I Tried And Ranked 13 Taco Bell Breakfast Items

Taco Bell is home to many tasty items, from its relatively impressive value menu to interesting fan-favorite picks like the Cantina Chicken Mexican Pizza. You can count on the chain for your late-night snacking needs, but it's also a pretty solid place to grab breakfast, believe it or not — that is, if you can muster up the energy to go there early in the morning. I went to my nearest store to test 13 breakfast items, excluding coffee drinks and Cinnabon Delights, to see how tasty they were. (If you're lucky, your store might even have the new cold brews — mine did not.) The items are available until 10:45 a.m. at my store, but many Taco Bell locations serve breakfast until 11 a.m. 

I must admit, it was hard to come up with a ranking here since many of the flavors overlap. Therefore, I decided to rank these by heartiness and value, as well as by the overall intrigue of the flavors and textures. Everything is priced between $1.69 and $4.99, so nothing was too unreasonable. I won't mention exact pricing, but you can use this price range to distinguish the least expensive from the most expensive when I mention it.

Prices are as of the date of publication and may vary based on region.

The Cheesy Toasted Breakfast Burrito Potato is a pretty run-of-the-mill burrito: egg, tomatoes, nacho cheese sauce, and potatoes. I'd like to see a little more tomato to add complexity and umami notes; perhaps a more flavorful tomato would add more dimension, too. Something in the eggs seems a bit wet, perhaps the tricky-to-replicate nacho cheese sauce. While I have no major complaints about the overall flavor, I simply wouldn't go to Taco Bell to get this item. This is something that we often make in my household, so the flavors are, of course, delicious and familiar. 

The nacho cheese adds creaminess I can appreciate since I don't have that at home, but still, this is as easy as it gets. Despite being one of the most affordable options on the list, I don't find it the most filling or interesting either, without meat. It doesn't rank last because of any major flavor issues. Instead, this is simply not something I would recommend or get out of the house to pay for. 

I love quesadillas, and this bacon-filled breakfast version is perfectly handheld. The Breakfast Quesadilla Bacon combines tortilla, bacon, egg, and the three cheese blend of mozzarella, pepper jack, and cheddar. The bacon adds a smoky, salty touch to the creamy egg mixture. It doesn't offer as much textural contrast, though, because the pieces are so small. If anything, they're a little chewy, but it's hard to complain about bacon. 

The handheld, flat nature means you get a bite of egg with occasional bacon; while somewhat cheesy, it isn't extremely rich or noticeable. The 'dilla isn't fully cut (I think they might have given it a partial cut), but I had to use a knife to get it into smaller pieces; this could be inconvenient if you're trying to eat in the car or something. Other items on this list overlap with the ingredients here, and I feel like those that offer better value would entice me to pick them over this one. As it is, I prefer the bacon addition in the quesadilla over the previous potato burrito.

The Breakfast Quesadilla Steak has the same ingredients as the previous quesadilla, but includes steak instead of bacon. It tastes pretty good and is surprisingly better than I thought, so I'll hand it to Taco Bell for that. I can't figure out what this steak reminds me of. Maybe I'm thinking of some sort of canned corn beef hash or something, but I can't place it; it's very familiar, but it doesn't give that "this is fresh-made" vibe. 

There's creamy cheese and salty meat, which brings a rich mouthfeel. However, the steak pieces are minimal and placed very sporadically. Most of the quesadilla is egg and cheese with a bit of steak here and there. The cubed steak pieces feel a bit chewy, and given that the quesadilla is one of the higher-priced items, I'd say you're better off skipping this one. The steak's flavor is interesting and more dynamic than the bacon, though, to give it 11th place.

You might have caught on that I just can't rank the quesadillas at the top. It ultimately boils down to the overall value. I think some of the other similarly-priced items coming up are more interesting, complex, flavorful, or simply a better deal. That said, the sausage addition is the best of the Breakfast Quesadillas. It swaps in sausage but has everything else; I love the little sausage pieces, so you get an even amount of egg, cheesy richness, and fatty, slightly peppery sausage in every bite. 

The sausage ingredients merely list "spices," so I can't say it's pepper for sure, but it's juicy, fatty, and seasoned. Unlike the steak, the sausage is a breeze to bite into; it contrasts with the soft egg but doesn't require much chewing to break it down. This is the most balanced and evenly distributed of the quesadillas, giving it an easy lead over the steak version.

