Review: Taco Bell's New Diablo Nuggets And Zab Sauce Are Appointment Eating

They say a rolling stone gathers no moss, and the same could be said of Taco Bell. The chain is always making a run for the border, and coming back with new ideas and delivering fresh items. It sometimes seems there are new Taco Bell items (whether popular or not) being released in its stores every five minutes. Just last month, at its annual flex-Mex fête — Live Más Live — the company teased and treated its guests to more than 20 items that will be making their debut in 2026 or beyond. As spring is now in full swing, Taco Bell is ready to drop three new items for fans and curious passersby to order up: Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets, Zab's Chicken Ranch Nacho Fries, and Triple Double Crunchwrap.

Besides the extra descriptive adjectives, these new items sound like old ones, just dressed up in novel ways and flavors. How devilish exactly are these new nuggs? Who's Zab and why is he getting so possessive of Taco Bell's Nacho Fries, in a ranchy way? How many points and rebounds did this novel Crunchwrap actually tally in its Triple Double? 

Ultimately, the only question that matters is: Are they any good? The Takeout took out each for a taste test ride to find out. Now the truth can be revealed in this saucy chew and review.

The fine folks over at Taco Bell invited members of the media for a sneak peek taste test of its new spring items, including Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets, Zab's Chicken Ranch Nacho Fries, Triple Double Crunchwrap, and sips of its new permanent line of Dirty Sips drinks. All the foods and drinks were taste tested at an actual Taco Bell, in Manhattan, in advance of their nationwide release.

This chew and review is a summation of my own personal tastes and opinions. I also took into consideration my previous experiences with Taco Bell, its nuggets, nacho fries, Crunchwraps, and my current experience with these new offerings The ultimate criteria considered for this review were flavor, presentation, smell, familiarity, originality, uniqueness, value, and ultimately whether these new items are worth springing for.

Recommendations are based on firsthand impressions of promotional materials and products provided by the manufacturer.

Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets are all-white meat chicken nuggets coated in Diablo Dust, which is a dusty new form of Taco Bell's Diablo Sauce, Mexican spices, and crunchy tortilla chip breading. This item debuted at Live Más Live 2026.

Zab's Chicken Ranch Nacho Fries unite Zab's Datil Pepper Hot Sauce with Taco Bell's creamy Spicy Ranch, nacho cheese sauce, pico de gallo, three cheese blend of low-moisture part-skim mozzarella, cheddar, and pasteurized process Monterey Jack and American cheese with peppers, and slow roasted chicken, hovering over a bed of its seasoned Nacho Fries. Zab's St. Augustine Ranch Sauce is made up of its hot sauce that brings together distilled vinegar, datil peppers, tomatoes, onion, carrots, garlic, and unspecified spices, as well as cultured buttermilk, water, distilled vinegar, egg yolk, sour cream, whey, garlic powder, onion powder, habanero pepper powder, and dehydrated parsley. Taco Bell first revealed this collaborative ranch sauce with Zab's at Live Más Live 2025, and it's now finally seeing the light of day for all to try. For those who are curious, Zab is the name of co-founder Miles Soboroff's dog, and inspiration for the brand.

The Triple Double Crunchwrap has layers of seasoned beef, crispy tostada shells, warm nacho cheese sauce, reduced-fat sour cream, fresh lettuce and tomatoes, all wrapped in a grilled tortilla. The mathematically challenging Triple Double Crunchwrap was originally introduced in 2016, and has returned a few times since.

Before I dug in on this beautiful pile of Zab's Chicken Ranch Nacho Fries' orange and yellow substances and spices, I wanted to test the new Zab's ranch sauce on its own. I've never tried Zab's Datil Pepper Hot Sauce solo, but did have the pleasure of trying this collaborative ranch sauce at Live Más Live 2025. I tried seven sauces that night and the most memorable was Zab's spiced-up ranch. I said then that it hit "the perfect combo of heat and milky creaminess to deliver a universal condiment sure to spruce up any menu item." Retesting a year later, my opinion on this thick, creamy, and pungent sauce remained happily the same. But how would it fare in the thick of Nacho Fries and a slew of other ingredients?

Zab's ranch sauce was physically present in this stacked platter, with its muted, pale beige hue standing out atop the slathering of vibrant orange nacho cheese. The titular chicken, on the other hand, seemed lost at sea amid the pico de gallo centerpiece. When I took a forkful of it all, the chicken barely registered, and for a moment, the Zab's ranch sauce seemed a bit subdued by the sharp nacho cheese. With subsequent nibbles, the magic of this Zab's ranch sauce began to seep through, but not as much as I would have liked. 

Another problem was time. The longer I took to the gobble this up, the quicker the fries weren't able to stay firm and carry the weight of its contents. Zab's sauce proved its worth on its own, but I'm not sure this batch smothered Nacho Fries was the best fit for its talents.

Taco Bell has been doing interesting things with Crunchwraps, like sliders that proved something small can be mighty, or a giant Cheez-Its Crunchwrap that forgot to pack a crunch. The latest offering is actually a familiar favorite, a layered affair returning for yet another encore. From the outset, what I see is a very widely stretched tortilla, neatly folded. It has brown "cooking" marks, but didn't exactly feel all that crispy. On its own, it's a handful, but I cut mine in half to see what's going on within. What I also quickly learned was splitting it two makes this a very handy, shareable item.

