Review: Taco Bell's Live Más Live 2025 Menu Was Equal Parts Creative And Tasty

Steak and Queso Crunchwrap Sliders, Rolled Poblano Quesadillas, Quesocrisp Tacos — these are just some of the wild creations coming to Taco Bell menus this year. Mashed was on-site in Brooklyn this "Taco Tuesday" (which the chain restaurant has spent significant efforts to reclaim for public use) for Live Más Live 2025. The executives including Chief Food Innovation Officer Liz Matthews and Chief Marketing Officer Taylor Montgomery unveiled a lineup of a dozen new menu additions slated for 2025, as well as some returning fan favorites. Matthews also teased what Taco Bell is working on in its Test Kitchen — Queso Fundido Rolled Chicken Taquitos, anyone?

At the event, we got to try just about everything that's guaranteed to hit menus this year, from new signature items like the Crunchwrap Sliders, Rolled Poblano Quesadillas, and Quesocrisp Tacos to a myriad of new sauces like Mike's Hot Honey Diablo Sauce, Weak Knees Fire, Zab's Hot Ranch, and beyond. Here's exactly what you want to know about the upcoming dishes.

Some recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

The "beloved Crunchwrap, our hexagon of Taco Bell perfection," as CMO Taylor Montgomery called it, turns 20 years old in 2025. The signature menu item has received a variety of spinoffs over the past two decades, but new this year are the Crunchwrap Sliders. Available with cantina chicken or marinated steak (only the steak option was offered during the event), the Crunchwrap Sliders also include creamy chipotle sauce, pico de gallo, cheddar cheese, a mini tostada, and are served with a Green Chile Queso.

If you're a fan of the Crunchwrap, as I am, there's nothing you won't love here. The Crunchwrap itself is fairly standard — although upgraded with pico and that chipotle sauce — but the Green Chile Queso was the standout. The classic queso blanco-style dip is worth buying this alone. In fact, we will probably order a side of this with any Taco Bell item going forward. A good dip makes for a perfect bite.

I love that Taco Bell is introducing not only new iterations of its existing menu items but also new ingredients to really elevate these dishes. One example is the Rolled Poblano Quesadilla, which can be ordered with marinated steak or slow-roasted chicken (again, only the steak was available at the Live Más Live event in New York). That said, this was not only the best thing I ate Tuesday night, it may be one of my favorite things I've had from Taco Bell (and I've had plenty of Taco Bell). You get a slight crunchy texture from the grilling, but the tortilla is still soft, the steak (as always) is great, there's plenty of cheese, and the poblano peppers added a great (mild) heat and smoky flavor, unlike anything else at Taco Bell I've tried.

What I especially like is that while this is a "quesadilla," this is a big departure from what you would typically expect from a Taco Bell quesadilla. This is something new, entirely. And I will be ordering one the first chance I get.

The new Quesocrisp Taco seems years — nay, decades — in the making. As Taylor Montgomery put it: "We know that you guys love cheesy stuff from us, right? We wrapped a burrito in a quesadilla; we toasted cheese and put it on the outside of a chalupa; we put nacho cheese sauce in pretty much everything that we can get our hands on; we put a Cheez-It 16 times the size of a regular Cheez-It in a Crunchwrap. But, guys, I think we've done it. I think we have finally reached the pinnacle of cheese perfection because we're not just putting cheese in the taco, we're not just putting cheese on the taco; the cheese is the taco."

Yep, a taco whose tortilla has been swapped out with grilled, crispy cheddar cheese. It's way bigger than you'd expect, it's a bit greasy, and definitely messy (I'm not sure how well it would stand up to delivery), but it works. It's very savory and works great with the chicken and sauce, as well as the piled-high lettuce and tomato inside.

More than a decade since first appearing on Taco Bell menus as the Beefy Crunch Burrito (with Flamin' Hot Fritos), the fan-favorite is getting a reboot. When it launches in 2025, the Flamin' Hot Burrito will debut new "Flamin' Hot Rice — that is, rice dusted with Flamin' Hot seasoning, turning it entirely red. The burrito is filled out with seasoned beef, nacho cheese sauce, sour cream, and the namesake Flamin' Hot Fritos.

On the taste test, I couldn't really distinguish this version from its previous version (sans Flamin' Hot Rice); it certainly didn't feel any more "flamin' hot." That said, I still enjoyed it, just the same as I enjoyed the Beefy Crunch Burrito. I was, and remain, a fan of the Fritos inside the burrito, bringing some much-needed texture to the ground beef-nacho cheese-sour cream party. I'd get it again, but it won't be the first thing I order among the creations I tried.

While these aren't new new, Taco Bell executives did confirm its Crispy Chicken Nuggets will be hitting menus not once, but twice in 2025. I have to admit, I never had the chance to try out these tortilla chip breading, so I was eager to give these a shot. Real talk? They are just as good as any burger chain's chicken nuggets. They were crispy, juicy, and flavorful if not a departure from what Taco Bell typically does well. If in the mood, I'd have no problem ordering these with a side of Nacho Fries, giving the classic fast food dish a signature Taco Bell twist.

While the standalone nuggets and Nacho Fries were all that was available at Live Más Live, Taco Bell says it will be incorporating the item into Crispy Chicken Burritos and Tacos this year, served with Avocado Ranch and Spicy Ranchero Sauce. Sign us up!

Tip: Taco Bell partnered with Chef Lawrence "LT" Smith to create the Southwest Hot CHX Crunchwrap Supreme, made with Crispy Chicken Nuggets tossed in salsa macha, Oaxaca-style mozzarella and Monterey Jack cheeses, purple cabbage slaw, cilantro, apricot hot sauce, and sour cream. It's currently testing in Cincinnati and may appear at more locations this year.