Crunchwraps are slightly more expensive than the quesadillas, but I find that there's considerable more textural intrigue, heartiness, and value to justify the mild jump in cost. The Breakfast Crunchwrap Bacon has bacon, creamy jalapeño sauce, hash brown, egg, and shredded cheddar cheese. To be honest, I don't catch much of the creamy jalapeño sauce, so I'd love to see that more liberally applied. 

The Crunchwrap is not as rich or spicy as one might expect from the addition of something called creamy jalapeño sauce. The sauce has ingredients such as vinegar, jalapeño peppers, buttermilk, and spices, but I don't really taste any of that complexity. At least, I can taste some cheesy foundation from the cheddar, which helps give it a flavor advantage. I love the hash brown in the Crunchwrap, which brings such a satisfying textural element and a fantastic potato flavor into just about every bite. The Crunchwrap is the clear winner over the sausage quesadilla.

Now I can finally introduce you to one of the three Grande Burritos. The Grande Toasted Breakfast Burrito Bacon includes bacon, tomatoes, the three cheese blend, potatoes, and egg. This is still cheaper than the Crunchwraps and quesadillas, but I find them more interesting because we get tomatoes and potatoes tossed in. 

Here, the three cheese blend melts into every bite to offer a richness that isn't super prominent by flavor alone, but I know it'd feel dry and bland without it. Thankfully, it's not as wet as the last burrito I mentioned either. The bacon has many of the same struggles as the other bacon items; it's randomly chopped, with some chewier portions. Sometimes the bacon is just stuck together in a clump rather than fully dispersed. It's a solid value for the price, so I'm placing it just above the Bacon Breakfast Crunchwrap. It's worth grabbing if you like all the included ingredients, but if you want a more economical bacon item, keep reading.

Taco Bell has multiple bacon breakfast items, and I'm deeming the Cheesy Toasted Breakfast Burrito Bacon the best among them. Here, we get nacho cheese sauce, egg, and bacon at one of the most affordable prices. There's no doubt that you get enough food to leave you feeling satiated. You won't feel stuffed, but it'll certainly give you the energy for the morning. 

So, it's a great option when you want a quick breakfast with a classic bacon and egg combo in a different format than just on a plate. This is a perfectly fine, minimal item with no major issues, but it isn't particularly spectacular enough that I'd rush out to buy it. I like that it is very affordable, so the value is the main reason it ranks seventh. You could replace the nacho cheese sauce with pico de gallo at no cost, for a fresher addition. But any of the Taco Bell sauces (perhaps the hottest one, the Diablo) could give it a much-needed flavor enhancement.

Calling all guacamole fans: The Breakfast California Crunchwrap has bacon, tomatoes, guacamole, egg, hash brown, and a sprinkling of cheddar cheese. As you might expect, you need to eat this right away since the guac starts to brown. Even so, the hash brown makes it hearty, while the guacamole sets this apart from all other breakfast menu items. The guac includes avocado, tomatoes, onions, garlic powder, and other ingredients for a flavor boost. 

There's not much guac, so admittedly, I don't pick up on a lot of the added flavors, but it still adds a bit of color and creaminess to the dish; it completes the Crunchwrap and sets it apart from all the previous items thanks to the guac's cool mouthfeel. This would be a good option when you want an avocado addition, but we also see a slight price hike, as this is the most expensive item on the breakfast menu — not by a lot, but still worth mentioning. I think the modest increase from the other Crunchwraps is worth it if you want avocado.

The hash brown is fantastic, with a crispy exterior and a soft, tender inside. The texture makes it really easy to rip off pieces or take a quick bite. It's the perfect level of crispiness for hash browns, and I don't have anything negative to say. It could be enhanced with some salsa or perhaps a splash of hot sauce, but it's tasty on its own. I feel like you can't go wrong with this menu item. 

It's simple, but it's worth the time saved from cooking it from scratch. Sometimes I feel like I'm standing over the stove for so long trying to get the potatoes to my crispy liking. It has a slightly oily mouthfeel from the oil used to fry it, but overall, it is one of the better fast food hash browns I've eaten. This is the cheapest item from the breakfast menu, so it also has value on its side, too. The next item ranks above it just because there's more flavor intrigue, not because the hash brown has anything wrong with it.

When you want something straightforward but still filling and worth the money, get the Cheesy Toasted Breakfast Burrito Sausage. It's simple enough with nacho cheese sauce, egg, and sausage, but it is still quite satisfying. The sausage morsels pair nicely with everything else, and are small enough that you get a smidge in each bite. It seems like they're generously added into the burrito, which I am a fan of. 

