chalupas was a voyage of discovery. We showed up at the drive-thru just after opening to take advantage of the freshness of a brand-spanking new treat and ordered one of each kind. The package came in an elongated sleeve wrapped in foil, an unexpected touch of style that also keeps the chalupas from being crushed in the bag.

We unwrapped and photographed the food before giving each variation the single-bite test. There was a compelling urge to down the rest of both chalupas, but because it was just after 11 a.m., it wasn't advisable to make the first meal of the day a load of spicy fried food topped with onions. So we demurred and finished the rest later in the day. Even after waiting to devour our order, the magic hadn't waned. We're just suckers for an inventive fast food concoction that brings bold flavor in a thoughtful package.