Reddit Revealed Why Taco Bell's Quesadilla Lacks Meat

No matter what kind of taco or burrito you order from Taco Bell, there's almost always one ingredient you usually expect to get: meat. Whether it's beef, chicken, or steak, your dish often consists of a protein, veggies, and a more-than-generous serving of cheese. Yet for one Taco Bell item — the quesadilla — some began to question the amount of meat it contained.

And this wasn't the first time. According to WestWord, Taco Bell was actually sued for using "too little meat" in its taco meat. The lawsuit claims that Taco Bell's "beef" is composed of only 36% actual meat, with the rest being a variety of fillers and preservatives. Although Taco Bell denied any rumors regarding "fake meat," it would seem that an ex-employee may have more to say on that particular topic. But that still doesn't answer some individuals' questions on why exactly Taco Bell was skimping on the meat — whether the amount of the composition itself — to begin with.

"Is taco bell purposefully telling it's employees to use meat in their food? It seems like every time I've gone to taco bell recently there is less meat each time. It seems like they're masking it with more beans or lettuce and nacho cheese. Am I crazy or is it just a bad taco bell?" wrote one Redditor on the Taco Bell subreddit, noting the lack of substantial meat in their foods. Why exactly is Taco Bell "shorting" people with their meat? Is there some kind of secret rule for how much meat is added?

According to r/TacoBell, Taco Bell's quesadillas contain very little meat compared to other menu items. This is because, as a supposed employee tells us, the standard recipe for a quesadilla calls for only one "level scoop" (better known as a "spoodle," a cross between a spoon and ladle) of meat. In simple terms, there's only one spoonful of meat added to a quesadilla. Some prior employees even seem surprised by how small a "spoodle" of meat was, believing that the types of scoops originally used were larger and deeper than what is currently dishing out meat.

There appear to be different colors of "spoodle" meant for certain types of meat. There was an "orange spoodle" that was used for chicken that was noted to be "considerably deeper," but which seems to have been replaced by a "purple spoodle." This implies that in ancient times, a much deeper and larger utensil was used to add meat to the quesadillas, as per the recipe, and when new "spoodles" were introduced, the recipe still stayed the same.

The "spoodle" isn't the first original tool Taco Bell uses to prepare its food. Taco Bell actually dispenses its sour cream with a "sour cream gun," something that many believe explains the messy and uneven placement of the sour cream in their burritos.