The fan-favorite menu item was not always named the Mexican Pizza — its original name was the Pizzazz Pizza. The only difference between the two, besides the names, was in how they were marketed — Pizzazz Pizza was more of a midnight snack, while Mexican Pizza combined Mexican and Italian cuisine.

Although many people liked Mexican Pizza, its main popularity was among South Asian American consumers for being vegetarian and halal friendly. While other fast-food chains have recently started offering plant-based alternatives to their menu items, Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizza has been doing it for decades.

In response to the removal, a Change.org petition was launched to "Save the Mexican Pizza." Despite the petition not reaching its 200,000 signatures, Taco Bell Officer of Global Chief Food Innovation Liz Matthews said that there’s always potential to bring it back as they’re constantly listening to customer feedback.

Taking advantage of the situation, rival restaurant Del Taco even introduced their own version of the Mexican Pizza — called the Crunchtada — to their permanent menu in April 2021. The Cunchtada has been around since 2013, but Del Taco has since reworked the recipe to promote it as a better alternative to Taco Bell.