The price point is compelling, as it's one of the more affordable options I tried for this taste test. It's slightly more expensive than the hash brown but much more flavorful and satisfying, which gives it an easy boost in the ranking. My top three items are more expensive, so if you're looking for the best bang for your buck, stick with this sausage burrito. You can let your creativity run free at Taco Bell by customizing it to taste. For added texture and flavor, add in some onions. Don't forget that a salsa packet or two also offers varying degrees of heat.

You've probably realized by now that I like Taco Bell's sausage pieces. They're truly one of the best-sized sausages I've seen in fast food, but the Crunchwrap throws that all to the wayside. In the Breakfast Crunchwrap Sausage, we're introduced to a totally new sausage format: a whole sausage patty. The sausage patty and full hash brown mean you get a tasty mouthful no matter where you bite. There's slightly fatty meat with a chewier bite, while the hash brown offers an oily, tender addition. 

Since the potato patty is sandwiched between warm foods, it's no longer as crisp as when it was on its own. So here, it brings heartiness without too big a texture contrast. For the cost, this seems like a great value that will leave you feeling full all morning. The Breakfast Crunchwrap Sausage feels like a classic breakfast combination you may get at a diner, but in a whimsical handheld form and with a slight flavor upgrade from creamy jalapeño sauce — which is used more liberally here. I think this would be better if you asked for the jalapeño peppers; it's a small fee, but it would bring a bit of moisture and heat to break up the fattiness.

Look at that cross-section! The Taco Bell employees didn't skimp on the meat here. I feel like the Grande Toasted Breakfast Burrito Steak is well worth the money. It's filling and a good value for what you get. Both steak items have a slight upcharge for their respective section (quesadilla and Grande Toasted Breakfast Burrito), but the cost seems appropriate for this burrito. The pieces are more evenly distributed throughout the entire burrito, and I don't feel as though they are too chunky or chewy. 

The meat here is bigger and juicier than in the quesadilla, so it's almost like it transforms into shredded beef as you chew. The beef is wonderfully savory thanks to its own sauce, which has brown sugar, dried beef stock, tomato powder, and other ingredients. I'm surprised by the steak, as other fast food "steaks" have been a bit of a letdown for me. I guess this seems more like shredded beef than steak, but still, it's one of the better beefs as a whole. Tomatoes add a much-needed touch of freshness, but the no-cost onions could be another way to bring some uplift. The green sauce add-on would be fantastic with the steak, too.

My absolute top pick goes to the Grande Toasted Breakfast Burrito Sausage, which has everything going for it. Before I get into specifics, it's worth pointing out that there's a very green potato clearly visible. While a small amount of green on a potato is generally safe for adults to eat (don't give them to young children and don't eat them in large quantities), they don't look all that appealing. I didn't see this in any of the other things I tried with potato, so it doesn't seem like a widespread issue.

Anyway, the Grande Toasted Breakfast Burrito Sausage has a mix of flavors and textures that make it enticing to eat, and its value gives it even more of a boost. We get tomato pieces, a creamy three-cheese blend, chunky cubed potato, egg, and sausage. Everything combines to create a filling, interesting menu item that makes it easy to finish. I'm not counting calories by any means, but the caloric uptick from the Cheesy Toasted Sausage burrito very much justifies the increase in price. The three-cheese blend offers more richness than anything with the nacho cheese sauce, so that's another reason this stands out. Tomatoes bring a bit of moisture and a noticeable texture difference, so the burrito doesn't feel too mushy — the sausage helps with that, too. I just feel like this gives me the most interesting flavor combo at the best price to solidify its first-place position.

I ordered all 13 Taco Bell breakfast items via the in-store kiosk at a Vista, California location and ate them in the restaurant for peak freshness. The idea of soggy tortillas was not appealing to me. I didn't add any salsa or other condiments to get a better understanding of the core flavors, but you can certainly do so. I had no major issues with flavor because many of the items were extremely similar, just in different shapes. 

That's why, in addition to the overall flavor and texture of the dish, I judge them by how filling they were and their value. To begin the ranking, I started by identifying the most basic item or items with some textural complications and worked my way up. You'll find things that were the most interesting toward the top, while more rudimentary options remained at the lower part of the ranking. Nothing went to waste here; these menu items fed my family for three meals!