What are the Taco Bell Crispy Chicken Sandwich Tacos?
The new “sandwiches” with flatbread that wraps around the chicken like a taco are available in two varieties — regular and spicy. Both come with creamy chipotle sauce and crispy, white-meat chicken that’s marinated in jalapeño buttermilk, seasoned with Mexican spices, and have a tortilla chip coating. The spicy one also comes with pickled jalapeño peppers.
How are they?
Well, they’re fit-in-the-palm-of-my-hand small. They’re also very, um, well, let’s just say I don’t need a manual to make one if I got thrown into a Taco Bell prep line. With the regular one, it’s just flatbread, sauce, and chicken.
But while they’re small and simple, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed them.
With the Flatbread Tacos on the menu a few months ago, I complained about how the flatbread can mute the other ingredients, but that wasn’t the case with these. The ample amount of smoky and peppery chipotle sauce provides a lot of flavor and, in doing so, makes sure the flatbread knows its role as a vessel and not much else.
But the chicken strips really surprised me. They had a decent thickness to them, the meat wasn’t too dry, the exterior was surprisingly crunchy, and what was even more of a surprise, they were seasoned enough that they taste good on their own. If Taco Bell ever wants to get into the chicken strips game, it could do so with these.
As for heat, the chipotle sauce brings some lower-level spiciness, while the jalapeño peppers in the spicy one takes things up a notch or two. Also, the brine-y flavors from the peppers add a vinegary bite, which I enjoyed.
Anything else you need to know?
There’s a conversation about whether a taco is a sandwich. It’s like how some folks ask whether a hot dog is a sandwich. I’m not going to share my opinion here because it would add 1,000+ words to this review. I’m just satisfied these are tasty.
These have an “online exclusive price” of $1.49 in most regions, which I think is worth it. But here on this rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, it’s $2.59, which is a bit too much for something so small.
Conclusion:
The flavors of Taco Bell’s Crispy Chicken Sandwich Tacos delight me, and because of that, I want to give them a higher rating, but their size makes it hard for me to do so. Definitely worth a try at their online exclusive price.
Purchased Price: $2.59 each*
Size: N/A
Rating: 7 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: Regular – 280 calories, 11 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 650 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 2 grams of fiber, 5 grams of sugar, and 13 grams of protein. Spicy – 290 calories, 11 grams of fat, 2 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 20 milligrams of cholesterol, 710 milligrams of sodium, 33 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 5 grams of sugar, and 13 grams of protein.
*Because I live on a rock in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, things are a bit pricier here. You’ll probably pay less than I did.
Yup, your 7/10 makes total sense with the price being taken into account. Wish it was either a little cheaper (it’s $1.99 online in these parts) or at least bigger. The cost wouldn’t hurt nearly as much if it was the size of, say, the beefy potato flatbread taco.
That looks the furthest thing from a sandwich. It looks like a half-ass attempt at a taco.
They are priced an exorbitant $3.59 at most locations here in Portland, Oregon! I’ve found only one with the $1.49 online exclusive price but it’s a 15 min drive.
Paid $1.49 for mine, and regarding that price these were pretty awesome.
I’ve been boycotting TB since they discontinued my last favorite item, and this sad attempt at a taco sure as hell won’t change my mind!
Maybe I just got a poor one but I’d say this is a 5/10.
I was very disappointed with it. It’s small. It’s overpriced for its size. But mainly, its kind of crappy. The chicken I had was really dry. It had some decent crunch on the outside coating, but didn’t pack a lot of flavor. It also didn’t pair well with the flatbread they used. It ended up tasting like a mushy McGriddle.
One of the worst things TB has put out in quite awhile IMO and I’m normally a big fan of TB
Wow, visually this is… turd like?
Been wanting to check out the spicy version. Thanks for the review!
Absolutely way overpriced for their size, especially when you can buy full-size chicken sandwiches that are several times larger for $4 at several of their competitors! Even when you buy two of them for the special price of $4.49, you would still have to buy 4 – 6 of them in order to equal the amount of meat in a Popeye’s or Wendy’s chicken sandwich! These should be priced around 50% of what they’re charging, around $1.29!!!