Review: Taco Bell's Tajín Menu Gets A Lot Right, But Holds Back Where It Counts

When the Taco Bell rings, you pick up the phone. That's what I thought when I was invited to taste the new Taco Bell collaboration with Tajín in New York last week. For the uninitiated, Tajín is a powdered seasoning made of a unique blend of ingredients that is salty, spicy, and acidic. The flavor is undeniably Mexican, and you can put Tajín on practically everything from mango to watermelon to french fries. And, apparently, you can put it on your Taco Bell tacos.

Given the fast food chain's history of collaborations with brands like Mountain Dew and Doritos that gave rise to iconic menu items like the tropical-flavored Baja Blast and the Doritos Locos Taco, I was almost surprised it took this long for Taco Bell to wake up and smell the Tajín. The menu features two new tacos: the Tajín Taco and the Tajín Cheesy Gordita Crunch. Taco Bell die-hards may be familiar with the original versions of these classic products, but these reimagined offerings deliver a novel experience that goes beyond the simple addition of Tajín.

I've been dining at Taco Bell for over two decades, which I believe makes me uniquely qualified to conduct this taste test. I've eaten enough Double Decker tacos, Cheesy Gordita Crunches, and Crunchwrap Supremes to fill a house, and I know a quality product from this Mexican-inspired chain when I taste one.

Taco Bell's infamous ground beef is the ingredient that underpins many of its menu items. When it comes to these novel products, their success often depends on how well the newly introduced flavors mesh with the beef's meaty, savory flavor. With its spicy, acidic intensity, Tajín was a solid contender for such a challenge.

It's also impossible to evaluate these new tacos without comparing the Tajín iterations to the original versions of these beloved classics. I focused on what, if anything, the presence of the spice added to the mix. Both items also have alterations beyond just the addition of Tajín, and I evaluated how these other flavors enhanced or detracted from the final product and whether they were apt partners for the tacos' titular spice. 

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

The words Tajín Taco roll right off the tongue. It's not just the alliteration, but the mouthwatering concept of an already savory Taco Bell taco dusted with even more savory spice. I took a bite and waited for a big Tajín flavor to hit, and I kept waiting. The spice is only on the taco's crusty shell in this case, and while there's nothing wrong with this product, there just wasn't enough Tajín to earn its name.

To be fair, the taco comes with an auxiliary packet of seasoning, so you can open it up and pour it on top to your taste. Since it's a crunchy shell, though, you can't open it up and distribute the seasoning evenly without breaking the taco open. So if you want a stronger Tajín flavor, your only option is to sprinkle a bit of the spice on each bite as you eat it, which undercuts the hallmark convenience of this handheld food.

Instead of regular pico de gallo, this taco was topped with mango salsa. I would've found the sweetness off-putting, but the strongest Tajín flavor was concentrated at the top of the taco near the salsa, and the extra sugar played well with the signature spice, almost nodding to Tajín-covered mango, a popular Mexican street snack.

Fans of the legendary Cheesy Gordita Crunch may wonder how Taco Bell could possibly improve this perfect pocket of gooey, savory, beefy goodness. The answer, it turns out, is simple: add some Tajín. Once again, the spicy seasoning was concentrated at the top of the taco shell, so there were a few perfect bites with a balance of beef, mango salsa, Tajín, and cheese. But as with the Tajín Taco, there just wasn't enough of the titular seasoning to warrant the name.

Because the Cheesy Gordita Crunch features a hard shell taco wrapped in a soft tortilla, I was able to open it, add more seasoning, and close it back up with relative ease. The downside of the double shell, however, was that the beginning and end of the gordita became overly bready, which watered down its signature flavors. I was told there was a helping of spicy ranch somewhere in the gordita, and while I encountered a sour cream-adjacent white substance, it tasted neither spicy nor ranch-like. That said, along with the shredded lettuce, it added a welcome coolness against the bolder beefy, cheesy flavors. It wasn't necessarily a bad experience, but I might be happier making a Cheesy Gordita Crunch at home that I could customize to my liking.

Given everything I now know about these new Taco Bell items, the question is: Would I order them again? For the Tajín Taco, the answer is no. It costs significantly more than a regular crunchy taco with a marginal improvement. I'd sooner bring a bottle of Tajín seasoning with me to the fast food restaurant and whip up my own version than splurge on the Taco Bell version. It's not a bad taco by any means, but the modest dusting of Tajín just doesn't merit the price increase.

The Tajín Cheesy Gordita Crunch, on the other hand, is only slightly more expensive than the original. While it also didn't provide enough of a kick for me to really get excited, I found the relative price difference more reasonable. The extra seasoning gives an already satisfying staple a little something extra without charging you much more for the privilege.

If you're planning on heading down to your local Taco Bell to pick up one of these spicy new creations, there are some basics you should know. Depending on your location, the Tajín Taco goes for $2.89, while its beefier, cheesier cousin, the Tajín Cheesy Gordita Crunch, costs $5.99. The taco has 210 calories, and the gordita has 460. The Tajín adds to the tacos' sodium content, so keep that in mind if you're watching your salt intake. You can substitute the mango salsa for regular pico de gallo on either product if you want a little less sweet flavor.

The Tajín menu is available nationwide starting August 13. There's no official end date, and as with many Taco Bell limited-time offerings, availability may vary depending on location and demand. So if you've got a hankering for one of these Tajín-inspired items, make your way to your local outpost sooner rather than later, before they enter the pantheon of discontinued Taco Bell items unlikely to return.