Taco Bell’s New Toasted Chalupa Has a Cheese-Crusted Shell

Cover anything savory in cheese and it will most certainly be improved. Cheese-crusted quesadilla? Down. Cheese-crusted burrito? Sounds excellent. Cheese-crusted CHALUPA? Taco Bell, you have a winner.

The Toasted Cheddar Chalupa is the newest item to join Taco Bell menus and is the largest international release since the Naked Chicken Chalupa in 2017, the brand says. Starting this month (September 12 in the U.S.), the menu item will be available in Aruba, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, and Puerto Rico. Honestly, who knew there were Taco Bell restaurants in all those places?!

As for what exactly it is, the inside is pretty similar to a classic Chalupa: seasoned beef, chicken, or steak as a protein, and lettuce, tomatoes, cheddar cheese, and sour cream on top. The key difference here is that cheddar cheese—a six-month aged cheddar, to be exact—is BAKED into the chalupa shell.

I tried the chalupa at the Taco Bell Hotel & Resort last month, where it was tested, and honestly, it was the best thing I ate while there. The cheese makes for a slightly crispy shell and ensures you get a little cheesiness in every bite, even if the cheese inside isn’t super evenly distributed.

Once it’s officially on menus, you’ll be able to order one on its own for $2.49 or as part of a $5 Box, which comes with two crunchy tacos and a medium soda (as shown above). For those of you in North Carolina, there’s another version for you to try, too: the Bacon Club Toasted Cheddar Chalupa. The menu item is in the testing phase in Charlotte and comes with grilled chicken, avocado ranch sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and bacon bits all inside the cheesy Chalupa shell. YUM.

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