Taco Bell has brought back the Flamin’ Hot Grilled Cheese Burrito at $5.49 and added a new Flamin’ Hot Mini Taco Salad at $2.49. Sporked reported the news on Nov. 12.
Both items arrive at participating Taco Bell restaurants starting Nov. 12 for a short run, according to Sporked. No end date has been given.
The Burrito Is Back at the Same Starting Price
Sporked reported that the Flamin’ Hot Grilled Cheese Burrito returns at a starting price of $5.49, the same advertised starting price as its previous run.
Inside the warm flour tortilla are seasoned beef, nacho cheese sauce, sour cream and spicy rice seasoned with Fritos Flamin’ Hot. Creamy Chipotle sauce, crunchy Flamin’ Hot corn chips and a three-cheese blend finish the filling.
What sets it apart is the outside. The tortilla is covered with melted cheese and grilled until the cheese sticks to the surface, which gives the burrito its grilled cheese look. Sporked suggested pairing it with a Mountain Dew Baja Blast or a Strawberry Dream Refresca.
A burrito is a flour tortilla wrapped around a filling into a sealed cylinder, a dish that took form in Ciudad Juarez, Wikipedia explains.
The New $2.49 Mini Taco Salad
The Flamin’ Hot Mini Taco Salad is new, priced at $2.49, and was first teased at this year’s Live Mas LIVE event, Sporked said. It is served in a crispy flour tortilla bowl.
The filling is seasoned beef, spicy rice seasoned with Fritos Flamin’ Hot, refried beans, lettuce, diced tomatoes and Creamy Chipotle sauce. A generous helping of crunchy Flamin’ Hot corn chips goes on top, finished with a sprinkle of cheddar cheese.
At $2.49 against $5.49, the salad costs less than half as much as the burrito, which makes it the cheaper way to try the Flamin’ Hot flavor. Frenz Hub has a guide to 26 easy ways to save money fast.
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200 Puffer Jackets and a One-Hour Window
The launch comes with a merchandise giveaway. On Nov. 17, Taco Bell Rewards members can open the Tuesday Drops section of the Taco Bell app for a chance at one of 200 Taco Bell x FLAMIN’ HOT puffer jackets, Sporked reported. The giveaway runs from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Pacific Time, so there is only a one-hour window.
Sporked said fans who want one should be signed up for Taco Bell Rewards and ready to check the app when the giveaway opens. craftingyourhome.com has a post on Kroger clearance tips and app deals.
A Carne Asada Test and the Fine Print
The Nov. 12 newsroom release described a limited-market test of new carne asada in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, according to Taco Bell. The steak is marinated with lime and paprika, cooked sous vide for tenderness, and then seared. The test spans six Cantina Menu items, including a Carne Asada Burrito, a Carne Asada Crispy Taco and a Carne Asada Rolled Quesadilla, and adds a Sonoran-style tortilla and a purple cabbage slaw.
Taco Bell described the new protein as bold, citrusy and savory, cut into cubes, with a citrus-forward marinade and a darker sear that set it apart from the chain’s current steak. It builds on the Cantina slow-roasted chicken that Taco Bell introduced earlier.
The newsroom listed six items in the test: a Cantina Carne Asada Chalupa Lime Bowl, Burrito, Crispy Taco, Soft Taco, Rolled Quesadilla and Street Chalupa, each served with an Avocado Verde Salsa packet. They are available at participating Nashville and Minneapolis-St. Paul locations while supplies last, with prices and hours set by each restaurant.
The newsroom described the Cantina Carne Asada Chalupa Lime Bowl as seasoned rice topped with the marinated steak and slow-simmered black beans, with lettuce, purple cabbage slaw, guacamole made with Hass avocados, a three-cheese blend, pico de gallo, reduced-fat sour cream and Spicy Ranch Sauce, finished with Chile Lime seasoned Chalupa Chips. The Crispy Taco uses a fried white-corn shell with cheese on the inside and grilled cheese on the outside.
That test is separate from the Flamin’ Hot items and is limited to those two markets while supplies last. Taco Bell’s newsroom said the carne asada has the potential to become a permanent part of the Cantina Menu.
The newsroom page also shows earlier fall announcements: a National Taco Month celebration with Kevin Hart, Paris Hilton and Doja Cat on Oct. 13, and the opening of Live Más scholarship applications, backed by more than $13 million, on Oct. 27. On the word itself, Wikipedia says burrito is Spanish for “little donkey,” the diminutive of burro.
Taco Bell says it has served fans since 1962 and now has nearly 10,000 restaurants in more than 40 countries. Wikipedia notes the chain was founded in 1962 by Glen Bell in Downey, California, and is owned by Yum! Brands, the parent company of KFC, per its entry on the chain.
The key details are short. Both Flamin’ Hot items are available at participating restaurants only, and the offer is temporary with no announced end date. Taco Bell’s newsroom list shows a steady stream of other launches, from a Birthday Cake Empanada with Milk Bar on Oct. 8 to a remixed horchata on Oct. 15, so menu items turn over quickly, per the chain’s news page.
Frenz Hub has lists of 10 clever frugal living tips and 14 products Americans overpay for, and craftingyourhome.com has a post on 10 everyday expenses broke people waste money on.
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Image: Candeadly – CC BY 4.0/Wikimedia Commons