While Taco Bell may be known for "putting nacho cheese sauce in pretty much everything that it can get its hands on," it's actually one of the healthiest fast food restaurants. "The Bell" will keep that going with its Cantina Chicken Bowl in 2025. Not too dissimilar from what you might expect from a Chipotle bowl, this item has Cantina Chicken, seasoned rice, black beans, Avocado Ranch sauce, reduced-fat sour cream, lettuce, shredded purple cabbage, pico de gallo, guacamole, cheddar cheese, and is served with a packet of the excellent Avocado Verde Salsa.

Two things about this dish: It was not my favorite. It was, however, something I felt I could eat fairly regularly without any (ahem) bodily consequences. To that point, there's not inherently wrong with the Cantina Chicken Bowl. I'm a big fan of the Cantina Chicken and everything else makes for a tried-and-true bowl, but it just doesn't have that over-the-top Taco Bell zaniness I want. However, if you're looking for a break from the typical Taco Bell item, this will absolutely do the trick.

At the event, Taco Bell unveiled seven sauces, six of which I got to try. The last — a Purple Chile Sauce made with ají panca, habanero, and ghost pepper — is so hot that attendees needed to sign a waiver in order to try it. While I like heat, I had plenty of items to try and couldn't risk messing with my taste buds, so I chose to pass on it.

As for the other six, I love that Taco Bell is branching out and partnering with other sauce brands for some of these collaborations. The Zab's Hot Ranch was tasty, with plenty of ranch flavor and just a subtle kick of heat to elevate it. The Weak Knees Sauce was made in partnership with Brooklyn-based Bushwick Kitchen, combining Taco Bell's Fire sauce (my favorite) with the latter's Weak Knees Gochujang Sriracha; it was spicy, slightly sweet, and a bit smokey.

I was also a big fan of the PAG sauce, which had a great level of heat without being too spicy. The creamy Caliente sauce was almost like a creamy Cholula, while the Hatch Chile Buttermilk Ranch also toed the line between ranch and hot sauce, an excellent combo. The one I was a little bit uncertain on was Mike's Hot Honey Diablo Sauce. While it worked well with the Crispy Chicken Nuggets, it fell flat when paired with the Nacho Fry. I'm not sure how else it would be used on the menu.

In another collab, Taco Bell partnered with New York-based Milk Bar (the pair's second partnership, in fact) to create the Birthday Cake Churros, which actually launched in late February. This classic fried churro is filled with Milk Bar's iconic birthday cake frosting and topped with festive sprinkles and sugar. It sounds like a fun time, but I was left wanting more. The frosting was tasty and it's not so much that it didn't work with the churro, but I just would have much preferred a standard cinnamon sugar topping than the sprinkles and sugar.

If you're a big Milk Bar fan, it may be up your alley but if I had a choice between this or Taco Bell's Cinnabon Delights — or even the next item on this list — there's no question which I'm getting (and it's not the Milk Bar Birthday Cake Churros).

If you want a sweet treat from Taco Bell, do not miss the opportunity to get one of the new Ube Strawberry Cookies. It has a slightly crispy exterior, perfectly chewy cookie center, and a vanilla-ube cream with strawberry pieces, which is then all rolled in purple (Taco Bell's signature color) sprinkles.

If you're unfamiliar, ube is a purple yam that's very sweet (for a tuber), lending itself perfectly for not-too-sweet desserts. It also pairs very well with vanilla and, as I learned Tuesday, strawberry. Everything about this cookie was perfect and, thankfully, they were wrapped individually in plastic because I was able to take a few home with me on the way out (and which I have already eaten). I'm typically not going to Taco Bell when I have a sweet craving, but that may have to change thanks to these guys. No notes, Taco Bell (other than maybe keep them on the menu permanently). 

In addition to the above, Taco Bell's Liz Matthews teased attendees and viewers with a handful of creative projects the team is working on in its Test Kitchen. Among them: Queso Fundido Rolled Chicken Taquitos (crispy taquitos stuffed with chicken with a green chili queso fundido for dipping); Short Rib Chile Relleno Burrito (Anaheim green chile stuffed with melted cheese and short rib beef); Brisket Tacos (made with slow-roasted brisket, shredded cheese and purple cabbage); Poutine Fries (seasoned fries topped with slow-roasted pork, gravy and cheese curds); and a "Tacodilla" (an oversized corn flour tortilla, grilled and filled with carne asada, melted cheese, and guajillo pepper sauce).

Honestly, it all looked amazing and I hope each of these items are brought to life on menus this year. Matthews also teased Crispy Fajita fries (tempura-battered bell pepper, onions, and jalapeños paired with white habanero ranch), Mexican Pizza Empanadas, Mini Taco Salads, and more.

If you've made it this far, you're likely a huge Taco Bell fan, so the short answer is "yes," the new menu items are worth a visit to your nearest restaurant as soon as they are officially released. While some items were better than others, I wouldn't say no to any of them (okay, maybe the Milk Bar Birthday Cake Churros). But I loved that Taco Bell is tinkering with new ingredients like poblano peppers and hatch chiles, partnering with brands like Bushwick Kitchen and Zab's Hot Sauce, and upping its game when it comes to inventive menu items (like a taco shell made entirely of crispy cheese and dusting rice with Flamin' Hot Frito spice).

With these new items, Taco Bell is elevating its game, both in the creative department and in the true, depth-of-flavor department. This isn't even to mention that the fast food chain continues to offer affordable and customizable meals (in the form of its $5, $7, $9 Luxe Cravings Boxes) and is always listening to its fans, bringing back classic menu items from decades past (hinting at Live Más Live that some of these items may receive a 21st-century refresh).