Taco Bell hasn’t gotten a lot of good publicity lately. In case you’re reading this far in the future, over the summer of 2026 the restaurant chain was — rightly or wrongly — linked to a major cyclospora outbreak. Long story short, I’m sure the company never wants to hear the words “diarrhea lettuce” uttered ever again.
But I’m ride or die with Taco Bell and it’s going to take more than a little parasitic infection to keep me from living mas. So I went into the new Pepper Jack Steak Burritos offerings from the Bell with no fearin my heart at all.
We’ll start with the Melty Pepper Jack Steak Burritos variant. Of course, the two big features here are the chunks of grilled steak and the gooey Pepper Jack sauce. Both are good if not very good for a fast food chain, although neither are on par with higher tier Tex-Mex places, obviously. The Fresca version also comes with the chain’s classic seasoned rice, the usual shredded tri-cheese blend and a nice little dollop of sour cream.
This is decent stuff, but a bit formulaic for my tastes. Even with the steak and special sauce it doesn’t taste that much different from other types of burritos already on sale at the chain. It’s filling and flavorful, for sure, but it’s nothing you haven’t tried before. And needless to say, the factory setting is sans any kind of iceberg lettuce whatsoever.
Now, the Fresca Pepper Jack Steak Burrito is a bit more interesting. It’s got the steak and Pepper Jack sauce (plus the aforementioned three-cheese blend), but the rest of the burrito is jam-packed with extra ingredients: tomato chunks, red fiesta strips, crisp lettuce (if you’ve got the guts to eat it) and the variable that ties everything together, a nice little smattering of spicy ranch sauce.
It’s a denser and more creative burrito than the Melty variation. It feels heftier, it’s more filling and its flavor is more diverse and enticing. It really doesn’t feel all that much like a standard Taco Bell burrito, it almost feels like a ritzier wrap you might get at a slightly more upscale deli-style restaurant. The combination of the spicy ranch and Pepper Jack sauces, though, is the thing that makes this newfangled product worth going out of your way to experience. It’s such a tremendous combination that I wouldn’t be surprised if TB re-released it as a standalone hybrid sauce; it’s that good.
Your mileage on the burritos is going to vary. If you like traditional Taco Bell offerings the Melty variation might be preferred, but if you like more robust and nuanced burritos the Fresca version might suit you better. Either way you’re getting a solid burrito — albeit, nothing radically different from anything we’ve tried at the Bell before.
Purchased Price: $3.00 each
Rating: 7 out of 10 (Melty), 8 out of 10 (Fresca)
Nutrition Facts: Melty — 440 calories, 20 grams of fat, 7 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 1,040 milligrams of sodium, 49 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 18 grams of protein. Fresca — 500 calories, 26 grams of fat, 6 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 770 milligrams of sodium, 57 grams of carbohydrates, 4 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, and 10 grams of protein.