Taco Bell Menu Prices

Taco Bell's name is derived from its founder Glen Bell who started the company in 1962. The restaurant chain currently has 7000 active restaurants to date. Prior to its establishment, Taco Bell was preceded by several restaurants, including Bell's Hamburgers and Hotdogs. Glen Bell's restaurants started in San Bernardino where McDonald's also started.

Seeing that there was a competition with burgers and hotdogs, Glen Bell took a different route with his restaurants' menus. Taco Bell was born from partnerships with Glen's co-ownerships with Mexican food restaurant Taco Tia and El Taco. Taco Bell then became widespread, attracting investors and buyers of the franchise. One of the companies that bought several Taco Bell locations was PepsiCo Inc. The latter bought 868 locations totaling $125 million.

Why Did Taco Bell Raise Their Prices?

The reason why customers are seeing an increase in Taco Bell's menu prices is because of the logistics involved with meats, poultry, oils, and other cooking ingredients. The increased demand for fast food is also a contributing factor. The switch from in-house dining to delivery pick up also puts a burden on consumers.

Back when the pandemic allowed a limited number of customers in restaurants, there was enough money to pay fast food servers and kitchen staff. The steady decline of incoming customers meant franchise owners had to increase prices to compensate, or they had to let go of their employees. Both options eventually had to be realized.

Taco Bell still strives to put their customers first. With the increase in prices, the company also made sure consumers get the most out of their orders. Taco Bell's biggest market is low-budget households, and the company's struggle to keep prices low is made difficult with the uneven distribution of wealth among the population. It's a game of tug o' war between marketability and profitability.

In a hilarious but extremely dark turn of events, Wendy's menu price increase caused one man to go on an attempted murder spree. Fortunately, no one was harmed and the man in question was detained.

Taco Bell's Menu Prices vs Industry Price

Taco Bell's prices are generally cheaper than other taco restaurants. The company buys in bulk to save money. A staple part of their ingredients is corn, and the US generally has lower prices for bulk orders. They use the corn in a variety of their dishes, and sometimes it's used as a filler. Another type of filler commonly used in fast food restaurants is xanthan. This substance works as an additive to eggs. It makes it look bulkier and saves the company some extra cash to be used for purchasing other items.

A number of vegetarians still go to fast food and Taco Bell has adjusted their ingredients to be more appealing to this market. Vegan purists may not enjoy meat but those who protest for sustainability will be pleased to find out that not all of their meat-based dishes are 100 percent beef. Meat substitutes are cheaper and this helps Taco Bell reduce their budget for beef or pork-based dishes.

Best Items on Taco Bell's Menu

One of the best items on Taco Bells' prices is the cheesy gordita crunch. The hard shell taco creates a nice texture contrast on both the inside and the outside, complementing the blend of cheese and meat. The ranch sauce provides a kick, making it have an all-rounded taste and texture.

Another best seller on Taco Bell is the breakfast sausage crunchwrap. It's stuffed in neatly with eggs, jalapeno sauce, and a hashbrown at the base. Cheddar cheese is added to the mix to provide a sharp but delightful taste.

One of the more simple but best tasting items on Taco Bell's menu is the bean burrito. Compared to the gordita and the crunchwrap under Taco Bell’s prices, this doesn't have meat. What it does have is the perfect combination of beans, cheese, and Taco Bell's trademarked Red Sauce.

Taco Bell's menu prices have seen a slight increase in prices. Taco Bell's bean burrito is currently priced at $1.29. Their cheese gordita crunch is at $2.69. Taco Bell’s prices for the breakfast sausage crunchwrap is $2.49.

Worst Items on Taco Bell's Menu

With every best item on Taco Bell's menu is a counterpart. Their chalupa supreme is notorious for being greasy and heavy - the bread is fried, beef already has a high amount of cholesterol, and there's more fats from sour cream. This combination may not be the best for people on a diet. It's just too much calories for something priced at $3.35.

Retailing for only $2.49, the biscuit taco is under the worst items to buy off of Taco Bell's menu. It's not about the price but the combination of dry biscuit and the miniature portion of egg makes it one of the most disliked items on the menu.

Cheapest Items on Taco Bell's Menu

Taco Bell's menu prices are attractive because it includes cheap food. Fortunately, one of the best items on Taco Bell's menu also happens to be one of the cheapest. This is the cheesy gordita crunch. What's unfortunate is that the specialties section to which the cheesy gordita crunch belongs to also has one of the worst. The chalupa supreme is priced at $4.67.

There's a value section where Taco Bell's menu prices don't exceed two dollars. The cheapest among these include the nacho crunch double stacked taco and the beef burrito. There's similar pricing found on other sections of Taco Bell's menu prices. Their chips and nacho cheese sauce cost $1.17. Under their vegetarian menu, cheesy roll ups and cheesy bean and rice burrito cost $1.51.