Review: Taco Bell's Steak & Potato Loaded Quesadilla Is A Good Idea On Paper, Just Not In A Tortilla

From Flamin' Hot Ranch Doritos Locos Tacos to, umm, giant Cheez-Its, Taco Ball is no stranger to funky flavors and experiential menu items. Add in all the optional customizations and secret menu items and you've got a fast-food chain with a Willy Wonka-like approach to tortillas. Classic menu items, like grilled stuffed burritos, feel like a relic of the past. Which is why I was eager to try the new Steak & Potato Loaded Quesadilla, a limited-edition menu item available at select Taco Bell locations in and around my home city of Oklahoma City.

When I thought about it, it made sense to me why Taco Bell chose Oklahoma City as its sole test market, considering our affinity for meat and potatoes. Admittedly, I've not been a particular fan of Taco Bell's quesadillas, as they tend to be more hit-or-miss (and harder to eat) than the tacos and burritos. This version, though, not only sounded great, but looked amazing in menu photos. 

Pressed in a grilled tortilla, the regular version comes loaded with marinated steak, nacho cheese sauce, melted cheddar, and seasoned potato bites, and there's a Spicy Steak & Potato Loaded Quesadilla that adds jalapeños and creamy jalapeño sauce to the mix. I opted for the latter, and wound up quite surprised by the flavors, textures, and presentation. Let's dig into it and see if Taco Bell's Steak & Potato Loaded Quesadilla might join the ranks of its most beloved menu oddities.

In order to properly and fairly review Taco Bell's latest quesadilla novelty, I swung by my closest location mid-afternoon. With very few people in the restaurant or in the drive-thru lane, cashiers could comfortably take their time navigating the new menu.

I ate the quesadilla there, in a quiet corner where I could focus on the tortilla task at hand. I used a fork, since this thing looked way messier than the menu photo, and I didn't want it to completely fall apart if I picked it up with my hands.

The quesadilla arrived cut into four pieces, which I pulled apart to examine the ratio of ingredients. First impressions were that this thing was overloaded with sauce, and ingredient proportions seemed inconsistent; one section was almost entirely potatoes, while all the meat seemed to be smahed into another area. Sliced jalapeños, strangely, seemed to be the most prominent ingredient, so I braced for spice. I judged the quesadilla based on texture, taste, temperature, and how well it delivered on its "loaded" promise of steak and potatoes. Since I'm not a Taco Bell connoisseur, I didn't judge the dish based on my personal taste preferences, but rather how well balanced, seasoned, and prepared the item was. I wanted to see if this meaty meal could turn me into a Taco Bell quesadilla fan.

First, the good news. My quesadilla arrived warm, freshly toasted, and clearly loaded with ... something. The most prominent visuals were slivers of grilled steak and maybe-too-thick slices of jalapeños, along with nacho cheese sauce seeping out the side. Thank goodness I didn't get this from the drive-thru — this is a knife-and-fork quesadilla if I've ever seen one.

Confirming my preconceived notions about Taco Bell quesadillas, each bite was hit-or-miss. The steak had a mild peppery flavor and a pleasant chew, reminiscent of a flank steak that's been off the grill for a little too long. For a co-lead ingredient, potatoes were disappointingly sparse, which is a shame because what little there was was fantastic. The seasoned potato bites are basically crispy tater tots that have been smooshed a bit (in a good way) when pressed on the grill. 

Golden brown and nicely salted, I wish had the chance to shine more. And on the rare bite when both steak and potato were involved simultaneously, it worked phenomenally from a textural standpoint. I can see why Taco Bell would want to make a quesadilla like this, I just wish jalapeños and nacho cheese sauce were dialed back a bit

The jalapeños, while not too spicy, completely overwhelmed everything else. The nacho cheese sauce was not only messy, but muted in flavor (it mostly tasted like melted fake cheese, which I guess is kinda the point), and I couldn't discern any cheddar flavor whatsoever. The whole thing stayed warm and ooey-gooey, though, so I credit the sauce for contributing in some capacity.

I came in expecting — and hoping for — a quesadilla befitting a meat-and-potatoes city like mine. I thought it might capture the flavor profile of a loaded baked potato, or even a cheesesteak. What I found, however, was a super-saucy quesadilla with imbalanced ingredients that made each bite too different.

Had I known the jalapeños would be so heavy-handed and overpowering, I would have stuck with the original Steak & Potato Loaded Quesadilla, but that still doesn't solve the issues with uneven filling and excessive sauce. When I managed to get a perfect forkful of grilled tortilla, toothsome steak, crispy potato, and a bit of sauce for creaminess, I was delighted. Unfortunately, such forkfuls were rare, and I wound up picking out jalapeños and avoiding the overly-saucy pockets of the quesadilla. I could have used more steak and potato, which is how the menu makes it sound, and less of everything else. I likely wouldn't order it again, but if I wanted a steak fix, I'd opt for something a little less saucy and a little less spicy.

I ordered my Spicy Steak & Potato Loaded Quesadilla a la carte, which was $6.99 plus tax, for a total of $7.59. The quesadilla is also available as part of a $9 Discovery Luxe Box, which comes with a Seasoned Beef Chalupa Supreme, chips, nacho cheese sauce, and a medium drink. These prices are consistent at the select Oklahoma City area locations where the quesadilla is exclusively being sold for a limited time.

A Steak & Potato Loaded Quesadilla contains 47 grams of fat (18 grams of which are saturated fat), 85 milligrams of cholesterol, 2,050 milligrams of sodium, 71 grams of carbs, 4 grams of sugar, and 29 grams of protein. One quesadilla is 820 calories, and contains gluten, dairy, eggs, and wheat.