There's a bunch going on within the wrap, but not really much to see except fillings you've been served a zillion times before. It's basically split into two sections — one where all the cool veggies are stored, and the other, where the savory elements lay, like the beef, cheese, and tostada shell. Taking a bite resulted in more familiar terrain — it's almost like eating a flattened soft taco supreme.

Not sure if time was also not kind to this item as well, but when I got down to munching it, the supposedly crispy tostada was anything but crispy. It basically was extra dough, akin to the superfluous middle bun of a Big Mac. To kick things up a notch, I happened to have a side cup of Zab's ranch sauce. One dip of this Crunchwrap in the sauce not only elevated its tastiness, but also proved to be a much better vehicle to deliver Zab's greatness than the loaded fries did.

The hottest buzz from this year's Live Más Live was the fire that the Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets were engulfing mouths with. With that knowledge in the back of my mind, I made sure these nuggets were the last item I tasted, to not dull my senses for the fries and the Crunchwrap, and perhaps to end this testing with a bang.

Since the Diablo dusting these nuggs were supposedly the same mojo that infused the Diablo Ranch Sauce dip, I returned to that very sauce to get a baseline of what fire we may be playing with. It comes on super-creamy, but then cranks things up to 11, throwing taste flames that constantly need to be extinguished.

These nuggets were so extremely "dusted," with a healthy splash of beautiful burnt orange seasoning that welcomed all eyeballs that came upon them. It sort of looked like those marvelously twinkling Louisiana Garlic Wings Popeyes dropped last year. I'm well aware that Taco Bell makes solid nuggets, and this new fiery version marked a great diversion from the usual. The flavor is fun — kind of like a Carolina BBQ rub — and the spice is mighty, but it's not the kind that will haunt your gums. It has the kind of potency that lets itself be known north of the mouth, from my pores perspiring right below my eyes, as well as coating my scalp in a sheen of sweat. Are we having fun yet? In fact we are! Out of all three items I tried, this is the only one I left with a completely clean plate.

While there were just a mere three items for the tasting, there was still a lot to unpack here. There's nothing too much to write home about when it comes to the Triple Double Crunchwrap. Its name was more exciting than the standard tastes it emitted. The one thing it has going for it is its size, which at the base price of $6.49 makes for a filling option, or a snack to share. Regardless, my mind is already focused on a future Crunchwrap — the Crème Brulee Crunchwrap Slider, a mic-dropping release that brought this year's Live Más Live to a close. 

I have had my fair share of Nacho Fries interactions in the past few years, and these Zab Chicken Ranch ones are probably not going to rank near the top of my list. Not for a lack of trying, as this Zab's Ranch sauce is a unique winner, but it just can't compete with the nacho cheese dominating the fries.

Not all is lost on the Zab's Ranch sauce, though, as you can seek it out as a side dipping cup. It made the ordinary Triple Double Crunchwrap a little punchy, and naturally made for a zesty dip for nuggets. While the Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets don't need any help in the flavor or fun department, Zab's Ranch is a perfect partner to chill things out a bit. Although if you're more into playing with fire, go ahead and dip these Diablo Dusted nuggs in the Diablo Ranch Sauce. The tasty details in that combo are downright devilish.

Starting April 16, the Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets, Zab's Chicken Ranch Nacho Fries, and Triple Double Crunchwrap will be available to order at participating nationwide Taco Bells and Taco Bell Cantinas. They will be available for a limited time only, while supplies last.

The items can be ordered any time stores are open, which may also include Taco Bell's breakfast hours. Orders can be placed in-store, at the counter, a kiosk, or drive-thru where available. Advanced orders for dine-in, pick-up, or delivery can be placed through Taco Bell's website and app.

Diablo Dusted Crispy Chicken Nuggets can be ordered in five or 10 piece sets. The suggested starting price is $4.49. The new Nacho Fries and Crunchwrap come in one size only, and retail respectively for $4.99 and $6.49. Price may vary per location, and additional fees may apply for orders placed for delivery or through third party sites and apps.

A five-piece serving of Diablo Dusted Chicken Nuggets contains 330 calories, 14 grams of fat, 1 ½ grams of saturated fat, 55 milligrams of cholesterol, 1110 milligrams of sodium, 26 grams of carbohydrates, 3 grams of dietary fiber, 27 grams of protein, 10 milligrams of calcium, and 510 milligrams of potassium.

A standard order serving of Zab's St. Augustine Ranch Nacho Fries with Slow Roasted Chicken contains 490 calories, 31 grams of fat, 4 ½ grams of saturated fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 1170 milligrams of sodium, 40 grams of carbohydrates, 5 grams of dietary fiber, 3 grams of sugar, 1 gram of added sugar, 13 grams of protein, 90 milligrams of calcium, and 880 milligrams of potassium. It contains the allergens gluten, eggs, milk, and wheat.

A Triple Double Crunchwrap contains 700 calories, 29 grams of fat, 9 grams of saturated fat, 40 milligrams of cholesterol, 1580 milligrams of sodium, 88 grams of carbohydrates, 9 grams of dietary fiber, 6 grams of sugar, 2 grams of added sugar, 21 grams of protein, 270 milligrams of calcium, and 760 milligrams of potassium.