Taco Bell Quesarito: What To Know Before Ordering

It can be hard to decide what you want to order when going through the drive-thru, but the geniuses at Taco Bell have added some amazing items to their menu that allows you to get the best of both worlds. According to Taco Bell, anyone craving a bag of chips and a taco can get a couple of Doritos Locos Tacos, and the fast food Mexican eatery even has a crispy chicken sandwich taco now for those times you're yearning for both a piece of juicy poultry and a chewy, flatbread shell.

The menu truly embodies the brand's "think outside the bun" slogan, with all of its unique food mashups, but there's another meal that you should probably know about before you make your next trip to the chain. The Quesarito, which combines the deliciousness of both a quesadilla and a burrito into a single, crave-able meal can get anyone's mouth watering. Don't hop into your car and head for your closest Taco Bell just yet — there are a few things you need to know about before placing an order for one of these bad boys. 

In case you hadn't already guessed, a Quesarito is the combination of a quesadilla and a burrito all rolled into one tasty, handheld meal. This still doesn't completely explain what it is you'll be getting when you pick up one of these delectable treats from Taco Bell.

According to Taco Bell, "the first rule of burritos is that burritos are best when they're also quesadillas." Never one to break the rules, the Tex-Mex chain brings this delicious meal to life by starting off with a humble quesadilla that gets loaded up with heaps of melted cheese. That quesadilla then takes on the job of a regular tortilla by wrapping up a burrito that gets filled with the chain's signature seasoned beef, rice, nacho cheese, chipotle sauce, and reduced-fat sour cream, completing the mashup process to create the heavenly Quesarito that just might be your new go-to order from the Bell.

Huffington Post reports that burritos were one of the six items featured on the original Taco Bell menu when the premiere location opened in 1964, but it would be many years before the Quesarito came around. "We're constantly hearing stores about two great things coming together to create something extraordinary and that takes on a life of its own," the restaurant's chief marketing officer Chris Brandt said when the burrito-quesadilla hybrid was launched nationwide in 2014 (via Taco Bell). "We have just that with the Quesarito, our latest mash-up of a full grilled cheese quesadilla wrapped around a classic burrito, making something so good that you can expect to see more flavor combinations down the road."

The chain followed through on that promise, producing a number of different variations of the Quesarito. Due to downsized menus, the chain wiped all traces of the item from in-person Taco Bell menus, according to a press release from the company. While you might not get your hands on one of these items in a physical location, you can still make sure your order comes with a few.

You're probably ready to head out and get enough Quesaritos to munch on for the rest of the week, but a simple trip to the restaurant's drive-thru isn't going to be enough to get your hands on this mouthwatering meal. Back in July 2020, Taco Bell announced that their famous burrito-quesadilla fusion was going to be available exclusively online, meaning you now need to either place an order for them on the restaurant's website or through their app.

It may seem frustrating to have to clog up your phone with yet another app, or have to prop open your laptop every time you've got the urge to "Live Más," but there are actually several upsides to ordering your Quesaritos this way, including making customization a breeze. "I never bothered customizing items at the drive-thru because I assumed they would get f***** up like what happens at most fast food places, but the online app makes it easier for me to communicate what I want and also easier for the staff to understand it," one Redditor said of their experience ordering a Quesarito online. 

Not wanting to leave anybody out from enjoying the deliciousness of the Quesarito, Taco Bell created a meatless version of the dish in 2019 for those following a vegetarian diet. Just like the original, the Black Bean Quesarito wraps rice, nacho cheese, reduced-fat sour cream, and chipotle sauce into a yummy quesadilla, but instead of beef, this American Vegetarian Association-certified meal calls for black beans (via Taco Bell). According to The Daily Meal, the meat-free version has "all the indulgence you'd expect of fast food," though you'll want to make sure you pick up a few extra napkins before sitting down to eat it, as the outlet warns that all the creamy elements can make this dish a bit messy. According to Brand Eating, other versions of the dish have popped up in the past as well, like the Sriracha Quesarito and the Breakfast Quesarito, though the vegetarian variation has been the only recent take to stick around, per Insider.

Taco Bell also allows several customization options so customers can really transform their burrito-quesadilla mash-ups into the ideal meal. Chicken, steak, refried beans, and potatoes are all possible protein swaps or add-ons, and there are rumors that a form of Beyond Meat might be joining the mix as well (via CNBC). For those looking to add a bit of freshness, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions can also be added, while jalapeños can be thrown in to give your Quesarito a spicy kick.

Taco Bell has made some big changes to its food in recent years to become one of the healthier fast food options out there (via Taste of Home). Unfortunately, the Quesaritos don't add to this reputation. "There are several menu items at Taco Bell that have a concerning nutrition panel, but the Quesarito is the worst item in my professional opinion," certified nutritionist Lisa Richards explained to Eat This, Not That!, who cited "hidden nutritional concerns" as her reasoning.

According to the chain's nutrition guide, the quesadilla-burrito hybrid packs in 650 calories, in addition to 33 grams of fat, and 1390 milligrams of sodium, which are both more than 50% of the daily recommended intakes suggested by the FDA. The vegetarian version isn't much better, ringing in at 630 calories, 29 grams of fat, and 1260 milligrams of sodium. Clearly, none of those numbers suggest we should be snacking on this item for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but if you do have a hankering for one, there are a few changes you can make that will make it a better choice. Richards suggests getting your Quesarito "Fresco style" will save you some calories by replacing dairy and mayonnaise-based sauces with tomatoes (via Taco Bell).

Back in 2016, the CEO of Yum Brands estimated that half of the United States population ventured to the Mexican eatery for a meal at least once a month, and it's not hard to see why (via CNBC). On top of having a delicious and unique menu that offers patrons a break from the typical hamburger-and-fries combo meal, Taco Bell's food also comes at a fairly cheap price.

According to Price Listo, the Quesarito's average price clocks in at $3.28 and drops to $3.13 for the vegetarian version. This might seem like a pretty high fee, especially considering the upcharges that come for any changes you make to the dish, like substituting the seasoned beef for a hearty scoop of chicken or steak. The Impulsive Buy notes that this menu item mashup has much more bulk and value than some of the other Taco Bell meals, which don't necessarily fill everyone up.

On paper, the idea of a quesadilla-wrapped burrito is amazing. Before going nationwide in 2014, the company shared that the mashup meal ranked as one of the best-selling items, second only to the Doritos Locos Tacos. (via Taco Bell).  As for those chowing down on the Quesarito, the general consensus appears to be that the dish is a pretty solid meal from the fast food eatery. "It was savory with a nice kick, and we tasted a little bit of everything in each bite," Insider said when the product first launched. "The burrito stayed together well, and was the perfect size for one-handed eating on the go."

For the most part, the negativity around the Quesarito doesn't seem to be about the dish itself, but rather the process of actually ordering one. Those simply wishing to swing by the drive-thru on their way home from work for a couple of Quesaritos no longer have the ability to do so after last year's major menu shakeup, but that shouldn't stop you from enjoying this iconic meal.